Theatre festival in Birr kicks off on Thursday

Looking for a new addition to your cultural calendar this week?
Scripts Ireland’s Playwriting Festival has a jam-packed programme including live theatre, writing workshops, outdoor theatre and a very special children’s show running from this Thursday until Sunday in Birr.
Live performances include Bloody Yesterday, a thrilling new play by Deirdre Kinehan, wear your funeral best for Wake by Irene Kelleher this Saturday night and contemplate the meaning of home in Looking for América this Friday.
A brand-new piece of outdoor theatre is also on the schedule for Saturday. Promenade Performance is inspired by the Famous & Notables Trail of Birr and will see a selection of short plays performed at locations across the town commemorating the remarkable people and places from Birr’s fascinating history this Saturday afternoon. This event is kindly funded by Offaly County Council and Creative Ireland.
For those who want to learn more about the art of playwriting, Fishamble’s Gavin Kostick and playwright Christian O’Reilly will deliver workshops focusing on new writing on Sunday. Former Scripts winner Lesley Conroy will host Family Proofing Your Arts Practice: A workshop on creative solutions to challenges facing parenting artists at Birr Library this Thursday. David Walsh from Open Minds will also facilitate Unconscious Bias on Friday afternoon. It will explore the way unconscious bias operates and help participants identify it and understand barriers to truly inclusive creativity.
Earlier this year, Scripts received a record-breaking number of entries (over 130) to its call for submissions for new short plays. This year’s selected writers are Tony Doyle, Sarah McKenna Dunne and Jacqueline Corrigan & Robert Webster. They are receiving a week of mentorship with award-winning Offaly writer Eugene O’Brien during the festival.
All three plays will be performed as rehearsed readings by a team of professional actors at the Scripts headline event, Nurtured New Works at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre this Sunday 10 July at 4pm. The winning play will be chosen by a distinguished panel including Christian O’Reilly and Gavin Kostick.
For the full programme and some exciting special ticket offers, visit www.scriptsireland.com