PlotFest 2027 is now open for entries
The 2026/27 Season sees the launch of our latest PlotFest, a competition to find the best one-act plays.
We are looking for original one-act plays, which will be judged anonymously by a panel.
There will be three prizes of £300, £200 and £100. The winning plays will be performed at the Lyceum on 23 & 24 July 2027.
PLOTFEST 2027 COMPETITION
RULES AND DETAILS
The closing date for entries is 30 November 2026.
Entries are welcome from any playwright – amateur or professional.
The Lyceum Theatre is primarily an adult theatre. We do not usually perform plays with or for children, so the plays must be aimed at an adult audience.
Entries should be in Word format and emailed to lyceumtheatreoldham@gmail.com or printed on A4 paper and posted to The Lyceum Theatre Oldham, 95, Union Street, Oldham OL1 1QG.
Plays should last no longer than 30 minutes.
Cast should be between one and five, all with speaking parts.
Plays must be suitable for performing against blacks. Furniture must be minimal and moveable.
Scripts should include character descriptions, props lists, set suggestions, and sound and lighting suggestions.
Entries must be original, and must not have been produced/performed elsewhere.
Judging will be undertaken by experienced directors/actors, and will take place during the spring of 2027.
Results will be announced by the end of March 2027.
Prizes are as follows: first - £300, second - £200, and third - £100. In addition the three winning plays will be cast and go into production in June and all three will be performed on 23 and 24 July 2027. (A performance may also be included in the 2027 Oldham Arts Festival - Dare To Create)
We reserve the right for Directors to make any necessary creative decisions during production.
Submission Form below
THE STORY SO FAR
The first PlotFest was launched in 2017, attracting over 30 entries, with the winning plays performed on the Lyceum stage in July 2018.
The competition attracted plays from seasoned writers, talented hobbyists and first timers. With anonymous judging, where the play is separated from its writer's details before anyone sees it, the level playing field meant the winners and their plays were equally diverse and all brilliant.
The winning script TWISTER was written by retired teacher Ian Gray, originally from South Yorkshire, before moving to Wigan. His play was inspired by material from Amnesty International and explored the effects of enhanced interrogation on the practitioner as well as the victim. Using humour and menace in equal measure, Ian’s compelling drama twists and turns, leaving the audience powerfully uncomfortable and challenged. Talented winner, Ian also had a play being performed by Make It Write as part of Liverpool Fringe in the same year.
The second prize went to Manchester born and bred Bob Pegg. Researching for another project, he discovered that Charlotte Bronte and Karl Marx were both in Manchester on the same day in 1846. His play THE SALUTATION imagined a meeting between these two great minds, using historical facts as well as dramatic licence to explore how their conversation may have gone.
Third Prize winner Patricia Cunningham was working in social work and lives in Heaton Mersey, Stockport. Her play A GOOD MAN explored preconceptions about what makes a good rather than a bad man, through an interview between a Probation Officer and John, who is on remand for stabbing someone. Appearing at first to be simply an angry young man, the interview revealed his true character, but also a piece of evidence that may be crucial.
PlotFest was scheduled to return in 2020 but Covid pressed pause*.
*Anyone who submitted a script for this competition can resubmit with a simple email to lyceumtheatreoldam@gmail.com As long as the script hasn't been produced or performed elsewhere in the meantime, we'd happily include it in this latest competition.
Bob Pegg, who wrote winning script, The Salutation, shares his thoughts and tips
I can’t remember where I saw the call out for scripts, but it was a very straightforward call. Three actors, 30 minutes maximum. That was it. No other qualifying criteria - just good writing within manageable guidelines and send it anonymously so you know it would be judged on quality alone which is a rare thing these days. I wrote the Salutation - which is a short play about a meeting between Karl Marx and Charlotte Bronte on a specific day in 1846 because I was researching something else and discovered that they were both possibly in Manchester on the same day and within a few minutes walk of each other. They were both in their twenties, both relatively unknown as writers and both had recently been rejected by publishers for works which would not be published in their lifetimes: Marx for The German Ideology and Bronte for The Professor. So while they were both contemporaries they were wildly different personalities. The play is based on what conversation they might have had if they ever met. The Salutation is still one of the things I’m most pleased with
What did you get out of winning last time, in terms of the process, that winning feeling, seeing your play on stage for the first time.
It’s always a great feeling when you see something of your own performed before a live audience as well as more than a little humbling. A lot of people have devoted a lot of time for precious little reward to bring something of yours to life so I think a writer has a duty to make it the best they can. To anybody who might be thinking of entering something like this, just get writing. Nobody can do it for you so just keep at it. Audiences at places like the Lyceum are generous and optimistic. Try not to let them down.
What have you been upto since you won? Clearly you’re still writing. What other successes have you had and has The Salutation been performed elsewhere?
Since The Salutation I was shortlisted by the BBC for a script I submitted. I got down to the last 20 out of over 3000 scripts submitted but unfortunately they didn’t go with it. The same script went on to get Arts Council funding and had a short run in ManchesterI. I've also completed my memoir - Unlettered Men - which was shortlisted or the Norther Writers Northbound Book Award in 2022. I have a couple of other things on the go so we’ll just see what happens.
Any other nuggets of info that define you would be great too.
I don’t really define myself as a writer because it’s not the thing I do that pays the rent or puts food on the table. That doesn’t mean I don’t take it seriously. It’s a fundamentally solitary process and it’s easy to get lost in your own little world and things that sound great in your head don’t always hit right with an audience. The one thing I will say to and aspiring writers is this: if you’r expecting people to take time out of their lives to come and see your work specifically when there are so many other high profile theatres and cultural venues in Greater Manchester then treat your audience with some respect and credit their intelligence. If your work gets picked then for a short time you’re the centre of attention which is what all writers want to be whether they admit it or not. The Lyceum continues to exist because it quietly gets on with doing what it does very well without any of the publicity or funding that other venues attract. Long may they continue to do so.
Please print the submission form and include a copy with your script. The form will not be seen by judges.
BOOK YOUR TICKET NOW FOR THE WINNING PERFORMANCES. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MARCH 2027
