24 hour first for Tameside

Date published: 21 August 2010

Tameside Council’s Theatre Arts team is supporting the borough’s first ever 24 hour Play Festival.

Could be car-crash, could be a classic, but one thing’s for sure it will be an exciting 24 hours for Hyde Festival Theatre on September 3 and 4.

A group of 24 local and regional based actors (professional and amateur), six writers and six directors will meet for the first time at 10pm on Friday September 3.

After being split into six mini-theatre production companies, comprising of four actors, a writer and director, the groups will have less than 24 hours to write, rehearse and perform an original play.

The writers will have overnight to prepare the script, which will last around 15 minutes, and then from 8.30am the next morning the actors will have until 7pm to perfect their performance!

To add a further excitement, the actors will each bring a prop, completely of their choice, which the writer must incorporate into the script.

Doors to the Festival Theatre will open at 7pm and at 7.30pm the curtain will rise on, hopefully, six mini-master pieces!

Tameside Council’s Theatre Arts Team is supporting the 24 hour event by helping out with the mechanics of the night, photocopying scripts, providing hospitality and generally supporting the smooth running of the event.

Cllr John Sullivan, Tameside’s lead councillor for theatre arts said: “This is a great first for Tameside’s theatre arts community and I’m delighted to see the council playing such an important role in helping to promote such a great event as this. It promises to be a wonderful evening of entertainment and not least surprises!”