Welcome to Scripts Ireland's Playwriting Festival

2019 Winner Announced 

Offaly’s own John Grogan was crowned the overall winning playwright at the Festival Finale, Nurtured New Works at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre last Saturday night. His play The Adjustment was chosen by the esteemed judging panel Eugene O’Brien, Gina Moxley and Jesse Weaver of the Abbey Theatre Literary Department and was also performed by one of the country’s most revered theatre actors, Cathy Belton. As part of the prize, the Croghan native will now receive a private consultation and script analysis at the Abbey Theatre.

This year’s programme was jam-packed with high-quality performances and workshops for all theatre lovers. Weekend Warrior, written and performed by Tony Doyle, opened the festival at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre last Thursday.

Two site-specific pieces will also live long in the memory; Gone Full Havisham in the Bridal Suite in Dooly’s Hotel and Car Show, an immersive theatre experience that drove the audience through six different stories around Birr. 

The State of Play, a new four-part radio documentary series interrogating the art of playwriting was recorded as part of the festival. Producer Siobhán Donnellan (Winner of Scripts 2013) and Ruth Smith (RTÉ Radio One Simply Folk) documented the playwriting process through interviews with the three selected playwrights, feedback from mentor Eugene O’Brien, insight into the festival from directors Angela Ryan-Whyte and Lisa Daly and commentary from professional actors as to what they look for in a strong play/script. The series will be broadcast on Midlands 103 in 2020. 

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Taking place in Birr, Co Offaly, Scripts Ireland’s Playwriting Festival creates unique opportunities for playwrights to have their work developed and produced. The scripts most suited for development will be chosen by the selection panel headed by playwright Eugene O'Brien.

Angela, Lisa, Emma, Eugene, Ciara & Rebecca

The Scripts Team