Tag: new writing

KDC ScratchNight: March 2026

KDC Theatre ScratchNight
Friday 6th March 2026, 7:30pm
The Castle, E1 1LN

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ScratchNight is a celebration of new writing and the KDC community: its actors, directors and, of course, the writers. Join us for an evening of script-in-hand performances of brand new works: giving writers a chance to hear their words read aloud by a talented gang of actors, under the direction of budding KDC directors.

THE SHOWS: 

“Tiramisu!“, by Sam McNally, directed by Aouda Ketrouci
“Still“, by Jack Curtin, directed by Jennie Foot
“Totem“, by Alex Ansdell, directed by Azul Alysum
“My Little Island“, by Mark Daniels, directed by Lucy Harper

Performances are followed by audience feedback and discussion, moderated by KDC’s Artistic Director Stephen Reimer.

Cast:

Tiramisu!
by Sam McNally

Directed by Aouda Ketrouci
LUCY – Phoebe Benson
JAMES – Reece Webster

Still
by Jack Curtin

Directed by Jennie Foot
LEWIS – Tom Louis
CLAIRE – Léopoldine Apra
ROBERT – Rufus Walkden
DAVID – Antonin Delair
HARRIET – Sarah Jost

Totem
by Alex Ansdell

Directed by Azul Alysum
THE VISITOR – Nadir Ketrouci
THE GATHERER – Anja Fahlenkamp
THE GIRL – Sophie Bareford
THE CHILD – Valentina Pacifico

My Little Island
by Mark Daniels

Directed by Lucy Harper
GARY – Julia Blyth
THEO – Oscar Sadler

Good Time: Good Enough

Good Time: Good Enough

Thursday 26th February 2026, 19:30
The Castle, 44 Commercial Road, Aldgate, London E1 1LN

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After a wild, sold out night in December, we’re doing Good Time: Good Enough again to meet the demands of an adoring public. Some of the same japes, plus some new stuff, all (still) Good Enough!

GOOD TIME is not just a show, it’s a night out.  A place to revel in weirdness, whimsy and wildness.

Produced by a collective of performers, producers, comedians and creatives who love exciting stages and never want the night to end, we’re here to create one to remember.  A night for fun.  A night for watching brilliant people do brilliant stuff, and having a proper dance afterwards.

As the looming spectre of sequel slump watches over us, the theme of our night will be GOOD ENOUGH…

Who needs excellence when good enough will do? Join us for an evening that bravely refuses to aim too high. These are stories of people striving (half-heartedly), settling (enthusiastically), and learning to embrace mediocrity in all its glory.

What does it mean to be good enough and do you really care? This is theatre for anyone who’s ever thought, meh, close enough.

@goodtime_productions

KDC Theatre Scratch Night

KDC Theatre Scratch Night

Thursday 23 October 2025, 19:30
The Castle, E1 1LN

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About

ScratchNight is a celebration of new writing and the KDC community: its actors, directors and, of course, the writers. Join us for an evening of script-in-hand performances of brand new works: giving writers a chance to hear their words read aloud by a talented gang of actors, under the direction of budding KDC directors.

The plays:

  • “Sorry for the Inconvenience” by Aouda Ketrouci
  • “NewsRightNow Dot Com” by Robert Emlyn Slater
  • “The Seal” by Iain Prest
  • “The Risotto is Burning” by Sophie Underwood

Performances are followed by audience feedback and discussion, moderated by KDC’s Artistic Director Stephen Reimer.

Cast:

Sorry for the Inconvenience
by Aouda Ketrouci

Directed by James Taverner
MIX – Jen Zhao
JORDAN – Celeste North Finocchi
HUDDLE/NICK – Theo Tompkins
REP – Helen Dickens
OPS MANAGER – Anja Fahlenkamp

NewsRightNow Dot Com
 by Robert Emlyn Slater

Directed by Janina Enrile
WRITER – Karl Duckworth
EDITOR – Grace Over
AMANDA – Sophie Bareford
SALLY – Sarah Berryman
JAMES – Clovis Parker-Jervis
PAUL – Nikos Kipouros

The Seal
by Iain Prest

Directed by Dianna Kessler
TOM – Theo Tompkins
MATT – Harry York

The Risotto is Burning
by Sophie Underwood

Directed by Flick Hemming
ANNABELLE – Lillie Barlow
BENJAMIN – Nikos Kipouros
LEAH – Nina Holland-Smith
LAYLA – Maia Codabaccus
MADDIE/CHARLIE – Molly Stewart-Murray

Solstice

KDC Theatre presents Solstice, a themed night of new short plays.
Sat 21-Mon 23 June 2025
at Rosemary Branch
Tickets: £16.50 (KDC members £12)

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About

Solstice is KDC Theatre’s 9th annual new writing show, featuring 7 new short plays all themed around the solstice.

A solstice marks a point of extreme: the longest day or the longest night. It is a turning point in the calendar year and carries powerful symbolic weight, evoking cycles of growth and decay, hope and loss, light and shadow. Come join us on the summer solstice for a night of brilliant new writing covering a range of genres and moods.

PROGRAMME

Plays:
Green Wire, Yellow Wire – by T K Tansey
Holmes and Watson at Breakfast – by Rom Watson
Reprise – by Ken Preuss
Solstheist – by Cam Eickmeyer
Uber – by Ron Rosenfeld
Unreasonable Situations – by Lindsey Brown
Words To That Effect – by F J Hartland

Cast:
Cassandra Fothergill
Marina Fraser
Ksanet Ghebrehawariat
Benjamin Hack
Aissa Hussain
Lucy Harper
Nikos Kipouros
Hugh Laughton-Scott
Martin Loesche
Peter Molloy
Juliette Moore
Laura Morgan
Olivia Peacock
Oscar Sadler
Megan Sheerin

Directors:
Ben Anadolu
Azul Alysum
Sarah Jost
Alexander Kampmann
Matthew Partridge
Saskia van ‘t Hoff

Summer 2025 show: Full stack – actors needed!

Announcing auditions for our summer production!

Our 9th annual Full Stack show will be staged at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, London from Sat 21 June to Mon 23 June 2025.

The winning plays of our writing competition Full Stack will be staged by our directors, in an anthology show of short plays about the solstice. Each play will feature the solstice in one way or another; a change, a sunset or sunrise, or transitions. You can check out the original prompt here.

For more information, check out the audition notice here: Solstice

Auditions are free and open to all. Please choose one of the dates to attend and read the audition notice to prepare. We are expecting Tuesday to be busier.

Don’t forget to fill out the audition form before you audition!

Dates: Mon 5 May (Theatre Deli) or Tues 6th May (The Cockpit Theatre) 2025
Time: 19:00-22:00
Location: Monday: Theatre Deli, 107 Leadenhall Street, London EC3A 4AF (near Bank or Liverpool St station)
Tuesday: The Cockpit Theatre, Gatefort St, London NW8 8EH (near Marylebone or Edgware Road)

Recalls by invitation on Sat 10 May, 15:00-18:00, The Cockpit Theatre. Don’t worry if you can’t make the whole block of time, but please do flag this at first round auditions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Summer 2025 show: Full stack – writers needed!

Writers wanted for our 9th annual Full Stack new writing competition, our yearly invite to writers experienced and new to get out their keyboards and start a-tapping! We’re looking for short scripts for an anthology show to be staged in summer 2025 (likely second half of June 2025).

The brief

The theme for our Full Stack Summer 2025 show is…SOLSTICE.

Solstice

A solstice marks a moment of extreme: the longest day or the longest night. It is a turning point in the calendar year, observed across centuries and cultures as a time of ritual, reflection, and change. But beyond its astronomical roots, solstice carries powerful symbolic weight – evoking cycles of growth and decay, hope and loss, light and shadow.

We’re looking for new plays that explore transitions: between seasons, states of mind, relationships, political eras, or phases of life.

Any genre is welcome (and we’d love to see a variety of different approaches that we can combine into a balanced show).

We’d love to see plays that explore turning points, rituals, extremes, light and dark, endings and beginnings, and/or a clear sense of mood or shift – whether political, personal, environmental, emotional or spiritual.

Some ideas to spark your thinking:

  • A character facing a moment they can’t come back from
  • A story set over the course of one long night (or day)
  • A community waiting for light to return or reckoning with its absence
  • Personal transformation that mirrors seasonal change
  • Time as an unseen force in the story

Constraints:

  • Maximum length: 15 minutes – your play can be shorter, of course!
  • Cast: 1-3 actors – more characters are possible if actors double (or triple) up.
  • Staging: As this is an anthology show, we are looking for plays that can be staged with minimal set and props which could be quickly brought on and removed by the actors. Scenic projections are not possible and there should be minimal lighting and sound cues.
  • Please note: This is an amateur production and not a paid opportunity. By submitting your script to us, you are giving us permission to perform the script in our Full Stack 2025 show.

How to submit:

  • Deadline: Monday 21st April 2025, 18:00 UK time zone

To submit:

  • Please fill out the form linked here. As part of this, you will be asked to upload your script in pdf format.

Next steps:

  • We will notify all writers if their scripts have been chosen for the show or not by mid-May 2025.
  • Any questions, please contact James Taverner on james@kdctheatre.com.

The Plan: A Festival of New Writing

Our summer show, “The Plan” presents new short plays by different writers, the 2024 winners in KDC Theatre’s 8th annual new writing competition. All plays start with the same opening line:

“It’s not like we planned it.”

Our writers have taken that opening line and created their stories of what comes next. Each night will present rehearsed readings of new short plays, so be sure to come to both (and get a 15% discount if you book for both nights)!

Location: Drayton Arms Theatre
Dates & time: Tues 25 & Wed 26 June 2024, 7.30pm
Ticket prices: £16.50 / £12 for KDC members (15% discount if you book for both shows)
Run time: 90 minutes, plus interval

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Tuesday 25 June
The Plan by Nigel Bell
Crossing Lines by Ken Preuss
Cue by Kate Danley
Godot’s Park Bench by J.J. Steinfeld
Slow Our Ship by Arianna Rose
Unplanned Planet by J. Ivanel Johnson
Agent X19 by Christian Simonsen
Spaced Out by Jennifer Walker

Wednesday 26 June
Who Am I Again by Liam D Gillies
The Trap by Peadar Donnelly
Goats & Bananas by Susanna Wolff
Bacon Sandwich by Simon Fisher
Deja Zoo by Brett Hursey
It’s Not Like We Planned It by David Salisbury
It’s Not Like We Planned It by V.B. Rankin
The Journey by Tara Kitson
The Cactus by Robert Emlyn Slater

Cast
Andreea Rediu
Anita Fuentes Mejia
Grace Over
Ida Axling
Jennifer Nettles
Jozef Radovsky
Julie Addy
Katie Gambold
Kelsey McOwat
Melanie Constance
Princess Williams
Rosie Pierce
Rufus Walkden
Sashini Wijesekera
Tom Bisgood
Zach Matcham

Directors
Sanhita Athalye
Jason Jodjana
Lucas Irwin
Ben Anadolu
Matthew Partridge
Azul Alysum
Alice Kellar
Anna Markland
Dean Reilly

A Package Deal

Join KDC Theatre in our 7th annual new writing anthology, and experience a collection of stories about a mysterious package sent by Charlie. Everything from poorly planned prison break outs and intergalactic missions, to ex-boyfriends and moments of intergenerational connection; come along to find out… what’s in the box?

Our summer show, “A Package Deal” presents 6 new short plays by 6 different writers, the 2023 winners in KDC Theatre’s annual new writing competition.

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27 June – 1 July 2023, 7:30pm
Hen & Chickens Theatre, 109 St Paul’s Road, London N1 2NA

CAST AND CREW

Cast

Sanhita Athalye
Vincent Bakare
Labrini Balomenou
Mhairi Boyle
Rachel Brown
Laurence Childs
Peadar Donnelly
Honor Leveson Gower
Kelsey McOwat
Esme Niblett
Nathan Paul-Collis
Gabriel Romero Day
Adam Stockley
Toni Tobi-Lawal

Writers: Chelyn Cousar, Beth Dickens Assaf, Pamela Kingsley, Maya Owen, Matthew Partridge, Chris Stooke.

Directors: Elshadai Biru, Anna Markland, Zora Owen, Linda Reddy, Ayan Said, Lauren Stevens, Lena Sami.

WRITING COMPETITION

The Full Stack project is KDC Theatre’s annual new writing competition and show. Each year we set a brand new brief, and invite writers to submit new short plays. The winning entries are honed into a one-of-a-kind intertwined production, with a group of actors, directors and writers collaborating to bring the theme to life.

When it Hits the Air: An Evening with KDC Theatre’s New Writers


The terror. The excitement! THE ANTICIPATION! These are the things going through a writer’s head when that thing they wrote is read out loud, in an actual theatre. Come and support the new cohort of KDC Theatre’s New Writing Group in their creative exploits with an evening of rehearsed readings that celebrate all manner of creations and experimentations. Be surprised and entertained by new plays written by the next generation of playwrights – and be the very first to hear them!

There’s no telling how this will turn out, because when it hits the air, it’s an entirely different story.

Run time

Appr. 70-80 minutes, no interval
Saturday 29 April, 7pm
Tickets £5

Ticket link: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/kdctheatre/896914

Age restrictions
14+

Cast list
Eloise McCreedy
Peadar Donnelly
Stephen Grist
Ahmet Cakir
Clive Moffatt
Simran Dhadda
Benjamin Gustilo
Stephen Reimer
Delaney Conway
Hülya Corty
Lorna Miri

Creatives list
Featuring the writings of Paul White, Anie Hu, Chris Stooke, Honor Leveson Gower, Elshadai Tesfaye, Arthur Pierce, Lauren Page, Natasha Porcella, Matthew Partridge, and Will Bird

Produced by Matthew Partridge and Stephen Reimer.

Directed by Arthur Pierce, Chris Stooke, Anie Hu, Matthew Partridge, and Elshadai Tesfaye

Special thanks to KDC Theatre’s New Writing Development Group co-convenor Rachael Carnes.

You spoke: our Full Stack theme for 2021

The results are in! This year’s Full Stack theme will be Obsession. Many thanks for all the suggestions, and congrats to the winning theme – read on for all the information on Full Stack 2021.

We’re looking for short scripts in any genre for an anthology show in the summer, so get your thinking caps on.

The full brief for submissions is as follows:

Theme: Obsession

Mandatory prop to use / mention: bottle of cheap wine

The format for Full Stack is designed to encourage simplicity and efficiency of storytelling, so submissions need to:

  • Be no longer than 4 sides of A4 paper (ie. about 8 minutes)
  • Have no more than 3 actors needed
  • Include your name & date written

Your script can be shorter than 4 pages, and/or have more than 3 characters (as long as 3 actors can portray them all). You can submit as many scripts as you like!

Please send your scripts to newwriting@kdctheatre.com, by 26 March. Happy writing!

More information

For more information on Full Stack and the anthology show, visit our Full Stack page. For more information on our new writing opportunities, visit our New Writing page. You can also send our New Writing Coordinator a message via our contact form.

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