London Horror Festival

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Calling all writers and horror fans! To celebrate our 5th year and as part of our dedication to support new work in the horror theatre world, this year the London Horror Festival and the Etcetera Theatre are teaming up to host a short playwriting competition with the guiding theme ‘It’s not what it seems …’

We are looking for unique, dark and intimate storytelling to terrify and disturb our opening night audience. We welcome entries from anyone and everyone, whether you are a first time scribe or a seasoned horror theatre pro. If you have a penchant for writing and a love for horror we can’t wait to hear from you.

Submissions are open from now until Saturday 15th August, after which the festival team will shortlist 3 plays to be staged by a professional cast and crew at The Etcetera Theatre, one of London’s top fringe venues and official home of the London Horror Festival. The plays will be performed on Monday 5th October, at the opening night of the 2015 festival.

And for one lucky writer, there will be an amazing special prize… The overall winning play, which will be chosen and announced on the night by a special guest judge, will be automatically granted a 3 night performance slot at the Black Box Festival in January 2016, with the opportunity to stage a fully developed production of their play!

Below are the competition requirements:

• Submissions should be between 10-15 minutes long
• Plays should be written to the theme of ‘It’s not what it seems…’ and fit into the horror genre. Be imaginative with this! The more creatively this is interpreted the better!
• The play must be set in one room only
• The play must be limited to two characters.
• To give you an idea of the performance space the specs of the Etcetera are as follows:
– The stage is 5m wide x 3m70 deep.
– Two entrances are downstage left (main theatre entrance) and upstage left (to the dressing room).
– The dressing room links back to the main corridor so both entrances can be used during the performance.
– We have a number of furniture items available (chairs, stools, bench, tables, sofa)
– Due to health and safety regulations, the fire exit signs have to be on so be aware the theatre can’t go to complete black.
• Submission deadlines are Saturday 15th August, 2015. Entries received after this time will not be considered.
• Shortlisted plays will be announced in September.
• Plays should be submitted by email, in Word or PDF formats.

So embrace your dark side and get writing! This is a unique opportunity to be part of the 5th year of the London Horror Festival and see your deepest, darkest stories brought to life on a London stage! Please send submissions and any enquiries to lhf@etceteratheatre.com