BBC Writersroom Talent Search Launched

26 Oct 2011

The University of Salford and BBC Writersroom North are pleased to announce the launch of Write by the Quays, a joint University of Salford and BBC Writersroom North talent search to mark the launch of Media City.

Launched on 18 October 2011, the talent search offers students at the University of Salford the unique opportunity to write ten minute plays about or inspired by Salford in partnership with the BBC.

The winning plays will be performed at the BBC’s Media City site, for an audience of BBC staff, to mark the launch of Media City, offer students a chance to work with BBC Writersroom North, and offer a BBC audience the chance to learn about Salford from the students’ work.

The competition will be judged by actress Shobna Gulati, currently playing the role of Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street, and director Tamara Harvey, Associate Director at the Bush Theatre in London and a selector for the National Student Drama Festival.

Kate Rowland, Creative Director of New Writing at the BBC, and Jennifer Tuckett, Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Salford, will make up the rest of the judging panel.

Six winning plays will be selected from the talent search, which is open to students across the University of Salford.

Winning plays will be directed by Elizabeth Newman, Associate Director at the Octagon Theatre Bolton, one of the region’s leading theatres, who also runs the theatre’s new writing department.

Rehearsals of the winning plays will be open to students across the University to learn from observing a professional director at work, and the search will also involve student actors and filmmakers as part of the showcase.

In addition to the BBC showcase, finalists for the competition will also spend a day at the Bush Theatre in London, building on the links between London and Media City.

Lecturer in Creative Writing Jennifer Tuckett said: “Over the last three years, the University of Salford has been delighted to work with BBC Writersroom North as part of our Playwriting Network partnerships with the scriptwriting industry. In fact, the last two winners of the BBC Future Talent Award have come from the University of Salford – from the School of Music, Media and Performance and from the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences. This competition offers students, the University of Salford and the BBC a unique opportunity to build on this relationship as well as to celebrate and mark our joint move to Media City”.

For more details on the competition, please contact Jennifer Tuckett at j.tuckett@salford.ac.uk.