10x10 New Writing Festival
' 'Startlingly good' Sir Ian McKellen
My long-held passion for new writing and the lack of opportunities for writers back in the early 2000s, resulted in me setting up the biennial 10x10 New Writing Festival in 2008, which I co-founded with my playwright husband, Jonathan Edgington, in partnership with the former Nuffield Theatre.
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10x10 was conceived as a vital new writing platform with a clear ambition: to discover, develop, and produce original work by exciting voices — both emerging and established. It launched with the staging of ten short plays by the ten members of Nuffield Theatre's Writers' Group (among them my husband), led by John Burgess, the theatre's Script Executive and former Head of New Writing at the National Theatre (1984 - 1994). |
"I am incredibly proud of what was achieved with 10x10. |
As word spread about 10x10's success, play submissions began arriving from across the UK, Europe and as far afield as the USA and South America. Between 2008 and 2018, hundreds of plays were read by a dedicated panel, each one assessed anonymously to eliminate unconscious bias and open the door to writers of all abilities. From these, ten finalists were selected to receive a full production at the 10x10 New Writing Festival.
Over ten years I was director and producer, the festival gave sixty plays their fully-staged world premiere. Beyond the writers themselves, 10x10 collaborated with hundreds of directors, creatives and actors — creating a genuine community around new work. For many of the writers, it proved a real springboard: plays went on to enjoy success at festivals across the country, most notably at Edinburgh and Brighton, as well as on the London Fringe, with some finding audiences as far afield as India and Australia.
As well as being the Producer and Festival Director, I also directed four of the winning plays: Rook, Raven, Crow (2018) The Golden Years (2016) Burger Boy (2014) and Shakespeare's Women (2012).
Rook, Raven, Crow
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The Golden Years
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Burger Boy
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Shakespeare's Women
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Testimonies'Being part of the 10x10 New Writing Festival was an absolute privilege' 'The experience of having my play selected and staged gave me great confidence and I haven't looked back' Winning gave me a huge confidence boost to continue to write and develop scripts. ...the experience of sitting in a theatre and hearing people laugh at lines that I've written was beyond compare.' |
Production Photography: © Tony Rogers
After ten wonderful years, the final curtain came down on the 10x10 Festival in October 2018. I am hugely grateful to everyone who was part of the journey — most especially to Tony, whose brilliant sound, lighting and video design elevated every production. Heartfelt thanks also to the many writers, directors, creative teams and actors who, year after year, helped make it something truly special. A copy of the 2018 10x10 Festival programme is available to download.
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