New plays will celebrate writing talent from Sunderland

Museum Pieces, which will be staged on Saturday, November 9 at 6pm and 8pm, is the culmination of a nine-month project called Sunderland Stages Writers Project which encouraged and supported Sunderland-based writers for the stage.

Five short plays were selected as part of the project, which is funded by the Great Place Unlock programme with a view to unlocking artistic talent in the city.

Participants were given the opportunity to attend specialist workshops and receive mentoring from established playwrights.

The five chosen artists who will have their pieces professionally performed are: Iain Rowan; Ray Hopkins; Rachel McAleese; Jamie McLeish and Lisa Burns.

Helen Green, head of performance for Sunderland Culture, said: "This project took me over a year to get off the ground from the original idea, but some Great Place Unlock funding has enabled me to provide a crash-course for writers new to writing for the stage.

“They have had the opportunity to listen to established playwrights, attend workshops and discussions about theatre and go and see lots of plays including a trip to Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

“The result is the discovery of some fantastic new play writing talent in Sunderland with five of the writers having the opportunity to work with a director and actors to see their plays performed professionally. I'm very proud of them and look forward to seeing what they produce next.”