Playwriting Festival to be staged in Midlands

Scripts – Ireland’s Playwriting Festival is taking place again in the midlands in July.

The festival marks its eleventh annual outing on July 10-13 in Birr.

Scripts is a dynamic celebration of contemporary Irish theatre, dedicated to nurturing and showcasing the finest new plays from emerging and established playwrights

Set in the picturesque Georgian town of Birr. Scripts brings together playwrights, directors, actors and producers to develop and present riveting new works for stage.

Each year the Festival selects three emerging writers (this year from over 130 submissions) for a week of intensive mentorship (led by mentor Eugene O’Brien) and culminates in live staged readings of their new plays.

The 2025 lineup features a mix of professional productions, workshops and talks. Highlights include live readings of contemporary scripts by acclaimed writers – for example, No Romance: A Desperate Business by Nancy Harris (The Dry – RTE), Counting Swans by Conor Montague (a previous Scripts alumn) and The 3:30 at Cheltenham by Kenneth Hudson. All performances take place at the Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, the festival hub. There are also a series of workshops and panels.

Three writers – Róisín Daly, James Peaty and Lisa Walsh – were selected by the festival’s reading panel to attend a week of mentoring, intensive writing & development. Their new plays will be showcased in the finale event. Grand Finale – Nurtured New Works on Sunday, July 13, at 4pm in Birr Theatre & Arts Centre.

For tickets and event details, check scriptsireland.com