I’m delighted to announce that the following make up the longlist for our 2020 Open Radio Play competition.
- Acedia by Judith Inseon
- Anna Freud is Dead! by Phillip Marriot
- Classic Zom by Matt Wixey
- Ecosystem X by Amber Elen-Forbat
- Fatima by Sigita Vesele
- Fresher by Richard Brabin
- Grandfather is Dead by C Lyengar
- Miniature Pineapples by Simon Rowe
- One Dead Dog by Olivia Neale
- Roadkill by J. Weintraub
- Shampoo the Carpet by Declan Kennedy
- Television is Bad for You by Mark Blayney
- The Last Parent-Teacher Meeting by Denise Deegan
- Tomatoes are Scary by Paul Stone
Warmest congratulations to everyone who made our longlist. Over the next month I’ll be rounding up a team of writing experts to provide feedback on your work, which you will then receive along with a deadline to revise and resubmit before we chose five finalists that will be performed before a live audience here in Paris.
Dates are a little fuzzy at the moment – if you follow me on social media you’ll know things have been a bit rough as of late, but we are mostly on schedule and I’ll keep you up to date as I have more news.
For everyone who missed the list, commiserations, and please don’t stop writing or feeling like a writer because of this. As usual there was enormous diversity in the entries, from plays that didn’t work, to a sadly large number that didn’t meet the entry conditions including one or two really quite good film scripts (hot tip – if you’ve left stage directions/camera instructions in your script I’m going to figure out it isn’t really a radio play.) There were also some really good plays that on a different day might have made the list. So don’t lose heart, and keep writing.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for tips on how to up your chances next time round, here’s some articles on writing better plays:
Waiting for an Interview in Purgatory: On Originality
The Delights and Dangers of Causing Offence (About writing offensive plays)
Four Questions to make you Ready to Start your Story
On the Importance of Cast Lists
How Long should your Story be?
Don’t Build to a Climax: Start with a Bang!
Thank you so much to everybody who entered our competition and I look forward to working with our longlistees in the coming months.
