Second Stage and Play Readings Announced at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre

A rehearsed reading of excerpts from brand new plays submitted to Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre will take place at the theatre later this month, followed by four play readings throughout the summer.

Second Stage, from 7pm on Monday 23 May, will present new writing by authors from across the UK, including Steven Bloomer, Cara Christie, Annie Fox, Elizabeth Godber, Lel Meleyal, and Jingan Young.

After the readings, audience members can meet the playwrights for an informal post-show discussion.

The SJT's Assistant Producer and Literary Co-ordinator, Fleur Hebditch, says: "Last year over 300 plays were submitted to the Stephen Joseph Theatre. This New Writing showcase celebrates some of those plays that we think you will enjoy."

Later this year the theatre will present rehearsed readings of four new full-length plays that have been submitted to our literary department. They are:

Hen by Lily Bevan (20 June): Lucy is expecting a Hen weekend of rude balloons, drinking games and good stories. Her mother's unexpected arrival is the first of many unwelcome surprises as a storm arrives and the Hens are cut off with only prosecco and their own secret struggles with depression, ambition, love and deep Hen rage. Yet the silent power of the mythical Welsh mountain is the strongest force at work, and the local storyteller transforms the weekend into a very different kind of party.

Big Kids by James McDermott (18 July): Big Kids is a storytelling show about four Norfolk teenagers who want to stay kids forever. Then one of them loses their single parent, two of them get pregnant and the other starts to transition. It's an exploration of growing up, queer teenage life in coastal Norfolk and how we all perform adulthood.

This is Not America by Joshua Val Martin (22 August): Idris lives in the shadow of his precocious sister Nusiba, seemingly unable to ever do enough to impress his Dad. His girlfriend gives him an ultimatum - find a job or lose the love of his life. Then he's offered the chance to escape. To Mars. Idris can't think why he'd want to stay on earth, but can think of many reasons why he'd blast himself into space and reach for a new future for the human race.

Daffodils by Rachel Horner (19 September): Sienna. Peach. Marie. Three sisters who haven't spoken in years. After a death in the family, they are thrown back into each other's lives. They laugh, drink, fight and cry as they try to make sense of their world which will never be the same again.

Second Stage and the play readings are all rehearsed readings by professional actors, many of them from the local area. They all start at 7pm, and tickets, priced at £5, are available from the box office on 01723 370541 and online at www.sjt.uk.com.