Participants Announced for Papatango New Writing Festival & Competition 2012

Having read through all 700 entries, Papatango Theatre Company has announced the long list for this year's Papatango New Writing Competition in association with the Finborough Theatre. The standard of this year's entries was extremely high and cutting it down to just 26 was a very hard but rewarding task. This year's selection represents a truly eclectic mix with playwrights from all over the UK as well as successful international entrants from Ireland, the United States and New Zealand. Papatango thanks everybody who entered and congratulates the 26 playwrights that have made the longlist.

The winning play will receive a fully produced four-week run at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre and have their play published by Nick Hern Books. One runner-up will receive a fully produced three-week run and several plays will receive staged readings during the festival. The festival will take place at the Finborough Theatre from 27 November – 22 December 2012.

The long list, in alphabetical order of title, is:

55 M. SQ by Daniel Davies
BACK HOME CONTEMPLATION by May Sumbwanyambe
CONVICTIONS by Jean Betts
EVERYDAY MAPS FOR EVERYDAY USE by Tom Morton Smith
F.L.U by Bethan Marlow
FREEHOLD by Andrew Carson
HOPE LIGHT AND NOWHERE by Andrew Sheridan
IRISH WOLFHOUND by Rob Hayes
KICKING SNOW by Chris Dunkley
LOOKING FOR THE QUESTIONS NOT THE ANSWERS by Lavinia Roberts
LULLABY by Dominic Leggett
MOTHER GOOSE by Silva Semerciyan
PACK by L K Monaghan
PHOTOS OF YOU SLEEPING by Jane Wainwright
SAMARITAN by Justin Sherin
SIMPLE PROCEDURES by Maev Mac Coille
SPOONS by Sarah Beck
TELEMACHUS by Daniel Kanaber
THE AMERICAN HOTEL by Jaki McCarrick
THE CLOSING by Zachary Woolfe
THE CYCLE by Luke Barnes
THE FOX by Padraic Walsh
THIS HAPPENS THERE by Pamela Carter
THE WEIGHT OF DAYS by Roy Smiles
THESE WOODS ARE MEAN by B. C. Thompson
TURNING THE BLUE WATER RED by Janet Amsden

The longlist has been selected by Papatango Theatre Company. They will also choose the final shortlist, to be announced around 21 August 2012, which will then be judged by a panel of judges that will include, amongst others, Howard Davies (Director), Matt Charman (Playwright), Neil McPherson (Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre), Francis Grin (Literary Manager at the Finborough Theatre), Con O'Neill (Actor), Tanya Tillett (Knight Hall Agency), Blanche McIntyre (former Leverhulme Bursary Associate Director at The National Theatre Studio and the Finborough Theatre, and director of last year's winning play) and the writer of last year's winning play, Foxfinder, Dawn King.

The final shortlist will be announced around 21 August 2012. The winning plays will be announced on 1 September 2012. The winning productions will run at the Finborough Theatre, London, from Tuesday, 27 November to Friday, 22 December 2012.

For a full list of all the judges and full details, please visit the Papatango website at www.papatango.co.uk.