The tenth Scripts: Ireland’s Playwriting Festival, a celebration of contemporary Irish theatre returns to Birr, County Offaly 11-14 July 2024.

This vibrant event transforms the historic Birr Theatre & Arts Centre into a creative hub, featuring staged readings, full productions, and engaging workshops led by talented Irish artists. Scripts is dedicated to showcasing the finest new plays and fostering fresh voices in Irish theatre.

This year, selected writers Dee Roycroft, Conor Montague, and Áine Ryan will work with mentor Eugene O’Brien to develop their plays, which will be performed as rehearsed readings with professional actors at Nurtured New Works on Sunday, 14 July, where a winner will be announced.

The theme of this year’s festival is TIME, reflecting our era’s rapid change, uncertainty, and reflection. Through historical events, dystopian futures, and fleeting human experiences, the plays explore how TIME shapes and is shaped by our world, offering poignant reflections for today’s audiences.