New writing past and present celebrated at Ilkley Playhouse

ILKLEY Playhouse has successfully launched its 8x8x8 playwriting competition. Artistic Director, Jay Cundell-Walker, is thrilled with the number of plays being submitted and the wide scope of the entries, with some coming from Italy and Switzerland as well as many parts of Britain.The deadline is not until 21st September so please keep them rolling in!

The winning eight plays, each of eight minutes, will be performed at the Playhouse in December and our panel of judges and celebrity guest judges are raring to go!

We are looking forward to re-opening and we are planning as much as we can for a range of events to entice our audiences back. The 8x8x8 competition is going to be a key attraction, we hope!

One of the judges of our current competition is long-standing member, Ian Wilson. Ian has reminded us that back in 1967 and again in 1969, Ilkley Playhouse took part in the West Riding’s International Theatre Month. How brilliant that at what will seem a long time ago to some readers, the idea of global theatre was seen to be so vital.

Playhouse archivist, Ann Mutton, began the search and has found some wonderful photos, reviews and programmes of these two events.

The first competition attracted 65 entries from ‘all over Britain and from South Africa, Nigeria, Canada, America, Scandinavia and Europe’, according to the Gazette!

The winning play, in 1967, was The Emigrants written by a Leeds playwright, Kay McManus and the prize was £50, as well as seeing the play performed at Ilkley.

There was a reception before the World Premiere performance at the Playhouse followed by a Gala Evening at the Winter Gardens. There are some wonderful photos from The Bradford Pictorial of this black tie event...a fabulous glimpse into the perhaps more glamorous days of the past!

The programme, which also served as the newsletter, described the play as being about ‘A small group of people who wish to emigrate. Each has his or her reasons and for each of them emigration represents a rejection of the past, an escape from truth, from conscience.’ This sounds very topical!

Cast members included Mary Ambler and Mari Aspinall, who are still much valued members. David Wildman both acted in the play and designed the set and it is a telling reminder of the debt IP has to David that the 8x8x8 plays will be performed in the eponymous Wildman studio theatre. The play was directed by Ian Wilson who suggested the original competition and who is one of our judges.

The winner of the 1969 competition was The Mannin Line by Nancy Gaffikin. There were even more entries: 76 in total, mainly from Britain but again attracting submissions from America, Canada, South Africa, Malta and Uganda. This play was a Norse saga, set in the ninth century on the Isle of Man! The set and costumes were designed by David Wildman, Ian Wilson was the director and many familiar names and current members were associated with it and mentioned in the programme.

This play, too, was underpinned by serious intent and was described as being about ‘the conflicting religious faiths of early Christendom and pagan Norsemen ....interwoven into a powerful story which is meticulously based on historical fact.’ The younger members of the Playhouse cast, Catherine Edwards, Deborah Lobley, Philip Wilde and Tim Addlesee were praised in the review and it is great to know that the Playhouse has always tried to encourage and support our youth members.

New writing at the Playhouse has a long and impressive tradition. We took part in the BT new writing initiatives, members have performed their own work and our Fringe productions have brought more new writing and contemporary work to our audiences. The Walter Swan Playwriting competition, in honour of another of our Artistic Directors, was a successful initiative, in partnership with the then West Yorkshire Playhouse and attracted over a 100 submissions. The three best plays were performed at the Playhouse.

In times of upheaval it is good to take stock, perhaps, and look back and then look forward.

Our current new writing competition has been inspired by the restraints and challenges of CV-19. We hope it has inspired creativity and that it will encourage audiences, directors, actors and all our community to continue to support and value local theatre and IP.

The main thrust of the competition is a ‘fresh start’ so we hope the plays and the productions will work together to form an inspiring and positive evening.