“Making real and relevant the impact of human rights on our everyday lives.”
iceandfire and Amnesty International UK launched the 2008 ‘Protect the Human’ playwriting competition on May 6th 2008. By pairing up to create the competition our aim is to harness theatre's ability to make real and relevant the impact of human rights on our everyday lives. To do this we are looking for insightful and engaging plays that imaginatively interpret this aim.
Submission window: July 28th – August 1st 2008
All submissions will be read by a panel of theatre professionals including Olivier award winning actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor. The three finalists will receive rehearsed readings at the Soho Theatre in December 2008 with the winning play receiving a prize of £3000 and readings at The Birmingham Rep; Theatre Royal Plymouth; West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds and a London venue on 10th December 2008 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
What are human rights?
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets out those rights that each individual requires to live a life with dignity. The declaration sees human rights as the basis for freedom, justice and peace in the world and that all human beings are endowed with reason and conscience. The rights that everyone should have include the right to asylum, freedom of expression and right to work.
Click here for more info »
Where to Start
Human rights are not just a legal concept but real, immediate requirements for a life to be lived well. The abuse, ridicule, debasement of human rights is happening every day, everywhere and without this being recognised and communicated the quality and worth of people’s lives are being devalued. This could have happened to you; you may have seen it taking place on the street where you live; been told stories that illustrate human rights issues or watched events played out in the media. It is also true that human rights are championed, celebrated and validated and we welcome work that sees all the different impacts that human rights can have on peoples’ lives.
What We Don’t Want
We are interested in imaginative and excellent theatre. We are not interested in scripts that are didactic, preaching or dogmatic.
| Stage One |
Window for submissions |
July 28th - August 1st 2008 |
| Stage Two |
Finalists announced |
October 20th 2008 |
| Stage Three |
Rehearsed Readings of Finalists at Soho Theatre, London |
December 1st – 3rd 2008 |
| Stage Four |
Rehearsed readings of winning play in London; West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds; Theatre Royal Plymouth; The Birmingham Rep |
December 10th 2008 |
Stage One
- Submissions: July 28th – August 1st 2008. Please do not send anything before or after these dates as it will not be read. If scripts are postmarked for this period we will accept them up to three days after the deadline.
- What to include: 3 COPIES of your script plus a 50 word synopsis and a short description of the inspiration for your play.
- POST (we cannot accept emailed or faxed submissions) to: Protect the Human Playwriting Competition, iceandfire, Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LS. We will not be able to return scripts so please do not send your only copy.
Stage Two
- The finalists will be announced on October 20th 2008.
- Writers of the finalists will have two script meetings with a dramaturge in October/November 2008
Stage Three
- The finalists will have a rehearsed reading with professional director and cast on either December 1st, 2nd or 3rd 2008 at Soho Theatre, London.
Stage Four
- The winning play will receive a prize of £3000
- Rehearsed readings of the winning play will take place in London; Theatre Royal Plymouth; West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds and The Birmingham Rep on the 10th December 2008 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Downloads:
Introduction »
How to Enter »
Rules »
Past Competitions:
Protect the Human 2007 »
"Soho Theatre creates original new work that challenges the status quo by igniting the imaginations of writers, artists and audiences. We develop theatre relevent to London lives in celebration of free expression, social justice, interculturalism and internationalism. We are proud to be associated with the Protect the Human playwriting competition, which supports dynamic new voices and challenges writers to engage with the vital contemporary issue of human rights, expressing their passions and concerns through theatre."
Nina Steiger, Head of Writer’s Centre, Soho Theatre
"Theatre is a natural forum for complex issues to be explored and debated. Human rights are often dismissed as things that other people need, usually people living halfway across the globe. What I find so exciting about this competition is that it harnesses the power of theatre to explore and make sense of human rights issues by providing a high quality platform for dynamic and imaginative plays which communicate stories of import to us all."
Chiwetel Ejiofor, actor
|
|
|
