Page to Stage Festival, Liverpool, 13-27 Sep

Following the success of Manchester’s recent 24:7 festival, September sees Liverpool play host to a similar venture, showcasing eight examples of new writing as part of the aptly named Page to Stage Festival. A response to the discontinuation of Write Now Festival, Page to Stage aims to fill the void left by its predecessor, continuing to provide a platform not only for new writing but for local actors, directors and technicians to showcase their talents.

Exciting enough it may seem, but Page to Stage has an ace up its sleeve. For six of its 14-day run, none other than the World Museum houses the festival, in a space virtually unknown to even the most discerning theatre-goer: the Treasure House Theatre.

Hidden away on the first floor of the museum, unbeknownst to staff member and public alike, the 90-seat theatre was built as part of the 2005 refurbishment and has been largely underused – until now.

Seven of the eight festival plays will be performed at the museum over the second week of the festival; the eighth being a site-specific piece based in a public house. The festival itself commences on 13 September at 81 Renshaw Street with performances of Second Chance Saloon (a collaborative piece by members of Merseyside Script Initiative) and Venus Rising (written by local playwright Ian Salmon). Spilling into The Pilgrim pub, the Bluecoat, Bold Street’s House, and the Lantern Theatre, the festival infiltrates Liverpool’s most competent fringe spaces.

The Northwest is fast establishing a reputation as a hotbed for new writing, and hopefully Page to Stage Festival will prove another addition to a fruitful fringe scene.