Short plays will take centre stage as the North Queensland Festival of One-Act Plays makes its return to Riverway Arts Centre on 5–7 May 2017.

A long-term partnership between Townsville City Council and the Friends of the Theatre, the annual festival is celebrating 25 years in Townsville this year. The festival gives both groups and individual amateur thespians the opportunity to perform on stage and be critiqued on their work by an industry professional.

The Festival is competitive, with the unenviable task of choosing the winners this year going to a special guest adjudicator, Michael Futcher, Co-Artistic Director of the acclaimed Brisbane theatre, The Matrix. After completing his schooling and university study in Townsville, Michael has worked on more than 100 professional stage performances over the past 25 years in various capacities and has enjoyed close associations with all of Queensland’s leading arts organisations as director, writer and actor.

The annual festival is open to groups from across the region from Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands, right down to Rockhampton and west to Mount Isa.

Community and Culture Committee chair Cr Colleen Doyle said the festival played a great role in the development of theatrical talent in the region and was growing in popularity each year.

“We had an overwhelming number of entries in the past few years and this year will hopefully be no exception as the entries are coming in thick and fast at the moment and we may even have a waitlist for the first time ever!” Cr Doyle said.

“After the success of last year’s high number of unpublished plays and the exposure given to some unknown local writers, this year we have seen an increase again in local writers, which is also very exciting.

“There have been hundreds of plays presented from right across the region since the festival began 25 years ago, providing us with a great weekend of theatrical entertainment.”

Festival goers can take the opportunity to enjoy a whole weekend of the festival for just $36 or choose a session from Friday to Sunday for $18 each. 

Tickets are available from www.ticketshop.com.au or by phoning the box office on 4727 9797.