{Act New Plays New Playwrights : Staged Readings}

If you're looking for something different to do on a Sunday night, ACT (The Actors Centre Training) is hosting its 'Act New Plays New Playwrights : Staged Readings' event at The Lantern Theatre in Brighton. This isn't a fully polished production; it's a chance to see new writing come to life for the first time. The event showcases 20-minute extracts from original works written by students who completed ACT's 'Introduction To Playwriting' course, previously led by Mark Burgess. Professional actors perform these pieces 'script-in-hand', giving the audience a direct look at developing drama and offering a fantastic opportunity to support new local voices.

The readings are split across two separate Sundays, both starting at 19:30. The first night is February 15, 2026. Tickets are priced at £6.00 per night. The lineup for the 15th features five distinct pieces, covering a wide range of subjects. You can expect historical drama with Michael Bucke's 'Duckling', which is set in 1857 and involves Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Dickens. There's also Ivan Peron's 'That's How It Is', set in a medieval city, and Heather Lindsley's 'Big Cats', focusing on a couple and their feline companions. The evening rounds out with Seyva Bonin-Brigginshaw's 'Running up a Hill on a Random Friday' and Karen Braysher's new musical, 'My Sweet Robot Love', about Dotty and her guide robot NEKO.

If you can't make the 15th, or want to see more, the second night is February 22, 2026. This evening presents four works, including Martin Quigley's 'Prisoner No 7', which explores Rudolph Hess's time in captivity before the Nuremberg trials. The program also features Graham Lee's love story 'Bounded in a Nutshell', Stamati Crook's 'Resolutions' about a mature couple encountering an old flame, and Ava Aubrey Conboy's 'For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll', centered on a young woman joining a wedding planning company. This event highlights the local talent fostered by ACT, which continues to offer courses like 'Intermediate Playwriting' and 'FRINGE WRITES' for those interested in developing their own stage writing.