Scene
Night
Short pieces, new writing and work in progress, in front of a room full of fellow artists. Last Friday of the month at The Playhouse, Haggerston, since 2018.
What Scene
Night is
Scene Night is a scratch night. Once a month, on the last Friday, a handful of writers, actors and directors bring a short piece to The Playhouse and try it out in front of an audience. Some of it is brand new. Some of it is a scene from something bigger. Some of it is a first draft that needs to be heard out loud before anyone knows what it is yet.
The night has been running since 2018 and has been the springboard for shows that went on to the Arcola, were produced by the BBC and Amazon Studios, were nominated for the Offies, and many more.
It is run by James Alexandrou, Artistic Director of Playhouse East. We do not invite industry into the room. This is specifically a place for writers, actors and directors to try out new work in front of an audience and get constructive feedback there and then, from a room full of fellow artists, in a discussion James hosts after each piece. It is also a place where collaborators are found, where the Playhouse East community comes together, and, unofficially, where we get to see your work.
It is about the performance and the writing, not the production. The night runs on a basic lighting setup: a general wash, lights up, lights down. You run it yourself, with a helper you bring or someone you find in the Playhouse East community. There is no technician, no set build and no sound design. We recommend you keep it very simple, and we mean that as encouragement.
- We get a lot of applications, and we always pick the best idea.
- Actors, writers, directors and companies are all welcome, solo or as a group.
- New writing, extracts, work in progress, monologues, two-handers and devised pieces all fit.
- Pieces run up to 15 minutes. Keep it tight: ten good minutes will do more for you than fifteen loose ones.
- Chosen acts get a few hours of rehearsal on us: two hours in one of our studios before the night, and a one hour run-through in The Playhouse on the day.
We'd love
you to sign up
Open the application form →
The form takes about five minutes. You will get an email confirming we have it.
Applications are open all year round and you do not apply for a particular date. Send us the piece, and your application sits with us as a rolling waiting list. Each month we build the next night from that list and get in touch with the people we can fit in.
We try to get everyone on as soon as we can, but the list is long and the nights are small, so please be patient with us. When there is a slot for you, you will get an email inviting you in. It can be a few weeks or it can be a few months.
- Apply. Tell us who you are, what the piece is and roughly how long it runs. Links to previous work help.
- Wait for the email. Your application stays on the list until we have a night with space. You do not need to reapply.
- Fill in your portal. When we invite you, you get a private link to add your headshot, a short blurb, and a name, headshot and links for everyone performing. You book your free rehearsal time there too.
- Confirm and come in. Get-in is in the late afternoon, doors are at 7pm, and the night is over by 10pm.