The University of Salford and BBC Writersroom North are launching a talent search tomorrow (Tuesday 18 October) to celebrate the opening of their new sites at MediaCityUK.

‘Write by the Quays’ will offer the University’s students the opportunity to write ten minute plays about, or inspired by, Salford. Entries will be judged by a panel including actress Shobna Gulati (Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street); Kate Rowland, Creative Director of New Writing at the BBC; Tamara Harvey, Associate Director at the Bush Theatre, London; and Jennifer Tuckett, Creative Writing Lecturer from the University’s School of Humanities, Languages & Social Sciences.

Six winning plays will be produced by the BBC and performed at its recently opened MediaCityUK facility in March next year, giving students a unique opportunity to work with the BBC and giving the audience of BBC staff the chance to learn about Salford through the students’ work.

Earlier this month the University of Salford also opened the doors to students at its new MediaCityUK campus, which provides a wide range of courses and qualifications at one of the UK’s most advanced teaching and research spaces, encompassing state-of-the-art facilities including HDTV and radio broadcast studios, digital media and performance lab, editing and post-production suites.

Jennifer Tuckett said: “This talent search builds on the work the University of Salford has been doing for the last three years on creative writing courses as part of the Playwriting Network, a range of partnerships between the University, leading theatres and BBC Writersroom North, which we now plan to expand.

“’Write by the Quays’ develops the relationship between students, the University and the BBC and also celebrates our joint move to MediaCityUK.”

To keep up with the latest on MediaCityUK, you can follow the University’s dedicated Twitter and Facebook