BBC showcase win for six student scriptwriters

Shobna Gulati

Six budding student scriptwriters from the University of Salford have won the chance to see their work performed at a special showcase on Wednesday 21 March thanks to a joint project from the University and the BBC celebrating the opening of MediaCityUK.

Over the last six months Write by the Quays offered students the opportunity to work with BBC Writersroom North to develop short plays about or inspired by Salford. And now six winning students, whose names will be revealed on the night, will see their works performed at the BBC’s new MediaCityUK home in front of an audience of BBC staff and members of the public.

More than 130 entries were received for the competition from Salford students studying subjects as diverse as Law and Social Work as well as Creative Writing, English and Drama.

Judges included actress Shobna Gulati, who plays Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street; Creative Director of New Writing at the BBC Kate Rowland; Omar Elerian, Associate Director at the Bush Theatre in London; and University of Salford Lecturer in Creative Writing and deviser of the project Jennifer Tuckett. They had a difficult task selecting the winning plays, which will performed by professional actors and directed by Elizabeth Newman, Associate Director at the Octagon Theatre Bolton and head of the theatre’s new writing department.

Shobna Gulati said: “This project is a unique celebration of the opening of MediaCityUK, offering students an important opportunity to work with the BBC, learn about the industry and see whether scriptwriting might be a possible career for them.”

Jennifer Tuckett commented: “Over the course of six months over 500 students at the University have participated in workshops with the BBC and 80 students have taken part in a targeted course focused on producing work for Write by the Quays.

“The chance for all of these students to see that one day they could be working for organisations such as the BBC at MediaCityUK has been invaluable. Many have said that they now feel that writing and working for the BBC might be future career paths they could seriously consider.”

The Write by the Quays showcase will take place at BBC Quay House at MediaCityUK on Wednesday 21 March, with doors opening at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start, finishing at around 9.00pm. A limited number of free tickets are available for the public and further details can be obtained from the University of Salford Events team by emailing s.l.bowker@salford.ac.uk.