Scratch Night in Preston looking for performers to take part

Jo and Dave Have Moved was performed to a packed out audience at The Ferret at Lancashire Fringe Festival 2024 Pic: Garry Cook

An exciting Scratch Night of new and early-development performances has been organised in Preston – with a call out for performers to take part.

Scratch Nights give audiences the chance to see a number of performers and performances from different genres. They also represent a great opportunity for performers to test new ideas in front of a live audience.

These informal nights bring new live work to audiences and create a supportive platform for artists to experiment, take risks, test ideas on stage and share new work with peers and the wider public. The audience will be offered the opportunity to provide feedback for the performers.

Scratch Night Preston takes place at The Ferret on Wednesday 19 March from 7.30pm.

The deadline for performers to apply is 11.59pm on Sunday 16 February.

Performance can be any genre including but not limited to theatre, comedy, spoken word and contemporary performance. Audiences can expect to see a mixture of new work, experimental work and excerpts from longer shows.

The only stipulation is that works can be performed on The Ferret stage, which measure approximately 3.3m x 4.5m.

Event organiser Garry Cook said: “Show us what you’ve got. If you are developing a new piece of theatre or performance, or you are looking for a supportive space to test a new idea, this Scratch Night is for you.

“This is a national call out but I am particularly interested in receiving applications from Preston and Lancashire-based performers as there are not enough of these kinds of performance opportunities in the city.

“Work can be anything from five minutes to 30 minutes in length. Any type of performance is acceptable.

“Lancashire Fringe Festival has a huge reputation for developing new work and supporting established and emerging talent. I’m delighted to bring another performance development opportunity to Preston.”

Successful applicants will get audience feedback, a small £30 performance fee to cover travel expenses, performance photographs and the chance to talk to a producer to help take their idea forward.

The Scratch Night is part of the extended programme by Lancashire Fringe Festival, which took place in Preston across 15 consecutive nights last autumn. Tickets for the event are subsidised by the Fringe Festival and cost just £6.

Full details of how to apply to the Scratch Night are available on the Enjoy the Show website or you can email gazcook@googlemail.com.

Scratch Night audience tickets are available from Skiddle.

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This story was made possible by you, our readers, and a host of organisations in the city, through our Crowdfund Lancashire appeal, which unlocked support from the Lancashire Culture and Sport Fund provided by Lancashire County Council. You can see all our coverage and, if you know of an arts project or event in the city we should be covering, you can submit it for our event listings and/or send details to contactus@blogpreston.co.uk for us to cover it as a story on the Blog.