We are passionate about telling stories at the Octagon and at the beginning of many of the greatest stories is a piece of paper, a pen and, most importantly of all, a writer.

Theatres need new work to thrive and grow, and we believe that participating in writing has the power to enrich and change lives for the better. We develop talent across all levels of writing, from our proud tradition of commissioning new work in our main auditorium to encouraging local novice writers to share their scripts for the very first time.

Best of Bolton

We are seeking writers to submit poetry, stories and short plays to be performed across two Best of Bolton showcases on Sat 11 November 2017. 

Writers can be of any age and live anywhere; professional or beginner. There are no rules on content, themes or the language in which submissions are written – we are eager to hear new voices and welcome diversity.

All work will be read by the Artistic Team at the Octagon and the winning entries will be performed by professional actors in the Octagon’s main auditorium.

Please submit your work marked Best of Bolton by email to literary@octagonbolton.co.uk by Sat 8 July 2017.

National Octagon Prize

The Octagon National Prize is a competition celebrating new and original writing for the stage.

Every year we ask for submissions from writers with any level of experience. The submissions are then reviewed by an esteemed panel of judges and the winning submissions will be performed in the Octagon Studio by professional actors. 

YEAR ONE

For the inaugural year of the prize we asked writers to submit monologues of any genre. From hundreds of entries from across the globe we have selected 3 winning monologues that will be performed in our studio in July 2017, alongside Alan Bennett's legendary monologues Talking Heads in the main auditorium. 

YEAR TWO

For the second year, in celebration of the Octagon producing one of the most famous duologues in the theatrical canon Jim Cartwright’s TWO, entrants this year were invited to submit duologues. 

Selected from hundreds of submissions we have selected two new powerful plays will be performed for the first time in our studio for our 50th anniversary season.