Scratch Night – Arts Bar, Liverpool

A new scratch night has opened its doors at the Arts Bar on Hope Street in Liverpool, offering a dynamic platform for writers to assess the reactions from a live (and lively) audience.

 This evocative and interesting evening highlights a variety of themes and gives sharp focus to emerging and significant talent.

More than anything else I do believe that scratch night events like this really does support new writing and provides a platform for further exploration and development. Well done to the Arts Bar and organiser/curator Francesca Hill for presenting the audience with a diverse and often challenging selection. I only hope that this will be a regular event.

Tonight’s showcase featured six short extracts from plays that are either at a developmental stage or almost oven ready for the stage. The format provides a unique opportunity for the audience to give feedback in a lively and supportive atmosphere, fostering a collaborative and engaging environment.

This initiative not only supports the growth of new talent but also enriches the cultural landscape of theatre within Liverpool.

Tonight’s extracts included –

Draculad written by Julian Cassin with Abi Taylor and Andrea Neary – Lucy brings her new vampire boyfriend back to Liverpool in this quirky scouse comic piece – maybe a bit overly familiar and cliched in large parts but some lively dialogue nevertheless and it will be interesting to see how Cassin develops it along the way.

The Price of Love written by Mark Davoren with Chris Smalley and Jennifer Morrow –  Frank and Elena two people searching for two different things maybe? Davoren’s steady hand is present all the way through this charming two-hander. Great flow of dialogue even though the basic plot seemed a touch incredible and hard to believe. The play, itself, would probably benefit from some workshopping but overall, it has lots of real potential.

Fatal Femme by Susie Lewis with Robyn Kirz and Nansai Moone –   A play about a serial killer with an obsession about men’s nipples.  I felt the writing was quite flat and the humour was rather lacklustre.  Like most of the other extracts tonight it would not harm to workshop this script and develop the dialogue and humour further.

The Adventures of the Pheasant, the Peasant, and the Pilgrim by Another Trip Around Theatre with Ollie Wilson and Cal Clarke – This sometimes-quirky surrealist piece suffers from some awkward moments of “end of year” drama showcase. The humour was poor, and the actual writing was patchy at its best – in fear of repeating myself this piece would also benefit from workshopping.

The Execution of Private Slovik  by Alex Carr with Josh Ennis and Luke Seddon –   The flow and intent of the writing in Carr’s script is plain to see and  it had a  very professional feel about it – for me personally the dialogue was a little stilted and mannered in some parts and it drifted somewhat  but once again, this is piece of theatre that has some potential.

 The Fanny Diaries by Erin McDaid with Holly Edwards and Oliver Wilson –  This is a strange pseudo comic educational piece that soon loses the plot with extra music that doesn’t add much. The writing is rather bland throughout, but I believe there is a promising idea here. At the moment its just all over the place and the humour lands like a lead balloon – this should be developed into somethingworth watching.

The first night of Scratch at the Arts Bar had its highs and lows. Some scripts to look forward to and some scripts to go back to the drawing board. It was a lively collaborative evening, bags of energy and some good performances throughout.

Reviewer: Kiefer Williams

Reviewed: 3^rd April 2025

North West End UK Rating: Work in Progress