The Script’s The Thing 3 will take place on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October 2026 and as before events will be happening across 5 different venues.
Our submission window is now closed and we’ve received well over 100 scripts yet again!
If you’ve submitted for this year’s Festival, you have a message in your account on CuratorSpace. Our submission panel will look at every submission with a view to curating a broad range of scripts across all genres and styles.
Remember you don’t have to bring work or be a writer to come to this year’s Festival on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October at Dorchester Arts (including: The King’s Arms, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, Shire Hall Museum and Tom Browns Pub, Dorchester
Alongside the scripts, there’ll be plenty of FREE events to inspire and motivate and to celebrate new work.
The Script’s The Thing is Dorset’s Festival of Scriptwriting – Writing for Performance, supported this year by the Backstage Trust and The Maria Björnson Memorial Fund.
“The script really IS the thing!” – Dame Harriet Walter
What Is The Script’s The Thing? It’s a celebration of new writing for theatre, TV, film, radio and all performance, taking place across five different venues in the centre of Dorchester: The Corn Exchange, Tom Browns, The Kings Arms, Dorset Museum and Shire Hall. The Festival provides opportunity for writers to present work at any stage of development, from initial ideas through to first draft, work that writers really want to take further. It may be work that is looking to connect with venues and promoters so it’s a fully-staged extract or shown in a partial presentation – all we ask is the writing is centre-stage for the day. The Festival also allows the public to come and discover a huge range of new writing in a bite-size format…all for free. Alongside the work, there are other events, including workshops, Q&As, with venues and organisations exhibiting in our Writers’ Hub.
To stay in touch, join our mailing list by contacting scripts@dorchesterarts.org.uk
Supported by…
The Script’s The Thing 2 took place on Saturday 3rd May 2025, and more than 800 people came to see 100 scripts and 25 talks and workshops across 9 spaces in 5 venues. A huge thank you to all the writers, actors, speakers, workshop leaders and volunteers who made the day such a success.
If you were there, you might spot yourself in this short film about the day – and if you weren’t, here’s a chance to see what you missed…
Click here to download the 2025 programme!
If you have more questions, please visits our FAQs
If you have any questions then contact us at scripts@dorchesterarts.org.uk
…and watch this space or join the Dorchester Arts mailing list for more news about the next The Script’s The Thing
