When: 7th & 8th March 2014 at 8pm & 10.30pm
Where: The Y, 7 East Street, Leicester LE1 6EY
£: Tickets cost £7 (£5 for concessions) per day or £10 (£8 for concessions) for a festival ticket covering both days.
What is it?
14/48, otherwise known as The World’s Quickest Theatre Festival sees 14 new plays written, directed and performed within a 48 hour period by 7 writers, 7 directors, and 25 actors, designers and musicians.
The idea originates from Seattle and gives audiences an opportunity to witness 7 brand new plays each day, all written, rehearsed and performed in 24 hours. Professional artists including writers, directors, actors and musicians, all come together, donating their time for free, to provide Leicester with this unique entertainment.
The festival process begins early on the Thursday night (aided by beer) with each participant choosing a theme. One of these themes is then chosen at random and the writers have until 8am on Friday morning to come up with a 10 minute play based on this theme. The 7 directors each draw one play at random. The directors then choose their cast by blindly drawing the names of the actors and actresses written on slips of paper. The band then has to come up with the music and sound, the designers create the technical bits and then rehearsals take place. Each play gets 20 minutes of tech rehearsal.
The 7 plays have their premiere at 8pm that evening, followed by a final performance at 10.30pm. The 8pm audience provide the theme for Saturday’s show via a random drawing and the 7 writers go home to start the process all over again; thus creating 14 plays in 48 hours!
More info: www.leicesterymca.co.uk/y-theatre and 1448leicesterfest.wordpress.com