Worcester Theatres and Crave Arts Celebrate One Year of Literary Project, Shire Stories

21 October 2026

Worcester Theatres and Crave Arts are celebrating one year of the partnership of launching literary department project, Shire Stories.

Shire Stories is being delivered with funding support from the Arts Council England, and the project continues to develop and sustain local creative talent that reside in the four counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire.

Over the past 12 months, Shire Stories has delivered community writing workshops for the Monday Night Club and The Malvern Cube, helping young people and adults with learning difficulties or autism to develop their interest in creative writing. Shire Stories has also delivered a separate programme of workshops, both in person and online, for new and developing writers covering a range of topics, including writing scripts for young audiences and pitching work to producers and directors.

Charlotte Fletcher, a Worcestershire writer said, “Shire Stories has significantly boosted my confidence as an aspiring playwright. Coming from a non-arts background, the supportive community and structured feedback sessions have provided me a sense of belonging and validation in my creative endeavours.”

The Shire Stories team also offers support to writers who are in the process of writing plays. Shire Stories are happy to accept script submissions from writers that would like support and feedback to develop their writers’ journey. To submit a script please email [email protected] by 31 March 2027, with information such as your contact details, how you would like the team to help you, and the main concept of your script and why you have chosen to write it. Further information is available on the Worcester Theatres website.

Owen Harper, Co-Artistic Director of Crave Arts said, “Steve and myself are both incredibly excited for the second year of the Arts Council of England-funded project, Shire Stories. We read some fantastic plays and ran brilliant workshops in our first year of the project, and worked with over 50 fantastic writers based in Worcestershire.

Our script submission portal is now open, and we invite writers to send us their scripts. Each play will be read by at least one member of the team, and you'll receive a detailed script report. From open writing workshops to one-off specials on the Midlands writing scene, rural touring and writing for the radio, there really is something for everyone at Shire Stories.

Looking ahead to 2027, we’ll be hosting our second ‘Tiny Plays, Big Ideas’ event, debuting more new plays, highlighting the region’s wonderful writers, and offering four commissions to writers to develop work for the first New Writing Festival.”

For more information about Shire Stories visit the Worcester Theatres website!