A NEW literary festival takes place this Saturday, 28th October. The Script’s the Thing, from 10am onwards at Dorchester Corn Exchange and Tom Brown’s pub, is being run in conjunction with Dorchester Arts, and offers a showcase of new writing.

There are more than 70 bite-size scripts, none lasting more than 15 minutes, during the day. Full details of the programme are on the Dorchester Arts website, www.dorchesterarts.org.uk

The day-long free festival is open to everyone, with visitors encouraged to plan their own routes through the six performance spaces – five in the Corn Exchange and one at Tom Brown’s, where you can also enjoy a pint as you listen.

Comic, tragic, thought-provoking but always entertaining, the scripts represent a wide range of subjects from ghost stories to being a refugee, from the care system to historical drama. Told through high comedy, farce, drama, and everything in between, there are radio scripts, film scripts, theatre scripts – all entertaining and at the very beginning of their development.

As well as the performances, there will be talks by Dorset playwrights and representatives from venues and arts organisations, as well as BBC Writers Room and the National Theatre (New Work) who will discuss how they work with writers and what they look for in a script.

The event is non-ticketed, and doors open at 9.45am with a full programme from 10am followed by a party in the evening with music from local band Stealing Whiskey (gig tickets available on the door).