Chesil Theatre's TakeTen New Writing Festival a Resounding Success

TakeTen, Chesil Theatre Winchester’s new writing festival came to the stage with five performances of ten winning ten-minute plays over the weekend 27th February to 1st March 2026. Writers, directors, judges and cast members were all able to meet and share their thoughts and ideas over the sell-out run.
 
All submissions to the competition were judged anonymously and when the winners were unveiled Chesil Theatre was delighted to see two previous entrants, Kathryn West and Nicky Denovan, were successful again. Entries came from across the UK and the top ten writers from Manchester, Wadebridge, Canterbury and Bedford as well as nearer home.
 
With a programme covering a range of theatre genres, each play had to involve a treatment of the current theme ‘Angels’ – guardian, fallen, nursing, theatrical and many other interpretations. Topics ranged from artificial intelligence to incarceration.
 
Local writer and actor Stephen Percy was in the audience and writes:
 
“What a brilliant event the Take Ten Chesil Theatre New Writing Festival has become. Launched in 2008 and now in its ninth season, this biennial event attracted over 300 hundred entries, confirming its status as a leading national showcase of new work. 
 
Following a rigorous judging process, the top ten short dramas were performed on the Chesil Theatre stage where the full range of the company’s extensive theatrical resources were superbly deployed.
 
The theme of this year’s competition was “Angels”, interpreted by ten worthy finalists referencing largely contemporary themes.  In a well-crafted entry, Stuck in the Middle by Kathryn West imagines the comedic comeuppances that arise in the afterlife when a previously married couple are joined by the husband’s deceased “secret” second wife.  Similarly, All Fall Down by Euan Mumford sees a cheating and lying celebrity receive his just deserts from Lucifer but asks whether the devil is enjoying the retribution just a little too much.
 
Richard Moon also cleverly employs humour in The Unblocking of a Bladder to explore one of the more troubling political questions of our time: how do populist politicians persuade people to vote against their best interests? And how should we respond?
 
The absurdities and horrors of AI technology are amusingly explored in Talking to an Angel, with HJS warning us in neo-Orwellian tones what it might come to mean for our freedom. In a lighter mood, Chloe Banks in Charlene’s AIngels highlights the insidious AI threats to personal relationships. In both plays the hilariously conceived robots steal the show.
 
Loss of freedom is also Nicky Denovan’s theme in her tragically witty cautionary tale, Bearing Gifts, where a cash-strapped Broadway impresario unwisely borrows from a theatre angel, losing all control and self-respect in the process. 
 
People in extremis provide fertile ground for several offerings. If I Fall by Katherine Kowalski deals movingly with a young woman (her parents’ “little angel”) struggling to find acceptance amidst strong feelings of alienation and misguided attempts to “fix” her. Amelia Stepney gave us an emotionally mature and affecting solo performance. Distress is also the subject of Stephen Mollet’s powerfully disturbing A Break in the Journey where a woman uses the “Ask for Angela” codewords in a motorway cafe when seeking protection from a coercively controlling husband.
 
Fallen by Conor Montague presents a man who feels his only escape is suicide after his past catches up with him, ending with a shocking twist. Finally, the relentless physical and psychological challenges that NHS nurses face daily are explored in We Move On by Kim Wiltshire, a touching reminder of the enduring debt we owe this angelic band.
 
I left the Chesil wondering when I had last enjoyed such a highly engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking theatrical experience.”
 
About the winners of TakeTen
Chloe Banks Charlene’s AIngels (Lustleigh, Devon)
Katherine Kowalksi – If I Fall (Downderry, Cornwall)
Richard Moon – The Unblocking of a Bladder (Bedford)
Kim Wiltshire – We Move On (Sale)
Conor Montague - Fallen (Tring)
HJS - Talking to an Angel (Canterbury)
Stephen Mollett - A Break in the Journey (Midhurst)
Euan Mumford – All Fall Down (Shoreham-by-sea)
Kathryn West – Stuck In The Middle (Wadebridge)
Nicky Denovan …Bearing Gifts (Reading)
 
About the judges
Rosanne Collinson, Head of Drama and Theatre, Peter Symonds College
Cecily O’Neill, writer, lecturer, dramaturg, Artistic Director 2Time Theatre Winchester
Danica Pickett, casting director, actor, director
Simon Plumridge, designer, director, core member Platform4 Winchester
Mark Ponsford writer, musician, actor, critic