KENDAL Community Theatre is embarking upon their most ambitious project to date, with the launch of a whole festival of plays.

Playwrights of Cumbria are being urged to put pen to paper for ‘Kendal Yarns’ – an event in which every play will be set and performed in the Auld Grey Town.

Each play submitted as part of the Kendal Yarns Festival of New Plays will receive an airing.

As many as six plays will be fully staged in Kendal. Others will be work-shopped or used in a masterclass or given a rehearsal reading.

The festival is the brainchild of dramatist Caroline Moir, who said: “The idea is to stimulate new writing.

“Each play must have Kendal as its location but this may be our town in the past present or even the future.

“There can be no more than five actors and they mustn't be longer than fifteen minutes,” she explained.

The festival will be officially launched on May 1 at the Shakespeare Centre in Kendal, with the performances to take place in July 2016, giving plenty of time for would-be dramatists to refine their plot lines.

“This is a great chance for first-time writers and young people especially to get their efforts performed.

“We look forward to working with schools, organisations as well as individuals,” said Chris Taylor, artistic director of Kendal Community Threatre (KCT).

To give new and experienced dramatists a helping hand, a series of playwriting workshops are coming along in October 2015 and February 2016.

Kendal Yarns will need dozens of performers and directors – to get involved with any facet of producing, call 01539 727424 or email kendalyarns@kendalcommunitytheatre.org.