The International Playwriting Festival is back for a 27th time next weekend.

The festival, which for the past 26 years has been staged at the Warehouse Theatre, has found a new producer and a new home.

Warehouse Phoenix, a company formed by members and friends of the Warehouse Theatre in order to continue its work and tradition, are organising the show at Fairfield Halls.

The venue’s Arnhem Gallery will be specially converted to a theatre for the occasion and will play host to the best plays selected from last year’s competition.

The International Playwriting Festival has been discovering and promoting the work of new playwrights since 1986.

Ted Craig, Director of Warehouse Phoenix said it will be a great weekend with lots of writers showing how talented they are.

The IPF is held in two parts - the first is the competition with entries from all over the world, submitted between February and August each year, and judged by a panel of distinguished practitioners who make a selection of the best plays.

The selected plays are then showcased on the Festival weekend with a view to achieving a full-scale production.

Playwrights whose career has been launched by the International Playwriting Festival include Peter Moffat who wrote the current TV hit series The Village and Kevin Hood, who wrote the TV series Silent Witness.

Tickets for the festival include dinner, which is a choice from hot roast pork baguette with chips, Cajun chicken sandwich with chips or courgette and pepper pizza with chips.

The International Playwriting Festival, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, June 29 and 30, £7-£32, call 02086889291 or visit Fairfield.co.uk. Visit warehousephoenix.co.uk