Sponsored and supported by the British Council, Pull Back the Curtain is a three-month programme celebrating the art of scriptwriting for the theatre. Professional stage director and playwright Clare Stearns leads weekly sessions for a group of budding playwrights to develop their own 30-minute stage play. Participants focus on different elements every week, ranging from developing characters and dialogues to looking at work by Shakespeare and other established local and international playwrights. This June, selected scripts will receive a staged reading, and the play with the most promise will be transformed into a professional theatre production directed by YAF’s Artistic Director Lindsey McAlister. The performance will be followed by a Q&A session with the director, playwrights and cast.