There could not be a more apt time to shine a spotlight on the stories written by Italian author, poet and scholar Giovanni Boccaccio, whose work is thought to be among the classics from Italy which influenced Shakespeare in his writing.
Known as The Decameron the 14th century stories feature 10 young Florentines who flee from the Black Death to live in Naples. In all there are 100 short stories that feature a framing device and range from the erotic to the tragic, the hilarious to the instructional.
These stories have also proved inspirational to young writer Rebekah King who has teamed up with Shakespeare in Italy on their Sharing Shakespeare platform to devise a competition open to all.
What They Want:
Over the next four weeks they would like you to submit a short play (audio drama) of no longer than 15 minutes – those shortlisted by their panel will be performed over two nights early in July with a director and two actors (max) assigned to each play. Then they will select an overall winner from those performed who will win £200.
Please do not include your name on the script itself so that entries can be judged anonymously.
Email Submissions to: collette@
Competition deadline: Friday, June 26
Also – Workshop:
On Thursday 4th June at 7.30 there will be a Zoom workshop, 1 hour long, where interested writers can learn more about the Decameron and hear a couple of sample scripts with a Q&A session.
If you want to join in and listen to the workshop but don’t intend to submit a short play that is ok too. Please see link here with details on how to join. A donation however small will be gratefully received. Of course should you wish to make a generous donation to help us continue our exciting work – this would be most warmly welcomed too.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
Source: PLAYWRITING UK Facebook