Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre[1] has taken place each year in the London Borough of Waltham Forest[2], in East London, UK. Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre is an amateur drama festival of one act plays. Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre is the only amateur theatre festival in East London. The patron of the Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre is actor Sir Derek Jacobi CBE.
Festival Rules state that plays must be more than 20 minutes and no more than 55 minutes long to be performed at the Festival and there must be more than one speaking part in any play.
Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre serves as a first round festival of the All England Theatre Festival (the AETF), and is affiliated to the National Drama Festivals Association (NDFA). Thus the winners of the Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre may be invited to perform at the NDFA British All Winners Festival[3] that takes place each year in July.
Each year the Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre has entries from adult amateur drama groups, amateur theatre companies, youth theatre clubs and school and college drama clubs and classes. The Festival is organised into both adult and youth sections and each competing team presents a one act play. Historically up to three one-act plays are performed on stage on each night of the Festival. The Festival takes place across a week, so often there are between 15 and 18 different theatre companies performing a play on stage during the week of the Festival.
A professional adjudicator from the Guild of Drama Adjudicators (GODA)GODA webpage sits in the audience and judges each play on its merits. The Adjudicator takes to the stage at the end of the evening and comments on each play that evening, the acting, its staging, costumes, lighting and set. The Adjudicator's marks are added up on the final night to decide who has won the Festival. The winning team is then eligible to represent East London in the succeeding rounds of the knockout competition which culminates in the All-England Final in June and the British Final in July.
There are also awards for best actor, best actress, best performer under 18 years of age, best new writing, best comedy.
The Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre began in 1981 as the Waltham Forest Drama Festival. It is sometimes still known as the Waltham Forest Drama Festival, but the Festival formally became known as the Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre in early 2006.
For most of its 28-year history the Festival has taken place at Waltham Forest Theatre [1], Lloyd Park, Walthamstow, London E17 4PP. However in Spring 2004, Spring 2005 and Spring 2006 for three years the Festival took place in Chingford Assembly Hall [2] when Waltham Forest Theatre in Lloyd Park had fallen into a state of disrepair by the Local Authority. The 26th annual Festival returned to Waltham Forest Theatre in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow in Spring 2007.
The Festival has taken place each year in the Spring since 1981. The 28th Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre took place at Chingford Assembly Hall Theatre, Station Road, Chingford, London E4 7EN [1] following the closure and planned demolishon of Waltham Forest Theatre. The local authority, the London Borough Of Waltham Forest Local Authority, begun working in partnership with the Festival in January 2009 in preparation for the March 2009 Festival of Theatre. The Festival was won by The Wadham Players Theatre Company from Walthamstow, east London.
The 29th Festival will take place between Tuesday 16 March to Saturday 20 March 2010 at Chingford Assmebly Hall Theatre, Station Road, Chingford, London E4 7EN.