Patchwork Productions

Grass roots and great craic. Patchwork Productions is an independent passion project run by, and for, local writers and theatre makers who see a gap in the market for exciting new theatre with a local voice. Patchwork platforms new writing through their recurring Scratchwork event which allows aspiring or established writers to workshop raw, new ideas with a live audience who offer enthusiastic and (vitally) constructive feedback live in the room.

The company connects creatives through their actor and writer callouts and have seen pieces workshopped at their Scratch night travel to the Dublin Fringe, the Mac and Black Box Belfast, among others. If you are a thespian or a scribe you can find a place to tread the boards with Patchwork, all are welcome.

Accidental Theatre

Independent and fiercely passionate, the Accidental Theatre on Shaftesbury square have recently purchased their building, making them a self-sufficient company eager to platform local talent. Accidental offers affordable activities for groups such as their Never Seen It Film Club and Handmade music events, the later offering a quirky night of experimental music and socialising for the music lovers in the area. They also offer plenty of exciting opportunities for developing creatives to explore their practice and their art on stage.

Singer-songwriters and musicians of all kinds can sign up for Cosmic Jam open mic night, comedians and raconteurs get their own dedicated open mic and writers of various kinds can take up space to create through the Writer’s Corner. Want more? The Theatre offers training and development schemes too, keeping the spark alive in the community. 

Off the Page

A home-grown option for artistic exploration. The Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's has a proud literary tradition that is continuing right now through Off The Page, a developmental initiative for new writing from students and alumni. Created by the ingenious Darcey Youngman, herself a Queen's Graduate, Queen’s writers can avail of expert advice from visiting creatives, book space to perform and network and, crucially, develop their work alongside people who love theatre just as much as they do. This new initiative for aspiring theatre makers is soon entering its second run and will be seeking actors, directors and writers. The only requirement is passion.

Belfast Playwrights

A recent addition but a welcome one. Belfast Playwrights is a quickly expanding company of freelance theatre professionals who offer education, workshops and performance opportunities for writers, directors and actors. Hobbyists will enjoy their Scribe writing group, a regularly occurring meeting of creative minds where ideas can flourish and thrive, while those aspiring towards a profession in theatre can gain vital experience and exposure through their theatre workshops. The Playwrights are also responsible for 10 Minute Plays, a new festival to platform short drama which is set to run intermittently from the Black Box Belfast.

Operating under a profit share model, the festival has offered paid writing and performance opportunities to several Queen's staff, students and alumni with more sure to make appearances soon. This company believes not only in art but in the artists creating it and their philosophy of support and community indicates an interesting future for local theatre.

Belfast Filmmaking Club

Offering memberships as well as free to attend events, the Belfast Filmmaking Club is a venue for visual artists, craftspeople and creatives to get together and do what they do best: make something, anything as long as it's fun. The Club runs regular events out of their space in Fountain Street and whether you want to get your hands on a camera or get your script in the hands of a director, you’ll find someone here who wants what you’re offering. If you don’t want to commit to a membership, they understand and offer interested parties the chance to attend solo events for a fixed price which remains affordable and welcome.

The Zine Scene

Belfast has so much talent that intrepid creatives are constantly finding new places to put the work. This desire to spread good art has resulted in the birth of several indie Zine’s designed to promote and connect local creative writers and artists, several of which host fabulous launch events for their publications which are open to all. Eascair Magazine is an indie publication for poetry, flash fiction and visual art which accepts submissions in both English and Irish. Uppa Women is a humorous zine with a feminist tilt, specialising in promoting female voices and currently in production for their second issue.

Both zines are currently closed for submissions but with big plans to reopen in the future and with previous launch nights reaching capacity fast it is clear that both are finding footing in the growing landscape of indie publishing in NI. Artists, writers and readers of all kinds should keep their eyes out on socials for submissions opening again.

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Fionntán Macdonald MA Creative Writing | Postgraduate Student | Belfast Hello! My name is Fionntán, I am 28 and born and raised in Belfast. I am currently in year one of my Part-Time MA in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre QUB and it already feels like a second home. In my spare time I write fiction, read avidly and am always up for a handsome pint of Guinness. Since week one I have started attending events at the SHC and can be seen floating around the Centre, the SU or the QFT. I've loved getting to know my fellow students in the centre and am always looking for people to chat to about reading, writing and being creative.