The games people play: Theatre's new approach to writing

A fast-paced comedy, a female solo show and a surrealist play about local politics - this year's New Writing Theatre Festival promises to take both artists and their audience outside of their comfort zone and to challenge them with writing that is raw, unconventional and multi-layered.

"Local productions have pretty narrow topics," says Chan Ping-chiu, artistic director of On & On Theatre Workshop, who organises the festival. "They deal mainly with individual hardship, family relationships, and the frustrations of life.

"We're trying to learn from European countries, in particular England and Germany, where playwrights are always coming up with new ideas, from the language, form and structure of a script, to the subject matter, set design and directorial approach," Chan says.

"Their productions focus on social issues, and they have a universality that many local productions lack."

Now in its second year, the festival will present two original scripts and a work from overseas. Chan promises everything on show will be a new source of inspiration.

Chan, a veteran of the stage, will be directing German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig's The Golden Dragon which he says highlights a different scriptwriting technique. The work is a contrast to Blasted, a violent piece by British playwright Sarah Kane which the festival staged last year, says Chan.