TenderWRITE – Plays By & For Young People as part of Culture Night 2026

FREE as part of culture night 2026
BOOKING ESSENTIAL

TenderWRITE is The Civic Theatre’s Young Artist Support Programme for young playwrights between the ages of 16 and 24. Young playwrights spend 12 – 18 months, meeting once a month, to develop a full length original play under the mentorship of Gavin Kostick and Veronica Coburn. Plays that shine a light on what it’s like to try to hope for a future when the world all around is spinning. Spinning fast. Spinning furiously. Spinning dangerously out of control. Plays showing us the world through the eyes of our young people.

Each year a selection of TenderWRITE plays are presented as part of Dublin Fringe Festival in a series of rehearsed readings performed by professional actors. And each year a TenderWRITE play is highlighted in The Civic Theatre as part of Culture Night. This year the featured TenderWRITE play is ‘To Be Frank’ by Kyle Laing. ‘To Be Frank’ tells the story of a down at heel Frankie Vedici impersonator. Taking place in a run down hotel in a not entirely up market end of the city on the last night of his career, things take a turn when a stranger knocks on a door. Funny, tender, and just a little bit absurd, ‘To Be Frank’ is for anyone who likes a story that surprises. TenderWRITE: Plays By & For Young People. New voices. Important stories. A roar. A howl. A cry.

Directed By: Davey Kelleher
For TenderWRITE – Veronica Coburn & Gavin Kostick

Kindly Supported By:
The Civic Theatre, The Arts Council, South Dublin County Council, Fishamble – The New Play Company