A stylized eye-shaped logo for the 2025 Festival featuring a keyhole in the center, with the words 'Festival 2025' integrated into the eye design, in shades of blue and black.

gateway writing festival

The Gateway Writing Festival is an Edinburgh based festival that strives to provide a pathway for new Scottish theatre writers and creatives to develop, devise, and translate their ideas for the stage.

GATEWAY’S AIMS

COMMUNITY

The Gateway Festival aims to be the catalyst in building a strong Community of likeminded emerging creatives in the Scottish Theatre Industry. We want to create a pathway through our social media channels, networking opportunities, and integration with university societies and social clubs for emerging writers, actors and directors to create, develop, and showcase totally unique, distinctive, and boundary stretching pieces of theatre.


Development

Development of new writing is a core aim for The Gateway Festival. Over the course of the last two festival iterations we have had the privilege to give writers the facilities to work on and grow fresh new ideas and concepts for the stage which has resulted in 14 exceptional new pieces of theatre being developed from Gateway.

This is why we feel so strongly that The Gateway Festival can be a key tool for upcoming writers to use to help bridge their development gap between an initial concept and developing theatre for showcases, tours, and The Fringe.

PLATFORM

In a climate that has become increasingly difficult for new theatre to be staged without significant financial backing.

Gateway aims to be able to provide creatives with a free Platform to stage their piece which allows them to gain valuable constructive feedback as well as a place to showcase their developed piece to a wider audience for the first time which in turn will help to propel their piece to go onto do bigger things.

Graphic poster for the 2025 festival featuring an eye-shaped design with the year and festival name, and a keyhole in the center.

TICKETS ON SALE JULY 30TH!

THREE brand new plays staged every night, brought to you by the next generation of groundbreaking Scottish writers.

The Gateway Festival is the perfect place to catch emerging theatre writers from around Scotland as they bring their fresh, bold and exciting new ideas to the stage for the very first time.

We are excited to OFFICIALLY announce that Gateway’s third iteration will be held at The Studio Theatre! Get your tickets on Capital Theatre’s website below for the 3rd, 4th 5th of November 2025.

Gateway 2024

Gateway ran for its second iteration between the 18th - 20th of November 2024. Nine brand new plays had their debut across three sold out days, ranging from stories about dinner parties gone awry, the tumultuous hilarities that ensued writing the communist manifesto, folk stories about the fearsome Kelpie…and so many more!

  • Turn The Cloth performed during the Gateway Festival 2024. Three actors are performing a theatrical scene at a table, with one woman standing and shouting while the other two are seated and engaged in the scene.

    Turn the Cloth | Written by Eve Miller

  • Two young women sitting on a rocky surface on stage, with a colorful blanket underneath them, against a black background. One woman with long red hair is pointing at something off-camera, while the other woman with brown hair smiles and looks in the same direction. They are dressed in casual clothes, and there are backpacks nearby.

    Is it Not Cold? | Written by Sam Trotter

  • Four actors on stage in costume, standing under colored stage lights against a black background.

    Marx & Engels | wRITTEN BY aLEXANDER ARTIS

  • Three women on stage, one young girl and two adult women, engaged in a theatrical performance involving cardboard boxes and a suitcase, with a black background.

    DACHAIGH | WRITTEN BY MADISON E. TURNER

  • A man and woman performing on stage, with the woman sitting on the floor and the man standing holding a knife. The stage has minimal props, including a chair, a table, and a large bag.

    sINS OF THE MOTHER | WRITTEN BY FREYA MCCALL

  • Three performers dressed in period costumes, smiling and interacting on stage with a dark background.

    BONNY & READ | WRITTEN BY RIVER RAIOLA

  • Two men are engaged in a theatrical confrontation on a dark stage. One man, bald and wearing a striped shirt, leans towards the other, who has shoulder-length hair and wears a hospital gown, with an IV stand behind him. The man in the gown extends his arm toward the other.

    THE RAINBOW CONNECTION | WRITTEN BY CHALKIE WHYTE

  • Two actors embracing on stage, dressed in period costumes, with a black background.

    FANDEMONIUM | WRITTEN BY COURTNEY BASSETT

  • A theatrical scene showing three people sitting at a dining table with glasses and a photo frame, and a fourth person standing behind them wearing an apron, all on stage with a dark background.

    venison | written by huw turnbull

Gateway 2024 Credits:

Poster for the Scottish Storytelling Centre's event 'Sins of the Mother' by Freya McCall, part of Gateway Writing Festival 2024, featuring a silhouette of a woman standing on a beach at sunset with orange and red sky. The poster includes the event date 18/11/24 and the directed by Mirren Fia, with a quote 'Your fate is sealed. All you have to do is walk...'.

Written by Freya McCall

Directed by Mirren Fia

Megan Rough as The Devil

Jack McFadyen as Mark

Tom Showell as Jim

Lily Norris Dugdale as Pearl

Mhairi Gilmour as Darcey & Extras

A promotional poster for the Gateway Writing Festival 2024 by the Scottish Storytelling Centre, featuring a foggy beach scene with two flying birds, and text reading "The ultimate calm, just for a moment" and "Is it not cold?" with event details including author Sam Trotter, director Shamama Fatima, and date 18/11/24.

Written by Sam Trotter

Directed by Shamama Fatima

Betsy King as Isla

Alyssa Munro as Sarah

Poster for Gateway Writing Festival 2024 featuring Scottish Storytelling Centre, date 18/11/24, with an illustration of a plate of venison with a sprig of rosemary, set on a blue and red background. The poster highlights a project directed by Minnie Cross, featuring a song 'Venison' by Huw Turnbull, and includes a music progress bar, playback controls, and reviews of previous work.

Written by Huw Turnbull

Directed by Minnie Cross

Jay Brown as Bill

Amy Kenneally as Max

Tom Lowes as Dan

Euan Shedden as Jerry

Poster for the Scottish Storytelling Centre promoting 'Mary and the Angels' written by Alexander Artis, directed by Salvador Kent, scheduled for 19 November 2024, featuring an illustration of two bearded men raising beer mugs, with logos of the Scottish Storytelling Centre and Deliverance Theatre.

Written by Alexander Artis

Directed by Salvador Kent

Ewan Leigh - McIntosh as Marx

Emre Arslanbek as Engels

Kira Dempster as Mary

Poster for the Gateway Writing Festival 2024 featuring play titled 'Handemonium' directed by Courtney Bassett, with images of actors, sketches, map, and decorative hearts, feathers, and flowers. The date is 19/11/24 at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Written by Alistair Maxwell

Directed by Courtney Bassett

Georgie Brewis as Mirren

Caden Scott as Mirren’s Dad

Duncan MacIntyre as Extra Roles

Poster for the Gateway Writing Festival 2024 featuring a vintage sailing ship with masts and rigging, advertising a show titled 'Bonny & Read' by River Raiola, directed by Madeline Gilroy, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on November 19, 2024.

Written by River Raiola

Directed by Madeline Gilroy

Arlo Bayne as Read

Hannah McGregor as Bonnie

Loz Thom as The Bard

Elsa Kerscher as Calico Jack

Poster for a storytelling event titled 'In the Throat of the Earth' by Eve Miller, scheduled for November 20, 2024, at 7:30 PM at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Background features a black-and-white image of four women in a forest, with pink and white text overlaid.

Written by Eve Miller

Directed by Emma Comfort

Emma Gribbon as Maura

Laura Milton as Bonnie

Lia Gerrard as Eilidh

Isobel Moorhouse as Kirsty

Promotional poster for the Gateway Writing Festival 2024 featuring a scenic landscape with mountains, trees, and a moss-covered branch in the foreground. Text highlights a play titled 'Dachaidh (Home)' by Madison E. Turner, directed by Hannah Nimmo, starring Rachel Gilroy, Rebecca Malone, and Zoë Maunder, scheduled for November 20th, 2024 at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. The background has a cloudy sky and lush green vegetation.

Written by Madison E. Turner

Directed by Hannah Nimmo

Rebecca Malone as Eilidh

Rachel Gilmour as Agnes

Zoë Maunder as Eilidh’s Mum

Poster for the Gateway Writing Festival 2024 titled 'The Rainbow Connection', featuring a brightly colored rainbow background, a juice box with orange slices and a lemon wedge illustration, and text indicating the event details, organizer, and date.

Written by Chalkie Whyte

Directed by Alexander Zawalnyski

Jordan Wistuba as Frank

Rory Drinnan-Murrau as Richard

Core Team

Producers

James Wood

Giulia Pizziol

Louis Higgins

Production Managers

Giulia Pizziol

Emma Robb

Marketing Co-Ordinator

Louis Higgins

Social Media Manager

Steph Hume

Script Supervisors

Anny Leigh Ackermann

Lucy Barker

Katie Slater

Stage Managers

Emma Robb

Olivia Campanile

Katie Edmundson

Zoë MacCallum

Assistant Stage Manager

Steph Hume

Lighting Designers

Jack Read

Jacob Henney

Sound Designer

Ella Catherall

Costume Designers

Alyssa Tinfina

Chloe Medonich

Jack Bain

Basil Somers

Graphic Designers

Almut Echtler

Laura Milton

Photographer

Carla Watson

Presenter

Lucy Barker

Intimacy Co-Ordinator

Anny - Leigh Ackermann

Gateway 2023

Gateway 2023 ran for two dates on the 4th & 5th of November 2023. This was Gateway’s first iteration which staged five fantastic new plays including exciting Gig Theatre based on Mary Queen of Scots, a one woman play centered around periods and the stigma surrounding woman’s health, a Gaff at the end of the world, sci-fi questioning the terrifying bond between humanity and technology, and a Scottish comedy dealing with the highs and lows of life on Balcary bay.

  • A young woman playing a cream-colored electric bass guitar on stage, with a drum set featuring a red emblem in the background.

    MARY: A GIG THEATRE | WRITTEN BY RONA JOHNSTON

  • A woman with curly red hair sitting on a bed surrounded by clothes and objects, gesturing with her hands, against a dark background.

    THE SPILLING CUP | WRITTEN BY NOEMIE GALANTE

  • Man sitting on a bed playing an acoustic guitar in a dark room

    LIFE WAS BETTER ON BALCARY BAY | WRITTEN BY ALEXANDER ARTIS

  • Two young people standing on a dark stage, one male and one female, with minimal props around them.

    GAFF | WRITTEN BY ZOE MCCALLUM

  • A person with short hair wearing a striped t-shirt seen from behind, standing in darkness with rainbow light reflections overhead.

    INSTEAD OF PINES | WRITTEN BY AMY DAVIDSON

MARY: A GIG THEATRE:

Written by Rona Johnston

Directed by Katie Slater

Rona Johnston as Mary Stuart

Laura Coull as Mary Seton

Hester Irving as Mary Fleming

Alli von Hirschberg as Mary Livingston

Izzie Atkinson as Elizabeth

Gateway 2023 Credits:

GAFF!:

Written by Zoë MacCallum 

Directed by River Raiola

Chris Dowling: Actor

Rachel Gilmour: Actor

Giulia Pizziol: Stage Manager

INSTEAD OF PINES:

Written by Amy Georgia Davidson 

Directed by Megan Wallace

Elsa Kerscher: Actor

Fionn Cameron: Actor 

Ash McGarvey: Actor

Apollo Fea: Technical Manager:

LIFE WAS BETTER ON BALCARY BAY:

Written by Alexander Artis

Directed by Caladh Walker 

Emma Semple: Actor

Alexander Artis: Actor

Loz Thom: Technical Manager

Katie Edmundson: Stage Manager

THE SPILLING CUP:

Written by Noemie Galante

Directed by James Wood

Mary Taylor as Sasha

Carla Watson: Assistant Director

Jack Read: Lighting Desinger