A TOP young Inverclyde writer and director has chosen a novel approach to showcasing emerging talent at his Beacon show later this month.

Greenock-based playwright Christopher Patrick and his theatre company Toasted Fiction present The Podcast Sessions on March 31 – four new pieces performed as live radio plays in front of an audience at the waterfront venue.

The plays will also be recorded and then put online as podcasts to be enjoyed by audiences far and wide.

The 24-year-old says it is an easy and effective way of ensuring emerging writers and performers get that vital experience of live theatre.

Christopher said: “I wanted to create a way to get my own writing and that of emerging artists out there. Also, it’s not always easy to stage a performance or mount a full production of a play.

“By performing the work as radio plays, it overcomes those challenges as all that it required is a script, actors, a few microphones – and an audience as well.

“Podcasting seems to be the new radio at the moment and although there are a variety of different storytelling podcasts, there are none that are committed to supporting and developing new writers, especially in Scotland.”

Although the concept is focused on the airwaves, Christopher says a traditional, live theatre audience is crucial to its success and is hoping for a strong turnout from the people of Inverclyde.

He said: “I tried recording radio plays before, but without the audience it didn’t work – we need their laughter, their reactions and the actors really respond to performing in front of them.”

Christopher has also penned a piece especially for the shows as has Tele columnist Amy Claire Shearer and other up-and-coming writers Jack Craig and Annie Lowry Thomas.

There is an eclectic mix on offer, including a murder mystery in space and a darker story on the macabre efforts of two people to spread the word of God – all performed live by actors.

The collaboration is part of the Beacon’s commitment to supporting local talent.

Christopher says he’s delighted to be working with the Greenock theatre and praised bosses for their support of young talent.

He said: “It’s a fantastic theatre and a great opportunity to produce something locally with the backing of a theatre like the Beacon.

“It has already supported writing workshops in the past so it feels like a natural progression to come back and do this project with them.”

Christopher is one of the country’s top young writers and has been making a name for himself across the country over the last few years.

His play The Constant Soldier was performed the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and his short plays, The Carriage and Full Stop, have been staged in various venues around Glasgow, including the Tron and Wee Theatres, a monthly event in Sloans.

Christopher also founded Toasted Fiction, a site dedicated to writer’s short pieces of fiction and he is one of Scottish Youth Theatre’s Young Writers.

The Podcast Sessions is supported by O2 Think Big and Inverclyde Place Partnership and will be performed at the Beacon on Thursday March 31.

Tickets are on sale now online at www.beaconartscentre.co.uk or from the box office on 723723.