As William Shakespeare himself once wrote: "All the world's a stage."

Including, it would appear, Croydon Council's town hall chamber.

This weekend the inner sanctum of the borough's democracy will be transformed into a theatre for the 30th International Playwriting Festival, a chance for young scribes across the globe the world to flex their dramatic muscles.

Originally created and hosted by the now-defunct Warehouse Theatre in Dingwall Road, the festival accepts submissions from around the world, which are judged by a "panel of distinguished theatre practitioners".

The best scripts are then produced and performed over two days, with other recommended entries also being featured in selected readings.

Following the closure of the Warehouse Theatre in 2012, the IPF decamped to nearby Fairfield Halls.

RELATED: Croydon's Warehouse Theatre enters administration

But organisers were forced to find yet another home for the festival this year, after the Labour council controversial decision to close Fairfield Halls for a £30m redevelopment in July.

This year's festival will include performances of "Shadowed", by Australian playwright Tony Zeane, and "Cold Calling", by Bath-based scribe Doc Watson.

Excerpts will also be read from plays by Arze Khodr from Lebanon, Natsu Hirukawa from Japan, and David Blackman, also from Australia.

Councillor Timothy Godfrey, Labour cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport, said: “This festival has a long and honourable history and I’m delighted we have been able to support it this year by making the council chamber available for performances and readings.”

This year's festival will also feature a question-and-answer session with Jeremy Kingston, the long-serving former theatre critic for The Times.

Students from the BRIT school will also take part by showcasing two new plays from their annual ‘strawberry picking’ season, while the festival’s international partners - Theatro Ena in Nicosia from Cyprus, and Extra Candoni from Udine, Italy - bring their own works to Croydon.

Despite the novel setting of this year's festival, some of Katharine Street's more strident personalities ensure the council chamber is no stranger to drama - including, as regular viewers of full council debates will attest, plenty of pantomime.

But as councillors flock back to the town hall this week for another season of political theatre following the summer break, they might do well to heed the Bard's words: "All the world's a stage - and all the men and women merely players."

The International Playwriting Festival takes place this Saturday and Sunday at Croydon town hall. For tickets visit Eventbrite.

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