Review: Street Voices 3****

Madani Younis, artistic director of Bradford-based Freedom Studios, has spent months working with a group of new playwrights from around Yorkshire, out of which emerged eight new plays.

Presented over two nights, the work demonstrated an unsurprising spectrum of quality. Some of the writing was clichd – to be expected from some of the less experienced writers on show – but a number of the short plays, all about 20 minutes long, were surprisingly good.

Dominic Douglas' 45 Minutes from Here, the final of the eight and shown to an audience which included Cluny Macpherson, the head of Arts Council Yorkshire, was a stand-out.

In 15 all-too-brief minutes he showed a seriously sophisticated grasp of the possibilities of what can be done on stage and did so with an amusing, light touch.

Likewise, Shaida Chaudhury showed an ability to conjure up a whole world in Licence to Conceive and displayed a comic hand weighted with real substance.

The directors, also learning their craft, were on occasion in too much of a hurry to show off their own skills, but it still made for two thrilling nights of theatre.

With Northern Bullitts, another chance for new Yorkshire-based playwrights to show off their wares coming to the venue next week, Bradford University's studio is becoming a crucible of hot new theatre work.Music