FAQs
No. Entry is by a rota system, in which groups having taken part in one year go to the end of the “queue” in the following year.
All FEATS adjudicators are theatrical professionals with considerable experience. They are drawn from the members of GODA, the Guild of Drama Adjudicators, membership of which is subject to a selection procedure.
The running order is determined by the organising committee of the current festival, taking into account the following criteria:
- length of productions – to control, as far as possible, the length of each evening’s entertainment
- technical requirements
- type of piece – with the aim of ensuring a varied evening’s entertainment
- the groups’ expressed preferences.
Any impression that certain groups are favoured in the running order by getting their requested “slots” as a matter of course is mistaken.
The festival runs for four evenings, usually Friday to Monday. So to make sure you see all the plays you should plan to arrive on Friday afternoon or early evening and leave the following Tuesday morning.
Generally each evening will begin at 19:30 and end around midnight – later on the last evening to allow time for the awards ceremony. During the day on Saturday, Sunday and Monday you can enjoy the FEATS fringe.
Any group that puts on productions in English and is based in mainland Europe.
If a group has not taken part before, it is recommended that it applies to put on a production in the Fringe Festival which accompanies the main festival, and also sits in the audience for at least one main festival. Immediately following the FEATS at which it has been present, as part of the Fringe, in the audience or both, the group should then send its application to perform to the following year’s host group. A new group to the Festival has an automatic right of entry for its first appearance and does not have to go through the annual selection procedure for that year.
See also the page containing information for new groups.
Participating groups must ensure that performing rights for plays are paid where required. Within the EU, copyright protection is applicable until seventy years after the author’s death; so even if you are performing a play written long ago, you need to check whether rights have to be paid, especially in the case of a translation.
One of the first things to do when choosing a play is to acquire the performing rights from the author or publisher. In addition, you must secure written authorisation for any cuts or changes made to the script.
Proof that rights have been granted must reach the organising committee within the time constraints allowed in the technical package. The absence of performing rights means that you will not be permitted to perform at the festival.
The rules stipulate a length of “not less than twenty minutes or more than fifty-five”. However, they add that the organising committee may set different minimum and maximum times within these bounds. In practice the maximum is very often set at 50 minutes or under in order to manage the evening timetable.