The Room Decides | Shocking Scenes

THE ROOM DECIDES – SHOCKING SCENES

The Room Decides is an experimental new writing night in Birmingham where writers respond to a set brief and the audience decides whether each piece succeeds. At the end of the night, the audience selects an overall winner; the writer’s identity is revealed, and they are invited back for an extended encore performance at the next event.

THE EVENT

Date: 20 June 2026.

Location: Central Birmingham venue (Southside).

THE BRIEF – SHOCKING SCENES

The Room Decides is seeking short scripts that deliver a surprising or shocking moment (or moments). This could be dramatic, emotional, moral, comic, or unexpected in form.

They are looking for new writing that surprises audiences. Think of the shocking twist in Dennis Kelly’s Girls & Boys, the blinding of Gloucester in Shakespeare’s King Lear, the bomb in Sarah Kane’s Blasted, or the twist ending in Agatha Christie’s long-running whodunnit The Mousetrap — audiences love to be surprised, and The Room Decides wants your most unexpected work.

They are looking for work that includes a clear moment (or moments) the audience will not anticipate, disrupting expectations and creating immediate impact in performance.

Shock does not need to rely on extremity; subtle, strange, or comic approaches are equally welcome.

WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR

• Monologues, duologues, or short scenes (maximum cast of 4).
• Scripts suitable for live, script-in-hand performance. 
• Dialogue and character-led work with minimal technical requirements.
• Pieces approximately 10–15 minutes in length (approx. 10-15 pages, 1,500–2,500 words).

While the focus is on scriptwriting, they are open to consider submissions that intersect with aspects of new writing/performance (e.g. spoken word, comedy, drag) - provided you follow the brief ('shock the audience'), all submissions will be considered.

HOW THE EVENT WORKS

• Selected scripts are performed script-in-hand by a cast of actors.
• Writers remain anonymous during the event (except for the overall winning writer). 
• The audience votes after each piece on whether the writer succeeded in their goal (to 'shock the audience').
• One overall winner is selected by audience vote at the end of the night.
• The winning writer is invited back to present an extended version of their piece at a future event.

ELIGIBILITY

• Open to writers based in or originally from the West Midlands.
• Writers must be available to attend the event in Birmingham on 20 June 2026.
• Open to both emerging and experienced writers.

PAYMENT

This is a profit-share model. Ticket income (after costs) will be shared between writers, actors, and the production team. No fee is required to submit.

HOW TO APPLY

Writers should send:

• A script (10–15 minutes).
• Optional short writer bio (under 200 words). 

Email: theroomdecides@gmail.com

Subject line: WRITER SUBMISSION – SHOCKING SCENES: [YOUR NAME]

DEADLINE

30 April 2026, 23:59 (BST).

FURTHER INFORMATION

For more info find them @theroomdecides on Insta, or follow this link for the full writer brief: WRITER CALLOUT - THE ROOM DECIDES.pdf - Google Drive