A writer in residence will be kickstarting new fiction projects from a theatre with a colourful past.

Kate Scott has been announced as the new writer in residence of the Lyric Theatre in Bridport.

When Kate, of Bridport, approached the team at the Lyric earlier this year with an idea to delve into the building’s history and write a book set there, they jumped at the opportunity and invited her to be the venue's first writer in residence.

Niki McCretton, owner and artistic director of The Lyric, said: “We are thrilled to have Kate as our resident writer here at the Lyric. It is always exciting for us to have working artists in our building and community and no doubt her time here will inspire us and those who come and take part in workshops and talks that Kate runs as part of her time here.”

Bridport’s Lyric Theatre on Barrack Street has certainly had a colourful past since being built as an Independent Chapel in 1746. It has, among a variety of uses, been a Temperance Hall, Liberal Hall and was the original Electric Palace Cinema. It was listed in 1950 and was home to the Bernard Gale School of Dancing for many years.

Kate Scott has written more than 25 children’s books (trade fiction, educational fiction and non-fiction) and over forty children’s television scripts. She is a published poet (two collections and several anthologies) with work broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please and the US’s Writer’s Almanac. Kate is also a script editor and consultant for children’s film and television, and a playwright.

Her stage plays have been performed in the Salisbury Fringe Festival and at the Salisbury Playhouse Studio. Her radio play, Voice, was shortlisted for the Nick Darke Award. Her children’s novel, Spies in Disguise: Boy in Tights, won a Lancashire Fantastic Book Award in 2015. Her latest children’s book, Giant, was reviewed by Frank Cottrell-Boyce as being “fresh and funny... a book that celebrates friendship and the power of being true to yourself”. Giant has been shortlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award 2017; nominated for the Lancashire Fantastic Book Award 2018; longlisted for the Shrewsbury Book Fest Big Book Award and shortlisted for the Portsmouth Book Award. Another standalone novel, Just Jack, was published in April 2018 and has since been longlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award 2018 in the Quality Fiction category.

Kate is an experienced public speaker and runs high-energy, interactive school workshops on poetry and creative writing. She also runs workshops for adults and has run a popular screenwriting masterclass at The Lyric. Kate will be running some masterclasses in creative writing and scriptwriting for a range of age groups in the coming months. Join The Lyric’s mailing list to hear about these events: admin@the-lyric.com

As part of her residency Kate is now based part time at the Lyric, to gather and create an archive of Lyric history and kickstart some new fiction projects. She is particularly keen to hear from any 1950s cinema-goers and people who went to dance classes there.

If you have any anecdotes, memories, stories or snippets of history that you would be willing to share with Kate please get in touch with her at katelyrictheatre@gmail.com