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Premier League promotion part of writing festival

Jon Wright
BBC News, Suffolk
Reporting fromHalesworth
Jon Wright/BBC A woman stands wearing a sheepskin coat and speaking into a microphone, closer to the camera a man has a baby in a sling. He is wearing an Ipswich Town football shirt and the baby is draped in an Ipswich flag.Jon Wright/BBC
Charlotte Parry and Ben Elder play a couple whose first child's birth coincides with a potentially promotion-winning match for Ipswich Town

A new play inspired by a football club's promotion to the Premier League is being staged as relegation back to the Championship is all but certain.

Flying Start is the story of Harry, who has an extravagant stunt lined up for Ipswich Town's final match of the season, but his wife is going into labour.

It is part of the annual Ink festival in Halesworth, Suffolk - a showcase of new short plays.

Writer Mary Onions said: "My son-in-law is a big Ipswich Town fan, so we have been sharing the ups and downs with him over the past year.... mainly downs."

Jon Wright/BBC Director Callum Berridge and writer Mary Onions stand together in front of a small, green, corrugated metal building. There are blue and yellow flags behind them.Jon Wright/BBC
Director Callum Berridge and writer Mary Onions outside the Scout Hunt in Halesworth, where Flying Start was staged

Ipswich secured promotion after finishing second in the Championship in the 2023/24 season, sparking jubilant celebrations from supporters.

However, their time in the top flight has been spent towards the bottom of the table, with just four wins so far.

They face Newcastle at 15:00 BST, with four subsequent matches before the end of the season.

Anything but a win at St James' Park will confirm relegation, and even then the Blues would need a dramatic change in fortune to stay up.

John Fairhall/BBC A crowd of people, including a small child on someone's shoulders, waving Ipswich Town flags, with blue smoke in the air.John Fairhall/BBC
Tens of thousands of fans lined the streets for Ipswich Town's promotion celebrations, with players in an open-top bus ending up in Christchurch Park

The Ink Festival spans five days, showcasing over 70 new short plays, staged in multiple venues around Halesworth by professional actors and directors.

The final pieces are selected from over 1,000 submissions, which are open to all writers at any stage of their careers.

Flying Start was part of Pod Seven, four plays directed by Callum Berridge and performed by Ben Elder and Charlotte Parry.

Mr Berridge, who is associate director at Eastern Angles theatre company based in Ipswich, said: "Instantly when I saw Mary's play I knew it was going to be such a crowd pleaser.

"There are so few platforms for writers to have their work showcased, so Ink is a really key part of the theatre ecology in Suffolk."

Contributed Nigel Planer, a man with grey hair, stands in front of a wall with a neutral expression on his face.Contributed
Nigel Planer played Neil in the 1980s comedy The Young Ones, and currently tours as a poet with his friend Henry Normal

This year Young Ones star Nigel Planer is one of the Inkredibles - famous supporters who have written a play for the festival.

He told BBC Radio Suffolk: "It's the only [festival] for playwrights, as far as I know.

"That's very important because getting a play on; getting a theatre, getting actors, we'll try and pay them, it's the hardest thing in the world!

"And it's not just emerging writers, almost every writer I know has this problem, just getting their work on.

"I think all playwrights are just thirsty for the experience of seeing their work performed, so Ink is incredibly important."

'I've no doubt we have saved lives'

Following the four days of programming, the festival hosts have invited schools to see performances from Monday, with some performances developed to tour.

Ink director Julia Sowerbutts said: "If you see a play, whether it is about bullying or being gay, or all sorts of subjects, it can be very enlightening.

"People can sometimes think we are just a fluffy theatre company, but we've done a play about county lines which has been seen by thousands of young people. I am certain that has saved lives.

"We have just been asked by the NHS to write a play about youth suicide, so we will tour that after the festival.

"I think it is really important, but it is sometimes difficult to convince people how important it really is."

Jon Wright/BBC Julia Sowerbutts, in a bright yellow top, stands with an INK lanyard around her neck. there are blue and yellow flags in the background and a queue of people entering a barn.Jon Wright/BBC
Festival director Julia Sowerbutts, at Holton Barns, a new venue for the ninth edition of Ink

The INK festival runs from April 24-28 2025.

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