A new writing festival is coming to Luton next month giving writers, actors and directors from the town a chance to flex their creative muscles for an evening of entertainment.

For its first year, Homegrown Festival will bring 10 10-minute plays to Luton Library Theatre, with the cast, crew and writers all coming from the town.

In May, the festival asked for submissions about ‘pride’ and whittled down the final list from 100 short plays. Netflix and Amazon Prime actor Adeyinka Akinrinade helped to pick the 10 alongside Homegrown Organisers Teresa Burns, an award-winning writer, theatre producer Dana Hudson and Call the Midwife actor Lucas Murphy.

Organiser Teresa Burns said: “They could interpret that theme however they saw fit. So it could be about LGBT+ stories, or it could be about hometown pride, or pride in your identity.

“It’s going to be really varied night of entertainment. We've got comedies, more dramatic plays and ones that would make you cry. It’s on the day after the general general election, and Pride in Luton is the day after. It feels like a perfect moment to hear from local writers."

Here are all the plays on the night:

2 Consolations by Grace Clinton. Directed by Sidney Belony

232 Million Years by Sophie Stemmons. Directed by Lucas Murphy

Gnome Anne’s Land by Deborah Heath, Directed by Sam Turton

Headstrong by Kat Anderson. Directed by Adeyinka Akinrinade & Bruno Rebelo

Kali Chaudas by Rishi Vaja. Directed by Prashant Tailor

Lionesses by Rebekah Taylor. Directed by Rebekah Taylor

Loo-ton by Natalie Cummings. Directed by Shantè Campbell

No Shame by Jonathan Meyers. Directed by Molly Sims

The Crease by Kelly Jones. Directed by Eva Sampson

What Will The Neighbours Think by Sam Turton. Directed by Tiarnan Doherty

Teresa added: “We set this up because we wanted to give a platform to local talent. It's really important that people come along and support and revel in how much talent there is in this town.”

Tickets are £10 each and will the plays will be performed at 7.30pm on July 5 at the Luton Library Theatre in St George’s Square. The duration will be around two hours, including an interval, and it is recommended for those aged 14 and above.