# World Interplay > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/World_Interplay > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/World_Interplay.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Interplay > Source revision: 1174859374 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **World Interplay** is the largest festival of young playwrights in the world. It is the peak activity of the Interplay organisation, and is held for two weeks every two years in [Townsville](/source/Townsville), [Australia](/source/Australia). The first World Interplay was held in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in 1985. ## Overview The 10th festival was held 3–17 July 2007. The 2007 Festival Director was the Australian theatre director [David Berthold](/source/David_Berthold).[1] The 11th Festival was held in Cairns, QLD 2009. The 2009 Festival Director was Australian theatre director Kate Gaul. 40 playwrights aged between 18 and 26 came from across Australia, China, Croatia, England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA. They were joined by senior directors and dramaturgs from ten nations for two weeks of workshops, forums and cultural exchange. The acclaimed Australian writer [Louis Nowra](/source/Louis_Nowra) delivered the opening address. At World Interplay 2003 and 2005, playwrights came from nations such as [Bulgaria](/source/Bulgaria), [Cambodia](/source/Cambodia), [Croatia](/source/Croatia), the [Czech Republic](/source/Czech_Republic), [England](/source/England), [Finland](/source/Finland), [Germany](/source/Germany), [Ghana](/source/Ghana), [Greece](/source/Greece), [Hungary](/source/Hungary), [Iceland](/source/Iceland), [Japan](/source/Japan), [Kenya](/source/Kenya), [Mexico](/source/Mexico), the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands), [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand), [Scotland](/source/Scotland), [South Africa](/source/South_Africa), [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland), the [U.S.](/source/United_States), [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela), and [Vietnam](/source/Vietnam), as well as [Australia](/source/Australia). World Interplay is supported by the [Australia Council](/source/Australia_Council), Arts Queensland, [Townsville City Council](/source/Townsville_City_Council), [James Cook University](/source/James_Cook_University), and the [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)](/source/Department_of_Foreign_Affairs_and_Trade_(Australia)). Long term partner organisations include the [Royal Court Theatre](/source/Royal_Court_Theatre) and the [Utrecht School of the Arts](/source/Utrecht_School_of_the_Arts). ## Interplay Europe [Interplay Europe](/source/Interplay_Europe) is held in alternate years to World Interplay, and involves young playwrights from across Europe. The first Interplay Europe was held in 1995. in [Berlin](/source/Berlin) and Interplay Europe e.V became official in 1998., which was also in [Berlin](/source/Berlin). Interplay Africa held festivals in 1994 and 1996, and has worked in other areas since. ## See also - [List of festivals in Australia](/source/List_of_festivals_in_Australia) ## References 1. ["David Berthold"](http://www.atyp.com.au/about/alumni/david-berthold). Australian Theatre for Young People. Retrieved 11 October 2013. ## External links - [World Interplay website](http://www.worldinterplay.org) - [Interplay Europe website](http://www.interplay-europe.de) - [Interplay Europe 2008](http://www.utrechtsummerschool.nl/index.php?page=courses&code=C13) - [World Interplay MySpace page](http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=170591454) - [Interplay Africa October 2008](http://allafrica.com/stories/200810170139.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [World Interplay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Interplay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Interplay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.