A drama festival notches up 70 years of inspiring amateur actors to tread the boards, expand their horizons and simply enjoy the art of performing.

To mark the occasion the Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival has a new home, moving to the Memorial Hall in Royal Wootton Bassett from Thursday, March 30 to Saturday, April 1.

Wiltshire theatre companies are being urged to join the special 70th anniversary celebrations by entering a play.

Last year's cream of the crop, scooping The Betty Peck Rosebowl for winning play, was Quirky Bird Theatre with their production Tusk Tusk, by Polly Sternham. The Swindon Advertiser Award for an original production was won by the Athenaeum Limelight Players for their presentation of Loose Threads by Marc Cox.

The Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival is a preliminary round of the All England Theatre Festival and is open to all amateur companies.

Each entry must be at least twenty minutes in length and not more than fifty-five minutes and must have at least two characters.

All the plays are judged by an adjudicator who marks on acting, production, stage presentation and dramatic achievement.

The festival is named after Swindon's librarian Harold Jolliffe who was known as the father of cultural life in Swindon, and was instrumental in opening the first arts centre in the town in 1956.

He took on the role in 1946 and the one act play festival began in 1947. It is under the guiding hand of the Swindon and District Theatre Guild which was set up to organise and promote the one act play festival and promote all forms of dramatic art in the area.

Any theatre company wanting more information about the festival or an application pack should visit http://www.swindonweb.com/hj1act/ - Flicky Harrison