THERE will be plenty of theatrics and drama in Bolton next week as third Reveal Festival hits the streets.

Eight "original and exciting performances" will be showcased across two weeks throughout locations in the town.

The festival, organised by the Octagon Theatre, opens on Monday with Flight, performing at the University of Bolton Institute of Management.

Nuzhat Ali's play is about a man and his daughter who, with everything to lose, make a desperate and dangerous flight from Syria to Europe. The story will be performed for the first time in the open air on the roof-tops of Bolton.

Performing in The Venue Bar on April 25 and April 26 will be When We Were Brothers by Ben Tagoe.

It explores male friendship, masculinity, betrayal and the fragile nature of the human psyche.

Ben said: "I've wanted to write a play specifically about male mental health and male friendships for a long time. Those relationships and the brittleness of the male psyche provide the central themes of ‘When We Were Brothers’.

"Since writing the play and losing a close friend, the subject of men’s mental health seems to have been talked about more and more in the media, which is a good thing. I've started to realise just how common it is for men to express fear or sadness through anger or violence. I wanted to write a story about two friends who both learn to address that in themselves, but at different times and in different ways. For one of them, it’s a matter of life or death.

"Even though the play deals with a difficult subject matter, I’ve really tried to make sure it isn’t depressing. I wanted to write a play that celebrates male friendship and those brilliant relationships that lots of men have, where we basically tell our mates that we love them by insulting them and making fun of them."

Monkeywood Theatre returns to the festival, with Trial. Performed in a courtroom setting the work features explosive stories about women and girls in 2018 Britain.

The play centres on four women on trial, who no one believes. The performance weaves together women’s’ stories and includes verbatim court material.It is set in the Council Chamber.

Monkeywood Co-Artistic Director, Sarah McDonald Hughes, said: "Often, female victims in these cases are portrayed, either directly or by implication, as liars, as untrustworthy, as ‘bad’ citizens. At the time of making the play, it felt like the whole world was contributing material.

"We would literally discuss something one day, and a news story would break the next, covering the same ground.

"Whilst this horrified us — the stories themselves — it also galvanized us: we felt like this was absolutely the right play to be making now."

The play takes place April 26 to April 28

For a full line-up visit https://octagonbolton.co.uk/get-involved/artist-development/reveal-2018/