THE annual Teignmouth Drama Festival is being held in Dawlish this year.

The old Carlton Theatre is gone, and the replacement – The Pavilions – will not be ready in time.

So the organisers have moved along the coast to the Shaftesbury Theatre for the 20th anniversary event.

Rodney Bowen, chairman of the festival, said: ‘Currently, there is no suitable venue in Teignmouth.

‘We are grateful to the Dawlish Repertory Company for welcoming us to the Shaftesbury this year and we look forward to bringing the festival to Dawlish.’

The Shaftesbury is a smart and well-equipped theatre with plenty of room to accommodate the visiting teams, which will present a series of one-act plays from March 17 to 19.

The plays will be judged by Russell Whiteley, a member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators and the winner will go forward to the next round of the All-England Theatre Festival, which will take place in Exmouth on April 23.