A young writer-director is staging his first theatre festival at a rural venue in West Devon.

Selwin Teague-Hulme is staging the four-play festival in Chapel Barn, at Tuell Farm, in Milton Abbot, over three days, from Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 21.

Selwin is an award-winning director from Tavistock, but is largely based in London. He specialises in collaborative new writing and working with actor-writers and has staged some of his other productions at the performance space on the farm which belongs to his parents James and Giselle.

The former Mount Kelly College pupil has written his own play, called The Well of Loneliness, which is being staged on Saturday, June 20, as part of the festival of three comedies and one drama.

Selwin said: “Despite the title, this is a comedy based on a book by Radclyffe Hall, which I have adapted and is a coming of age story about a girl with a boy’s name about 100 years ago.

“The book was banned because of its portrayal of masculine women with short hair and dressing as a boy, who were then called ‘inverts’. It’s probably one of the earliest literature characterisations of lesbians.

“The story has universal truths, such as the struggle to be loved and find love and growing up feeling as if you don’t fit in.

“I bring my own perspective as a gay man and the issues that brings with it. It is, however, optimistic and light-hearted. I was brought up with very supportive parents.”

Selwin almost fell into directing by accident after volunteering at the Barbican Theatre, Plymouth, having asked if he could shadow the director.

He studied and trained in drama earlier in his life, but had not considered directing. The combined experience led him to his multi-faceted career. All the theatre companies appearing have been commissioned, to ensure quality drama is staged for the West Devon audience.

The plays are chosen to be accessible to a wide audience and on a small scale.

One production, ‘The Thing About Goats’, is coming to Chapel Barn Theatre Festival on Sunday, June 21.

It is being staged by Exeter-based Baby Panda theatre company which makes witty plays with puppetry for young audiences by collaborating with the greatest puppet artists in the UK and beyond. The story covers a mountain dwelling boy and a greedy goat.

The Dame Show, at the festival, also on Sunday, June 21, in the evening, is being staged by Lizi Bennett (from Exeter), Marina OShea and Primrose Bigwood, a West Country based actress and part of the 2026 cohort of Screen Cornwall x BFI South West New Writers Network. This comedy dramatises a TV game show and tackles women’s health.

The fourth play, ‘Cavalier’, is bing staged on Friday, June 19 at the barn by ‘i.e. theatre’, telling the story of the English Civil War in a ‘hilarious interactive way’.

i.e theatre has created ten shows and has performed them in Barnstaple, Colchester, Stroud and Dundee: “We're passionate about new writing. Our work uses music, poetry and comedy with a historic theme.”

Further details at this link: https://tinyurl.com/myzjjsvr