The International Play writing Festival was founded in 1986 by Steve Gooch and Ted Craig and was hosted by the new playwriting theatre, Warehouse Theatre until the Warehouse Theater Company Limited went into administration in May 2012.
The Festival acted to ensure its reputation and continuation and is now under the umbrella of a new company, Warehouse Phoenix Limited.
The IPF is held in two parts: the first is a competition with entries accepted from all over the world, which are judged by a panel of distinguished theater practitioners.
The IPF has two international partners - Extra Candoni, Udine, Italy, and Theatro Ena, Nicosia, Cyprus representing Italian and Greek new writing.
Writers discovered by the IPF include: The Festival patron is Thelma Holt CBE.