A very special writing festival is coming to The Lyric Hammersmith, and the audience can be a part of it!

Young Harts Writing Festival, running on Friday and Saturday April 8-9 will see five young writers compete against five professional writers for the title of audience favourite.

But here's the twist: You won't know the author of each play when you cast your vote. The play with the most votes, wins.

Five 10-minute plays, each under the theme "Power", will be performed by professional actors on each of the two nights (from 8pm). The young writers taking part - picked through a competition - are aged between 10 and 25.

The Young Harts Writing Festival will take place at The Lyric Hammersmith

Kumi Vis, press manager of Harts Theatre, said: "There'll be five plays performed each night and the audience vote if they think it's been written by one of the young people or by a professional writer. They're able to vote at the end of the night.

"The aim is to bridge the gap for young people to step into the industry. They're [the young writers] also mentored by one of the professional writers as well, so they have that going forward."

The Young Writers include Conor Carroll, Fintan Dineen, Saffia Kavas, Sarah Milton and Tom Taborn. Professional Writers taking part will be Arinze Kene, Isley Lynn, Luke Barnes, Phoebe Eclair-Powell and Somalia Seaton.

Ms Vis said: "There are some really lovely names in the writing world and the acting world there, so we're really excited about it. We think it'll be a fun two nights, and hopefully it'll be something that goes ahead next year and has a longevity to it."

Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for concessions, and are available to buy online .

The Lyric , King Street, Lyric Square, Hammersmith , W6 0QL - 020 8741 6850