29 March - 23 April. The tenth edition of Trend - New frontiers of the British scene is taking place currently at the Teatro Belli in Trastevere. The month-long festival of British drama provides a bridge between established and emerging British talent, and the programme contains award-winning works from noted playwrights as well as recent plays by younger authors.

Translated from their original language into Italian, the plays in the theatre festival, which is supported by the city of Rome, raise awareness of contemporary British theatre among a new audience.

Productions include The Author, Tim Crouch's disturbing tale of the effects of a play on two characters: the actor and the spectator, and Edward Bond's futuristic Have I None, set in 2077. London playwright Dennis Kelly has two customarily dark offerings - Orphans, a tense account of the unravelling consequences of an act of violence, and Taking Care of Baby, a tale of matricide and imprisonment.

Simon Stephens' One Minute follows five characters affected by the disappearance of a child, Caryl Churchill's Far Away is set in a paranoid world in which nature is at war with itself, and the event finishes with Moonfleece, Philip Ridley's compelling tale of secrets and shattered relationships set in London's East End.

Teatro Belli, Pizza S. Apollonia 11/a, tel. 065894875.

www.teatrobelli.it