I'm a playwright based in Cornwall, originally from London, and I've
been writing (and directing) for professional touring companies for
the last five years (six full-length small cast plays in total). As well as
this I've written and directed fourteen large cast plays for community groups,
Hall for Cornwall youth theatre and secondary school/6th form productions going further back over the last twelve years. This I used to do in tandem with
acting (I trained at Lamda), however as writing commissions have increased year
on year I now write full time.
I've also written one feature length screenplay, which has been optioned by an
independent film company in New York.
My large cast plays for young people constitute a valuable resource for drama teachers teaching GCSE or 6th form who wish to mount school plays that tackle challenging or serious issues, and who may want a change from 'Joseph', 'Les Mis' etc. My ambition is always to create a piece that aspires to professional creative and production values, that will entertain, intrigue, shock, scare, provoke and move an audience as much as would any play in any 'real' theatre. These are not ordinary 'school plays'. Often they take as their settings political/historical flashpoints (sewers under Stalingrad, East Germany in the 1970s, religious extremism). They are text-based, with a spread of 'major' and 'minor' parts combined with ensemble work. They almost always involve the students playing their casting age (as would happen in the professional world) combining authentic, broken dialogue with vivid theatricality. They are often multi-media, requiring the use of film, dance/physical theatre, or live music. My method of writing, up to now, has been to meet the students over a number of longish workshop sessions (scheduled well ahead of time), get to know their strengths and castings through a variety of drama games (often quite silly), and then write a play specifically for them, according to the spread of talent, their casting ages, gender split, specialist skills etc. Often they will contribute to the issues/narrative arc, so that they can have a sense of ownership of the piece. For local schools, I then direct/rehearse the play, design the sound, shoot any filmed elements and, in concert with the head of drama, produce the finished piece.
This has left me with a back catalogue of plays which can be used elsewhere. Drama departments can either buy the play alone, or the sound files as well (I use Qlab to run the shows), and whatever filmed elements I have that are transferrable. Alternatively, I can be hired to write a new play specifically for their school, or take an old one, but re-work it according to whatever casting restrictions a school might have, and then either leave it to be directed 'in-house', or take that job myself, either partially or fully, depending on location/feasibility. This is costed on a job-by-job basis.
Just as a caveat- this web-site is in its infancy! More will be added as soon as time allows, including play synopses, character break-downs, production information, images, sound files, further testimonials and access to the scripts. In the meantime, feel free to contact me for whatever information you need.
My adult work often draws influences from the fraught emotional and social dynamics between children and adults (fostering, institutional neglect, teaching, parenting), or the adult repercussions of damage sustained when a child. My plays often have young people (or actors whose casting is young) in them. I would however stress that none of my plays are ever solely ‘issue’-driven, or tub-thumping. I like ambivalence, complex characters, sub-text, humour and attending to the audience, rather than an agenda. I also like a good story.
My large cast plays for young people constitute a valuable resource for drama teachers teaching GCSE or 6th form who wish to mount school plays that tackle challenging or serious issues, and who may want a change from 'Joseph', 'Les Mis' etc. My ambition is always to create a piece that aspires to professional creative and production values, that will entertain, intrigue, shock, scare, provoke and move an audience as much as would any play in any 'real' theatre. These are not ordinary 'school plays'. Often they take as their settings political/historical flashpoints (sewers under Stalingrad, East Germany in the 1970s, religious extremism). They are text-based, with a spread of 'major' and 'minor' parts combined with ensemble work. They almost always involve the students playing their casting age (as would happen in the professional world) combining authentic, broken dialogue with vivid theatricality. They are often multi-media, requiring the use of film, dance/physical theatre, or live music. My method of writing, up to now, has been to meet the students over a number of longish workshop sessions (scheduled well ahead of time), get to know their strengths and castings through a variety of drama games (often quite silly), and then write a play specifically for them, according to the spread of talent, their casting ages, gender split, specialist skills etc. Often they will contribute to the issues/narrative arc, so that they can have a sense of ownership of the piece. For local schools, I then direct/rehearse the play, design the sound, shoot any filmed elements and, in concert with the head of drama, produce the finished piece.
This has left me with a back catalogue of plays which can be used elsewhere. Drama departments can either buy the play alone, or the sound files as well (I use Qlab to run the shows), and whatever filmed elements I have that are transferrable. Alternatively, I can be hired to write a new play specifically for their school, or take an old one, but re-work it according to whatever casting restrictions a school might have, and then either leave it to be directed 'in-house', or take that job myself, either partially or fully, depending on location/feasibility. This is costed on a job-by-job basis.
Just as a caveat- this web-site is in its infancy! More will be added as soon as time allows, including play synopses, character break-downs, production information, images, sound files, further testimonials and access to the scripts. In the meantime, feel free to contact me for whatever information you need.
My adult work often draws influences from the fraught emotional and social dynamics between children and adults (fostering, institutional neglect, teaching, parenting), or the adult repercussions of damage sustained when a child. My plays often have young people (or actors whose casting is young) in them. I would however stress that none of my plays are ever solely ‘issue’-driven, or tub-thumping. I like ambivalence, complex characters, sub-text, humour and attending to the audience, rather than an agenda. I also like a good story.
