New Writing

I trained on the Royal Court’s Young Writers’ group, and write much of Bucket Club’s work. I love working with writers and makers to develop new plays. Alongside my own directing, I’ve worked as an assistant on new plays at the Young Vic and the RSC, from initial workshops to final production.

Piece of Me

Ever feel like you’re being watched? You probably are, bitch. This Britney-inspired show examines surveillance ethics and the cult of celebrity with an original soundtrack that fizzes with nostalgia.

Five Children and It

Sent away to live in the countryside with their reclusive Uncle, five children discover a secret that’s been hidden away for centuries: a magical, mischievous and extremely grumpy Sand Fairy called It with the power to grant spectacular wishes. There’s just one catch…

I worked with playwright Marietta Kirkbride to develop this new adaptation of E. Nesbit’s classic. The show is a co-production between Bucket Club and The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath.

‘An inventive, carefully constructed show… maintains The Egg’s proud tradition of delivering beautiful Christmas treats.’ ★★★★ The Stage

‘Hooray, hooray for this utter triumph of a show… proper family theatre of the highest quality’ Bristol24/7

‘We’ve enjoyed so many family productions at The Egg and without fail enjoyed every one. However, Bucket Club’s production of Five Children and It just about trumps the lot… a children’s theatrical masterclass’ The Bath and Wiltshire Parent

Written by Marietta Kirkbride | Design by Rebecca Jane Wood | Music by David Ridley | Lighting by Joe Price | Movement Director Jennifer Jackson | Puppet Direction Aya Nakamura | Puppet by Cat Rock | 2021 Cast: Patrick Bridgman, Hannah Bristow, Doxah Dzidzor, Craig Edwards, Hanora Kamen, Luke Murphy | Understudies: Peta Maurice and Dixie Newman | 2022 Cast: Patrick Bridgman, Kezrena James, Tika Mu’Tamir, Ellie Showering, Joseph Tweedale, Rose Wardlaw

The Long Trick

Kelsey. Cornish girl. Timid lover of anarchic music. Kelsey lives in a converted fishing boat moored on the Helford River. She is proud daughter to Tristan of Helford, the local legend who makes his living robbing the nearby second homes. Together they have a simple existence, marked by stolen smartphones, joyful gatherings and donations they make to give back to the community. But then Gale walks into their lives and Kelsey wakes up to who she really is. The outside world encroaches, and a delicate balance is knocked sideways in Tristan’s precarious world.

Told with narrative poetry, dialogue and song, The Long Trick is a new play by Marietta Kirkbride about one man’s protest against gentrification and what happens when ideas go beyond our control.

WINNER: PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD, VAULT FESTIVAL 2017

★★★★ Epigram | ★★★★ Breaking the Fourth Wall

Nel Crouch’s direction ensures that Kirkbride’s poetic script is never lost in action... Crouch handles the pacing with aplomb, and there’s never a dull moment onstage. Bakchormeeboy

An evocative piece of theatrical storytelling crafted with sophistication and skill. Laura Kressly, The Play’s the Thing

The Long Trick toured in February - March 2017. It played at The Poly in Falmouth, The Acorn in Penzance, at VAULT Festival, The Wardrobe in Bristol and at rural venues in Devon and Cornwall.

Written by Marietta Kirkbride | Design by Rebecca Jane Wood | Lighting by Joe Price | Sound by Aaron May | Cast: Jessica Murrain, Martha Seignior and Darcy Vanhinsbergh.

Speaker

Speaker was a new monologue directed as part of the Jerwood Assistant Director programme for Five Directors, Five Plays, Five Days. It was performed at the Young Vic in December 2016.

Designed by Cecilia Carey | Performed by Rose Wardlaw.

The Love I Feel is Red

Mona is pregnant. Her boyfriend has died. His mother is going crazy with grief and Mona has something big to tell her.

The Love I Feel is Red was a new play by Sabrina Mahfouz performed at Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol and Oran Mor in Glasgow as part of A Play a Pie and a Pint in May 2016.

'A work that has much to say about physicality and humanity, whether soaring across rooftops or crumpled on the bathroom floor.' Exeunt

★★★★'Not a line is wasted in this tightly directed short play... Mahfouz and Crouch masterfully use theatre to create a neutral space to play out these very difficult and loaded issues in public.' The Reviews Hub

Written by Sabrina Mahfouz | Cast: Janet Etuk and Heather Williams | Designer: Rebecca Jane Wood | Lighting: Joe Price | Produced by Tobacco Factory Theatres

**Fifty Years (rehearsed reading)**

Fifty Years is a comedy drama exploring fifty years of gay history through the history of two gay couples. One couple met five decades ago outside prison on the night homosexuality was partially decriminalised in the UK. The other couple met five months ago on gay dating app Grindr.

Fifty Years is a new play by James McDermott. It was developed on the Criterion New Writing programme and showcased in a rehearsed reading at the Criterion Theatre.

Performers: Nathan Armarkwei-Larya, Nick Finegan, Jake Phillips Head, Will Sutcliffe | Photos by Benjamin Graham

**Plow (rehearsed reading)**

Estelle is silently walking. She has been on the road for weeks. She has crossed three states yet no-one knows where she has come from and no-one knows where she is going. People along her route beg to touch her, feed her, follow her - she cannot escape them nor the hurricane of press speculation, social media chatter and government suspicion that daily grows. And then there is the man who has decided she simply cannot be allowed to succeed....

Plow is a new play by Sharon Clark. It was workshopped for two days at Bristol Old Vic and presented as a rehearsed reading at the Arnolfini as part of Ferment Fortnight.

Plow won a Bruntwood Prize Judges' Award in 2017. It was also shortlisted for the 2017 Papatango Prize.

Performers: Lydia Blakemore Phillips, Ed Browning, Craig Edwards, Philip Edward Perry, Malcolm Hamilton, Gina Ruysen, Cath Swingler, Emma Vickery, Nadia Williams | Photos by Jack Offord

NEW WORK