New one-act plays to be presented on stage

The programme has been announced for this year’s Sky Comedy Rep series of one-act plays.

Eight scripts have been selected to be performed at the Birmingham Rep theatre later this month, each based on the premise of a ‘proposal in a park’.

More than 400 aspiring writers applied to this year’s scheme, which is run with Sky Studios, and previous successful entrants have gone on to develop projects for the production house and others.

The Rep's artistic director,  Sean Foley said: ‘I am incredibly excited to help these eight brilliant comedy writers take their first steps in this amazing industry.  Developing and nurturing new talent is central to what we do at The Rep.’

All the shows will be performed from May 22 to May 27 – dates which unfortunately overlap with the BBC’s comedy festival in Cardiff.

The plays, and their descriptions, are

Tom Critch (Salford): Suckers

Tom describes himself as a cack-handed Salfordian scribe with ideas way above his station, and wholly unreliable ankles. He is winner of the David Nobbs Memorial Trust competition and winner of Best Comedy at the Portobello Film Festival. Comedy has always been in his blood, which shows you how lackadaisical the NHS can be sometimes. 

Doug Crossley (Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent): Tree Shall Not Be Moved

Doug is a writer and performer, originally from Stoke on Trent. Past recognition includes being a finalist for the Mercury Weinberger playwriting prize and winning a place on the Bafta Rocliffe Forum List for his original sitcom, Fairies. He can often be found performing improv comedy on a house team at The Free Association in London.

Alice Etches (London): Patch

Alice Etches is a writer, actor and comedy performer. She has written for several series across TV and Radio, and was a finalist in the David Nobbs Competition 2018, Funny Women writing awards 2019 and BCG’s Yellow Door competition 2020. Alice is currently working on a number of short films, and sitcom scripts. Her character skits and sketches can be found on Instagram @aliceetches 

Aoife Kennan (Durham): Immaculate

Aoife is an actor and writer. She grew up in Durham but identifies as Irish and has the passport to prove it. She was recently on the Royal Court Writers Programme and has developed work through Masterclass Script Sessions. Her new play, Scrathes (a funny show about self-harm) was showcased at new writing nights at the Jermyn Street Theatre and will show at Vaukt Festival in 2023.

Mahad Ali  (London): Black Men Fishing

Mahad was part of BBC Studios Writers Academy 2021, where he worked on continuing drama series Eastenders, Holby City and Casualty. Also, a part of the inaugural Tamasha Theatre Playwriting group, Mahad performed at Stratford Theatre Royal Stratford East, Rich Mix, Park and Soho Theatre’s with Tamasha and Paines Plough. Currently Mahad’s is passionate about developing TV comedy/drama ideas which share the fun, joy and pain of the Black British African experience. 

Georgie Morrell (London)L The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

Georgie Morrell is a comedian, writer, voiceover artist and award-nominated actress, who has performed at various fringe festivals across the country including Great Yorkshire, Guildford and Leicester, along with three solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. Georgie has written for Metro and The Huffington Post. She has also featured in Time Out magazine and is an ambassador for the Royal Society for Blind Children.

Hattie Soykan (Manchester): Arranged Nikah

Hattie Soykan is a queer comedy writer who grew up with four cats, two rabbits, and a whole lot of existential dread in a tight-knit Muslim community in Manchester. She began her career at BuzzFeed where she wrote funny articles about pop culture and social commentary and has dabbled in writing sketch comedy at Soho Theatre. These days Hattie lives in London, with just one cat and a healthy sprinkle of leftover existential dread, where she writes stories centred around culture, sexuality, and identity.

Asia Wray – (Birmingham): Bruk Pocket Girl

Asia is a writer and poet hailing from Birmingham. Her work has featured on billboard campaigns for SPK About It (I Want to Run at Night) and Open Media (International Women’s Day). Her career ambition is to tell powerful stories reflective of the world around her. She describes this experience as a ‘full circle moment’, having left the city ten years ago.

For tickets to the Sky Comedy Rep performances, visit www.Birmingham-rep.co.uk

Published: 4 May 2023