RECENT PLAYS
My plays have been performed in London, Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Salisbury, Wales, Cambridge, Buxton, Frome and elsewhere. I have had a number of plays recorded as audio dramas. I have worked with a variety of theatre companies, many of whom specialise in new writing, including: Theatre West, Screenology, Pint-Sized (London), Little Pieces of Gold, the Crucible Theatre Studio, Sheffield, Salisbury Playhouse, Merlin Theatre, Frome, Juno Theatre, Duelling Productions, Broken Silence Theatre, BS13 Theatre Co, Pint-Sized Plays (Wales), Crystal Clear Creators, Theatrelab, The Space, Green Lights, Wireless Theatre Co, Old Bag Theatre Co and Rapscallion Theatre, amongst others. Here is a selection of my work.
WHALE SONG
April 2021
When Ruthie's mother dies, she returns to her deadbeat seaside hometown to face a mountain of debts and hostility. With her back against the wall, she comes up with a scheme. She decides to invent a whale.
Screenplay in development with Screenology, Bristol.
FLOTSAM
April 2021
Stevie is in crisis. Her family is falling apart and her job is in jeopardy. It's time to face up to the creatures in her head. It's just a shame those creatures turn out to be Carl Jung and Hildegard of Bingen.
A play in development with Theatre West.
LITTLE POTATOES
2019
A powerful, bittersweet comedy-drama set in Shanghai about marriage, mothers, and family planning, Little Potatoes looks at the the short and long term consequences of China's one-child policy.
Little Potatoes had a successful Edinburgh run in 2018. In 2019, it was performed at the Old Red Lion in London and then went on tour with Red Dragonfly Productions.
Some of our audience responses:
'Beautiful, heartbreaking'
‘Incredibly well written, intensely moving, amazingly acted’
‘Clever, funny, political and often very moving. One of the best-written plays I’ve seen in ages'.
MOUTHY
2019
Kate Rogers MP is feisty and mouthy and would go to the ends of the earth for her constituents. But lately, her Twitter trolls have been getting under her skin.
A short monologue filmed by Screenology as part of the Fourteen project. Featuring Suzanne Kendall, directed by Hannah Entwistle Jones.
SANDWICHES
2018
It's Sam's first day on the sandwich production line. Ruby feels like she's been there forever. Paul, their manager, can't stand either of them, he can't stand any students. But he needs them in order to compete for the coveted annual Sarnie awards.
Sandwiches was shortlisted by the highly acclaimed Little Pieces of Gold (one of 19 out of 600 plays). It had a successful rehearsed reading at the Space in London. The event received 5*s from thespyinthestalls.com:
"A comedy that dredges laughs from the low wage economy, ‘Sandwiches’ by Clare Reddaway shows life on the sandwich production line, with three tightly written acts squeezing in erotic sandwich fillings, a villain with a whistle played by Nigel Fyfe and a showdown at the industry’s ‘Sarnies’ awards."
Sandwiches also received a rehearsed reading at the Egg Theatre, Bath.
I am currently developing Sandwiches as a full length play.
SUNGRAZER
2018
Annika is a biochemist at a nuclear power plant. Her sister Inga is an anti-nuclear protester with a penchant for stargazing. Sungrazer is a short play inspired by a jellyfish related near-disaster at the Oskarshamn nuclear plant in south-east Sweden.
It was performed in November by Broken Silence Theatre at the Old Red Lion in Islington as part of their Voices From Home festival. I was proud to be part of an event showcasing the varied and powerful voices of regional female writers.
ICONOCLAST
2018
William, a Reformation Protestant zealot, is determined to whitewash an idolatrous church painting, until he is confronted by a demon who is equally determined to stop him. Iconoclast is a short site-specific play inspired by the Doom picture in St Thomas's Church, Salisbury.
It was performed in St Thomas' Church as part of Juno Theatre's Salisbury Tales series. It was glorious to see the play taking place under the picture that inspired it.
THE RIFT
2017
When a huge crack opens up dividing the town of Pleasantbury down the middle, lovers Gethin and Becs are separated. They try to reunite, with disastrous consequences. The Rift is a surreal modern folk tale about contemporary Britain.
It was one of the 4x15 plays produced at the Crucible Theatre Studio in Sheffield. The Rift also received a rehearsed reading as part of Out of Your Mind Festival, at the Egg Theatre in Bath, 2018.
The Rift has 'great wit and panache,and a really strong, arresting narrative idea' [Robert Hastie, Artistic Director, Sheffield Theatres].
THE RED COURT
2017
The Red Court is a full length play set in modern China. The play examines the downfall of Communist leader Bo Xilai and his wife Gu Kailai, who murdered her British lover. It is a true scandal of power and ambition, laced with corruption, adultery and murder, retold as a contemporary Macbeth. The Red Court won a national competition hosted by the Confucius Institute at Sheffield University, as part of the Festival of Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu.
The Red Court was performed at the Rondo Theatre Bath, at Burdall’s Yard as part of the Bath Fringe Festival and at the Clifton Library in Bristol. (Director Carolyn Csonka, Rapscallion Theatre.) As the competition winner, the cast and crew of The Red Court were taken to Shanghai – but we were not allowed to perform the play in China.
RIPE APRICOTS, BURNING OIL
2017
Ripe Apricots, Burning Oil is a monologue about an Iranian refugee seeking asylum in the UK.
It was chosen by Pint-sized to be part of their February showcase at the Bunker Theatre, London Bridge. Pint-sized feature “some of the best new writing talent in the UK”. I was thrilled to have the wonderful writer Stella Feehily as my mentor.
“A beautiful piece of writing”, Stella Feehily, playwright, on Ripe Apricots, Burning Oil.
I SAID NO
2016
I Said No explores the struggle of a conscientious objector, Arthur Ballard, in 1916, as he follows his conscience and objects to killing his fellow man. Inspired by historical accounts, I Said No is theatrical, engaging, thought-provoking – and still topical.
It was commissioned by Bath Quaker Meeting to commemorate the centenary of conscription. (Director Carolyn Csonka, Rapscallion Theatre).
“The dialogue is crisp and evocative, and the cast are resourceful, versatile actors whose portrayal of the various characters is always vivid and often moving.” [Theatre Bath
CUTTING CORNERS
2016
Maria and Katrina sort scraps of fur, sent back to their village from their sons who sweep the floors of furriers in New York. As they work, they wonder about the lives that their sons now lead and whether they will ever see them again. Cutting Corners is a short play set in Greece in 1946.
It was one of the winners of Juno Theatre’s Circling The Square competition, which selected ‘the best new playwrights in the south-west’. It was performed in Salisbury (director Kirsty Davies).
For more information about the project click here.
ANGEL OF PECKHAM
2016
Angel of Peckham, my short play about Camilla Batmanghelidgh and the Kids Company, was performed by the Old Bag Theatre company at the Rondo in Bath (director Carolyn Csonka.)
The play then went on to win the McConnell New Writing Fund award and was produced in Camden, London (Duelling Productions). It was then performed at the Bath Fringe in May (Rapscallion Theatre), paired with another play as Dare To Care.
“A crisply directed and tightly written demonstration of all the theatrical skills,” (Theatre Bath ****)
I DON'T WANT TO BE YOKO ONO
2015
I Don’t Want To Be Yoko Ono, a comedy about tribute bands, got a standing ovation at the Bath Fringe in May 2015. It had previously been developed as part of Theatrelab, and had rehearsed readings at Burdall’s Yard in Bath and the Yard in Bristol.
2016 - 20
Other scripts
This Heart of Mine was given a rehearsed reading at the Merlin Theatre in Frome in 2020. It is a short play about a relationship affected by a heart transplant. It had previously had a rehearsed reading by Wordplay at Burdall's Yard.
My first short film I Know You Of Old was filmed in 2016 as part of My Name is Woman, for Shakespeare Unplugged, Theatre Royal Bath’s Shakespeare Festival (director Philip Perry).
I was one of the writers for Engage’s 24 Hour Plays at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2016. It was a great deal harder than I thought it would be, but my play Staggered was beautifully directed and performed (director Sam Ellis).
This Heart of Mine was given a rehearsed reading by Wordplay at Burdall’s Yard in 2017. It is a short play about a relationship affected by a heart transplant.
My short monologue Love, Ruby was shortlisted by The Female Gaze for their event celebrating female filmmakers.
My short radio play Very Shirley Valentine was recorded some time ago by the Radio Theatre Group. It recently received another playback session - ‘people love it, it feels very fresh’ (Charlotte Simon, Radio Theatre Group) - and will soon be transmitted on UCH Hospital Radio to the patients at the UCH in London. On another hospital radio station, Radio Stortford, my story A New Religion has recently been broadcast.
Love and Pleasure, a script about Mata Hari that was originally staged at St James’s Wine Vaults, Bath, was performed at the Swindon Fringe in 2016 (director Carolyn Csonka, Rapscallion Theatre).
Pre-Lash was shortlisted for the Chesil 10x10 Playwriting Festival, 2016
2015
My short monologue The Benevolent Influence of Monsieur Brillat-Savarin was enjoyed as part of an evening of new writing Infinite Stars at the Rondo in May (director Shane Morgan)
My play The Experiment, a ghost story, had a script-in-hand performance at the Zion Chapel in Bristol (BS13 Theatre Company). I wrote another piece, Sanctuary, for BS13 which was performed as a 20 minute script-in-hand in the autumn. It was a series of monologues about dogs at an animal sanctuary (director Bryn Holding). I was honoured when BS13 asked me to write their Christmas show A Brave Tin Solider (director Hannah Drake).
Reputation, a short audio drama, was recorded by the Backwell Playhouse. It was shortlisted in the Audio Verse Awards for Best Writing of an Original Standalone Production.
Freefall was performed at the Bierkeller in Bristol (director June Trask). It had a rehearsed reading at the Rondo (director Shane Morgan).
My script Maggie’s War, part of War 100, which was originally staged in 2014 at the Bierkeller, Bristol, toured Bath, Herefordshire and London (Andarta Productions).
Hula Hoops Were My Downfall, a monologue, was produced at the One Festival at The Space, Canary Wharf.
Care received a rehearsed reading at the Edwardian Cloakroom, Bristol (MakeshiftWings Theatre) (Great venue - basically an old and cold loo).
Care and Out of the Trees had rehearsed readings at Wordplay, Burdall’s Yard.
Sungrazer was given a script-in-hand reading at Green Lights, Bordeaux Quay (director June Trask), having had a rehearsed reading from Theatre West in Bristol.
BEFORE 2015
Love to Love You Baby was performed at the Rondo as part of a new writing evening All The Ghouls, (director Jazz Hazelwood).
Adrift was performed at the Rondo as part of a new writing evening Alliance (director Hannah Drake).
DV had a rehearsed reading at the Rondo.
Roadkill was a winner of the Pint Sized Plays Competition and was performed in pubs across Wales and at Theatr Gwaun, Fishguard. Omm, Wedding Dress and John The Baptist have all been shortlisted for the Pint Sized Plays competition.
Scam was produced by Bath Drama at the Rondo as part of their evening of new writing, Three Card Trick.
Flawed Hearts received a script in hand reading at Salisbury Playhouse as part of their Dialogue New Writing Showcase.
A New Dawn was shortlisted for Bristol Shorts, and given a rehearsed reading by Bath Drama.
Laying Ghosts was recorded by the Wireless Theatre Company. It is available to listen to on audiobooks.co.uk.
Very Shirley Valentine was recorded by the Radio Theatre Group and Somer Valley Voice.
Highly Satisfactory, an audio play about Emperor Haile Selassie’s wartime exile in Bath, was recorded by Crystal Clear Creators having won a Writing History award. It was developed for Radio 4 by BBC Bristol, but fell at the last commissioning hurdle.