To sign up for priority booking for future iterations of the 503Studio: Writers Programme, please join the waiting list here. Her ambition is to become a showrunner after tasting creative autonomy with Cradled, her half-hour story about modern-day motherhood for Channel 4’s On the Edge anthology series. HighTide festival, ensconced in its round, cavernous brand new space at pop-up venue The Mix, reflects the democratic nature of theatre. Audiences and actors are equals, and all voices are heard, monitored and weighed up, no matter how much personal views may conflict with those of the characters on stage. It's an important sentiment, and an essential one for Nessah Muthy's Heroine, directed by HighTide artistic director Steven Atkinson.

It was inherent that we knit in the kind of ideology of the play into the way it was made,” she said. “[The making and writing of the play] were kind of in symbiosis, and should always be feeding each other. So [sustainability] was literally written into the DNA before I started writing.” Her writing voice is distinct and she is the inaugural recipient of the Verity Bargate Character 7 Award – Character 7 is a TV production company who give you money to option and develop an idea for television production. When we return to Nanny’s flat, we find it lit up with tiny adventures. Qeiva and I spot mini models of Nanny and Bella playing around in the bread bin; dancing about on top of a broom; laughing happily in a frying pan. There’s magic everywhere we turn, now that we know to look for it. For theatre Nessah is currently under commission to: the Actors Touring Company (ATC); National Youth Theatre (NYT); Fuel; Boundless Theatre; Kiln Theatre; Almeida Theatre; English Touring Theatre (ETT); and a member of the Old Vic 12.The play manages to be sustainable by encouraging audience members to provide props from what they’ve brought with them, and Muthy said that it was essential that eco-consciousness be woven into the production. What I love about writing is thinking up insane things that can come out of characters’ mouths,” he says. “I’m into [writing] wonderful people that embody life and all of the moral questions and quandaries that we’re all trying to figure out.” Nicola Chang (Sound designer/Composer), Chi-San Howard (Movement Director) and Cindy Lin (Designer) are a part of the creative teams for all three productions. The Old Vic and Shoreditch Town Hall announce this year’s The Old Vic 12 – a group of writers, producers, directors and creatives who, since March, have been working together digitally and in person, in line with social distancing, to create three new pieces of work.

Nessah is currently under commission to: the Actors Touring Company (ATC), National Youth Theatre (NYT), Fuel, Boundless Theatre, Kiln Theatre, Almeida Theatre, English Touring Theatre (ETT) and a member of the Old Vic 12. The writer of Cradled, Nessah Muthy, is an established TV and theatre writer, working as part of the Coronation Street script team, as well as juggling multiple solo TV and short film projects. Nessah talked to us about why Cradled was such a personal journey. She added: “The working class, as a group, there’s an idea or a feeling that they’re being lectured to and being told what they should and shouldn’t do. She studied Theatre at the Central School of Speech and Drama and then undertook a Masters in playwrighting at Birmingham University.

Max is arrested

The drama, depicting a single mother (Nina Toussaint-White) who becomes the victim of witness intimidation, evoked the sensation of “fear piling up in layers”, according to one critic. Written by award-winning Nessah Muthy and directed by Stef O’Driscoll How To Save The Planet When You’re A Young Carer and Broke peeks into the life of a young working-class carer having to make decisions between life-saving responsibilities at home and being dedicated to save the planet in times of climate emergency. Small Wonders was originally commissioned by Punchdrunk Enrichment, LIFT and Bernie Grant Arts Centre. It first ran from 2nd June – 13th July 2018.

Currently, Daze is an Artist in Residence at Phytology, the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve. She also works as an Artistic Environmental consultant at the Gate Theatre and serves as a Speaker and Climate Justice Consultant, collaborating with global corporations and governments. Her work is founded in a deep love, duty, and care for all life. Daze remains passionately committed to organizing with grassroots campaigns and organizations for climate justice.As I got more and more poorly with my second child however, it grew increasingly difficult to tell where exactly the thoughts were coming from and, truly scary to admit they might be manifesting inside my own brain. Anger turns into violence, and Grace is at the centre of it all. "This isn't hatred, it's love", she says, just as those activists she befriended turn away from her. The whole play becomes caustic, as the desire to protect one’s family (in her case, a two month-old daughter) transforms from care to neglect. Muthy doesn't let up, burdening each character with their own set of problems and, as a result, crams the 90 minutes with a non-stop barrage of exposition and sadness. There’s never enough time when you’re having to choose between steak dinners and vegan food bank vouchers, staying home for evening face mask rituals and wanting to save the world before it’s too late. Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Goblin is a dark and fantastical domestic comedy about mental illness, duty of care, In its first iteration, Model Behaviour was a stage show. Knowles took it to Edinburgh in 2018, at which point she says it “grew legs and started leading its own life”. She has been developing it for television with Carnival Films, producer of Downton Abbey, since February.

Expect a refreshingly loud solo show with loads of fun, music, raw emotions and the rush of taking climate-positive actions into your own hands. Nessah: My personal story is ultimately a survival story and Cradled is too. I wanted to show that there is hope but also to create a strong and authentic portrayal of mental illness. Before I was diagnosed with OCD I didn’t know what it was and felt so ashamed, so raising awareness was so important to me. I remember going to mother and toddler groups and meeting other mums who were like: “oh, I take that drug too” or “I felt that too” just knowing you’re not alone in your experiences is so powerful. I hope Cradled will make people feel less alone and that even if you are experiencing what Maia is experiencing, you can get help, that you can get better. For theatre Nessah is currently under commission to: the Actors Touring Company, National Youth Theatre, Kiln Theatre, Kali Theatre and is on attachment to the National Theatre Studio.When I first started writing the play, I felt this overwhelming sense of individual responsibility, but also apathy,” she said. “I had quite a negative defeatist attitude. But what adds another layer of glitter to this already sparkling show, is that it treats its child audience with respect. So that when the big issues arise, they are not shied away from. Knowles wrote Model Behaviour from a place of anger. She was ready to participate in a TV documentary about harassment in fashion when the film was “ominously” shelved. She was not a victim herself but knew others who were and felt strongly about representing their stories. So she started writing.