It’s Just a Stage – Writing for Queer Performance

From Bitch Boxer upstairs at The Marlborough pub to I, Joan at The Globe, Charlie Josephine has led the vanguard of new queer writing for the stage.  As one of the UK’s foremost disabled artists, Matilda Feyisayo Ibini’s journey has taken her from Scooby Doo fan fiction in primary school to winning the 2023 Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright for Sleepova at the Bush Theatre. Playwright, performer, director and producer, Alexis Gregory has produced his own work across the West End and in iconic London queer theatres including Soho and The Glory, with Riot Act reaching across the pond via Broadway on Demand.

Join these eminent queer theatre makers in conversation with National Theatre of Scotland’s Associate Director, Debbie Hannan as they discuss what it takes to make excellent, challenging, intersectional work that reaches, touches and encourages audiences from all life’s rich experience. 

–

Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini (she/they) is a multi-award-winning, bionic playwright, author and filmmaker of Nigerian heritage from London. Matilda was selected as a Star of Tomorrow 2020 by Screen Daily Magazine; a feature film screenplay they co-wrote with Gabriel-Bisset Smith was selected as part of The Brit List 2020; they were an Arts Foundation Futures Award 2021 Finalist; a BFI Flare x BAFTA 2023 mentee; and Inevitable Foundation x Loreen Arbus Elevate Collective Award Grantee 2024.

As a playwright, Matilda’s debut play ‘Muscovado’ premiered in October 2014 and subsequently won the Alfred Fagon Audience Award 2015. They have written audio dramas for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and Audible. Matilda’s next play ‘Little Miss Burden’ premiered at the Bunker Theatre in 2019 and won a Popcorn Finalist Award 2020. Their last play ‘Sleepova’ premiered at the Bush Theatre 2023; won the 2024 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre and Most Promising Playwright Award at 2023 Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.

Screen credits include: BAFTA TV-Nominated ‘CripTales’ for BBC America & BBC4. ‘Unprecedented’ Series, Headlong & Century Films for BBC4, ‘Head Over Wheels‘ a short film produced by Open Sky Theatre & Wrapt Films which won two awards at the 2021 Digital Culture Network Awards and ‘MO <3 KYRA’ a short film produced by Film4 and 104 Films debuted at BFI London Film Festival 2023. They co-wrote episode 4 on Amazon Prime’s drama-thriller series ‘Wilderness’ (2023) produced by Firebird Pictures. Matilda’s work has been staged at the Old Vic Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Royal Court Theatre, Soho Theatre and Vaults Festival. Matilda has screen projects in development with BBC Films and Home Team.

Charlie Josephine is an actor and writer, committed to creating stories that centre working-class women and queer people. Their most recent play Cowbois, which Charlie also co-directed, enjoyed a successful run at The RSC and the Royal Court. In 2022, their play I, Joan opened to great acclaim at Shakespeare’s Globe. Other work  includes FLIES for Boundless Theatre; Massive for Audible, One of Them Ones for Pentabus; Birds and Bees for Theatre Centre; Bitch Boxer and BLUSH at Soho Theatre and on tour. Charlie Josephine is currently developing a new feature biopic with Salon Pictures. They are an associate artist at the NSDF and board trustee at Cardboard Citizens. (Pronouns – they/he)

Alexis Gregory is a London based playwright, performer, director and producer, making queer work. Plays include ‘Slap’ (Theatre Royal Stratford East / pop-up performance for Channel 4; the channel’s first ever onsite theatre presentation / Concrete in Shoreditch), ‘Safe’ (Soho Theatre / London Theatre Workshop / Reading Rep / Norwich Theatre Royal / digital version; Hackney Empire, supported by Park Theatre), ‘Sex/Crime’ (Soho Theatre / The Glory), ‘Riot Act’ (West End; Duchess Theatre / Arcola Theatre / Kings Head Theatre / Turbine Theatre / four UK tours / currently streaming globally online via Broadway on Demand / translated for international performances in Italy), ‘FutureQueer’ (Kings Head Theatre, Town Hall Hotel Bethnal Green, Crazy Coqs), ‘Neon Divine’ (Crazy Coqs), and the upcoming ‘Smoke’ (Kings Head Theatre, Nov ’24, directed by Campbell X). Alexis gigs and presents his work at venues as varied as National Theatre Riverside Stage, Soho House, Science Museum, Southbank Centre, Heaven nightclub for Polari LGBTQ literary salon, and UK wide lit fests. His work has been top picks in Evening Standard, The Guardian, Sunday Express, Time Out, The Metro, Attitude magazine, and i-D. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Debbie Hannan writes and directs for stage and screen. They have been developing and directing new plays for 15 years, alongside their own writing and screen work, and are known for dynamic, high energy, heightened work, focussing on lgbtq+, disabled and working-class stories, with a love for dark, social satire.

They are currently Associate Director at National Theatre of Scotland and were formerly Interim Artistic Director and Showrunner at Stockroom, theatre’s first writers room. They trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and as Trainee Director at the Royal Court. She has recently joined the board of Theatre Uncut.

She has directed at theatres such as the Royal Court Theatre, the Young Vic, the Bush Theatre, Soho Theatre, the Royal Exchange (Manchester), the Tron Theatre (Glasgow), the Citizens Theatre (Glasgow), the Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh) and with companies such as Complicité, Clean Break, Sonia Friedman Productions and Paines Plough, including winning an Olivier as Associate Director for Best Revival of Constellations on the West End. She received the Genesis New Director’s Award, and an MGC Futures Bursary. As a writer, they have been commissioned by Cardboard Citizens for the More Than One Story project, were recently shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Playwriting Award, and are writing a new musical, developed by Northern Stage.

Debbie has recently directed a short produced by Film4 and 104 Films, co-written with Matilda Ibini, which screened at London Film Festival 2023. She completed Screen Skills “Step Up to Features” training, was Shadow Director on Shetland Season 6 & 7, and is writing a short film with the BFI x Elevate scheme. Debbie is now writing her first feature, with research supported by the Miles Ketley Memorial Fund. (Pronouns they/she)