Talent

Amy is an award-winning writer, actor and theatre-maker from Manchester. She is passionate about creating work around coming-of-age, human connection and the contemporary British (specifically northern!) Jewish voice. Whilst studying Psychology at Cambridge University she wrote her first play, Life Before the Line, which won the Cambridge University Edinburgh Fringe Fund - a prize in which one piece of new writing is fully funded at the Edinburgh Fringe. It went on to receive five star reviews, sold-out shows and subsequent accolades (MasterClass PYP Longlist, BOLD Playwrights Longlist). She has since been named Runner-up for the Alpine Fellowship Prize For Playwriting and shortlisted for the Shelagh Delaney New Writing Prize. Her acting credits include: “The Last Cowboy in Salford” (BFI), The Calligrapher (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and “111 More Time” (HOME, Contact,MIF). Amy is over the moon to continue her writing journey as part of the Writer’s Exchange Scheme.

Cai is a Leeds-based writer with Northern English & Nigerian heritage. Cai focuses on building worlds and telling stories based on underrepresented cultures, people and histories, with a fondness for African storytelling. Although Cai’s stories aim to show audiences rare worlds and characters, they all revolve around relevant, timely and thought-provoking themes. His African action-adventure pilot script Odu is in the Top 7% on Coverfly and reached the semi-finals of Screencraft and Script Lab competitions. After years of writing for the screen, Cai aspires to write unique and potentially connected stories across all entertainment formats; from screen to stage to literature and beyond.

Jasmin is a British-Iranian writer from West Yorkshire. Her first full length play ‘Allah In the Walls’ was developed on the Catalyst Programme at the North Wall Arts Centre and went on to be shortlisted for the 2022 Bruntwood Prize. Between 2019/2020, she was on attachment with Tamasha Theatre Company as one of their developing playwrights which culminated in a virtual showcase of her play ‘Your Vote Will Not Count’. In Summer 2021, she developed the play ‘The Magic of Wild Heather’ which was written for the National Theatre’s Public Acts and performed at Cast Theatre in Doncaster. She has participated in the BBC’s Northern Voices Scheme, Sheffield Theatre’s Bank Cohort, and the Bush Theatre’s Emerging Writers Group. Her most recent play was ‘Here and Here and Here’, commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre and performed as part of their Sokhan Begoo night in support of the women of Iran.

Matt Gurr is a writer from Penrith, Cumbria. His debut play SOUVENIR won Theatre Royal Haymarket’s Pitch Your Play prize, receiving a performance at the theatre, and was also shortlisted for the Hope Mill Theatre Playwriting Prize and the University of Lancaster Playwriting Prize. His second play COWBOY was developed with the support of Colchester’s Mercury Theatre and Harlow Playhouse and was performed at the King’s Head Theatre as part of its ‘A Queer Interrogation’ season. He was previously part of the VAULT Festival’s Writers programme and Mercury Theatre’s Playwrights Development scheme.

Olivia Hannah is a scriptwriter based in the North East. Her first full-length play, Braids, was written with the Royal Court Writers’ Group (North) in and long-listed for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2018. In 2021 it was performed as part of the Radio 4 Lights Up! festival and had its stage debut at Live Theatre in Newcastle. Olivia was a member of BBC Northern Voices 2020 when she wrote the pilot for Influence, an anthology series about social media. In 2021, she received ACE funding to develop Keep The Faith, an interactive piece about Black diaspora music and the Northern Soul scene of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Her second play Shit Life Crisis was longlisted for the inaugural Paines Plough Women’s Prize for Playwriting and is currently in development with Silent Uproar. A screen adaptation of Braids is in development with Public Display of Affection Films and the BFI.