4 July 10am-6pm

Join us for a day of provocations and debates around theatre and the economic crisis. During the day you will have the chance enter into lively discussion with some of the artists and writers involved in the project as well as leading voices from the financial and arts industries.

The day will consist of two panels, chaired by Soho Theatre Artistic Director Lisa Goldman and Paul Mason (Newsnight Economics Editor), looking at the big picture in terms of the impact of the economic crisis on the arts and the dangers and opportunities during this time for new artistic work. This will be followed by an Open Space session.

Other panel members include: John Tusa, Lois Keidan (Director of the Live Art Development Agency),  Anne Torreggiani (Director of Audiences London) and writer and journalist Aleks Sierz.

Tickets:
The debate: £15 (£10)
The debate + lunch: £22.50 (£17.50)
The debate + lunch + show: £27.50 (£22.50)

23 June - 4 July

When the economy bites, Soho writers bite back.

Writers. Actors. An empty space. Some of Soho's most excitingtalentstake on the economic crisis, creating provocative and playfulbargainbasement theatre. 

Each evening features bite-sized treats including an economy song cycle by Steve Thompson, mortgage magic from Marisa Carnesky, plus new shorts from Kay Adshead, Bola Agbaje, Oladipo Agboluaje, Megan Barker, Will Eno, Ron McCants and Paula B. Stanic.

The performances begin each day at 7.30pm and will include ALL the pieces.
Tickets are £15 or £10 for concessions and can be booked at sohotheatre.com or on 020 7478 0100.

Each evening features:

Possessed by Kay Adshead

If we had the opportunity to create our own personal paradise, when push comes to shove, would we share it? And what might we do to protect it?

Anything You Can Do by Bola Agbaje
Drama at the Cowsleaze Tennant Association elections as a candidate cracks under the pressure to preserve her public image amid spending cuts.

Set Piece by Oladipo Agboluaje
A satire about a film-maker going to Lagos to shoot his own Nigerian Slumdog Millionaire. He encounters the peculiarities of doing business with the local talent.

Anaphylactic by Megan Barker
A dark poetic comedy in which the protagonist attempts to save herself from financial ruin by participating in the popular gambling gameshow, Deal Or No Deal, and takes home much more (or is it less…?) than she bargained for.

House of Knives by Marisa Carnesky
The renowned live artist explains her position in the economic crisis with some mortgage magic.

The Train Is Leaving The Station by Will Eno
Who exactly is to blame?

Everything Must Go by Maxwell Golden
Performance poetry from an up-and-coming spoken-word artist and Slam champion with original music productions by danbeat.

Ponzi by Ben Henley
An allegorical game of high finance; players strive to increase theirassets as much as possible before the inevitable market crash.

The Farmer and the Shepherd by Ron McCants
Coal-miners, the 'cockroaches of America', tell their story in this play about race and revenge in West Virginia.

6 Minutes by Paula B. Stanic
A piece inspired by the Ford-Visteon car workers occupation and picket at Enfield in April 2009.

What We Have Done by Duncan Speakman
A new soundwalk to be experienced with a partner. Beginning with an exchange of treasured objects, you will be guided through the streets of Soho by a mixture of words, found sounds and specially composed music. Surrounded by sites of activities past and endeavours abandoned, the world becomes your personal cinema as you travel by foot with the weight of responsibility in your hand.

Song of the City by Steve Thompson
An economy song cycle, which he describes as 'Gilbert and Sullivan forthe new century', where modern bankers explain how we got to where weare - in harmony!

Could you briefly describe your piece?
If we had the opportunity to create our own personal paradise, when push comes to shove, would we share it? And what might we do to protect it?

All the writers have decided to address the issue in a very different way, can you tell me why you have chosen to look at it in the way you did?
The aspirational New Labour generation-- Youngish Working Class people (with kids) on 95% mortgages who read all the celeb worship magazines and watch all the holy grail property programs—interests and disturbs me.

Did you have a piece in mind before the project began/did you find it difficult to respond so quickly to such a topical event?
No.

Why did you want to get involved in the project?
I love writing short plays.

What are your personal experiences of being a writer in the crisis?
I have never had any money so now is no different for me but I appreciate that it is different for other people and might have come as a surprise to them (shock to others).

Have you noticed an effect on the arts?
I have not immediately but I hope it does not mean that theatres will play EVEN safer than they do now.

How do you think artists should/would/are responding?
I don’t think there is any one way for artists to respond.

Have you noticed a change in behavior/attitudes to money?
Definitely. The Party’s Over!

Do you think humanity is the first thing to go out the window during a crisis?
Please see my play (discuss).

Do you think there’s a dark side to the crisis that we haven’t seen yet?
See above.

    Can you describe the piece?
The piece is a satire about a film-maker going to Nigeria in search of his own Slumdog Millionaire-type hit. He encounters the peculiarities of doing business in Nigeria.  

    You touch on money and finance in your current play, Iya-Ile (The First Wife), is there a     difference between British and Nigerian cultures and the way they face up to crisis and     their attitudes to money?
Deep down British and Nigerian attitudes to money are the same. Less is definitely not more. I think culturally the pressures are felt differently in some instances. For example, Nigerian cultures operate on the extended family system. So you are looking out for many others as opposed to a more individualistic social orientation in Britain.

    All the writers have decided to address the issue in very different ways, why did you         choose to do a Slumdog satire?
I chose to look at the economic crisis through satire because I have a skewered view of the world. I think I might have been dropped on my head when I was a baby. When you think about it a Labour Chancellor deregulated the banking institutions on such an unknown level. You realise that in a world of no ideologies and no firmly held principles anything goes. And in a world of anything goes, everything is up for sale. For me that is the most dangerous state to be in.

    Did you find it difficult to respond so quickly to such a topical project?
For someone who calls himself a political satirist it takes me ages to pick up the pieces of current events and try to put them together dramatically. Yes, it was hard to come up with an immediate response to the credit crunch. It must mean my account balance is in the black.

    Why did you want to get involved in Everything Must Go?
Why did I get involved? Nina twisted my arm. Lisa twisted the other. Seriously, it's hard not to think about the situation, and although it's been a slog writing my piece (especially when both my arms are in casts), I have a sense of dread that this is the financial meltdown of my generation.

    What are your personal experiences of economic crisis?
I have seen that frugality and thrift are punishable by low interest rates. All the great beliefs of the world talk about self-sufficiency and spending within your means. My father drilled it into me, which accounts for the hole in my head. Yet the whole basis of the Anglo-American economy that has brought this collapse has been spend what you don't have. Democracy has been used as a tool to make people believe that they deserve what they haven't earned even if it costs the environment. And for whose benefit? Certainly not for the man or woman in the street. Certainly not for the poorest peoples of the world.

    Have you noticed an effect on the arts?
I haven't yet noticed the effects of the credit crunch in the arts. The perceived wisdom is that the arts gets it in the neck during recovery. I have a feeling that the scissors will start cutting by the next spending round. The government giveth and the government taketh away.

    How do you think artists should respond?
For how we artists should respond? The MPs seem to have found a way to recession-proof their incomes. I propose we all stand for elections in our constituencies and become MPs. Then we could flip theatres. (I didn't want to kick a dead horse, but I saw it twitch.)  

Oladipo's piece will be performed each night as part of Everything Must Go! which starts on 23 June at Soho Theatre.

Could you briefly describe your piece?
A very dark poetic comedy in which the protagonist attempts to save herself from financial ruin by participating in a popular gambling gameshow and takes home much more (or is it less…?) than she bargained for. The impact of her winnings, within the context of her financial desperation,  give her a shock to the system so intense as to result in her re-awakening, regaining control, rejecting the reality of her situation and leaving the human race as we know it behind.

Your piece focuses on two different crises and the way they interact with one person – do you think we’re under a lot more pressure as individuals?
I don’t think of them as two different crises, really. Both the immediate economic crisis and the wider environmental catastrophe are part of the same problem: greed and a lack of sustainability in our attitude, as a species, to consumption.  I think that we need to find community solutions to the pressures we’re feeling as individuals. We should learn to share more, to be more inventive about how we solve our problems, and foster a new value system that doesn’t leave us all slaving away into a void. The central character in my piece hits rock bottom, rejects the reality of her situation, finds a new community (or rather, is found by that community), takes a leap of faith and leaves this system (and species!) behind.  
 
All the writers have decided to address the issue in a very different way, can you tell me why you have chosen to look at it in the way you did?
Because I think we need to start looking outside the box – to really step outside of our current reality – to rethink our value systems and our approach to consumption. The character in my play has a massive shock to her system. The place she gets to is dark and awful, but also potentially liberating.  

Did you have a piece in mind before the project began/did you find it difficult to respond so quickly to such a topical event?
No to both questions. To the second question: I suppose in a way I cheated as the piece doesn’t respond to the specifics of current events, in the sense that this character and her story could exist at any time, regardless of this economic crisis – there are always people who are hungry and in financial difficulty. I suppose the difference is just that now many more people might identify with that predicament than might have previously, even within a theatre going audience.

What are your personal experiences of being a writer in the crisis?
It’s odd – in a way my experience of being a writer hasn’t been changed by the crisis at all. I’ve always thought about and written about how social / political / economic conditions shape our stories and affect our personal experience. On a professional level, I have to admit that any change I’ve noticed has been for the better. It’s probably just to do with the stage I happen to be at in my career. Or perhaps it’s because with the crisis upon us, writers who write about social / political /economic conditions are more in demand than they used to be!    
 
Have you noticed an effect on the arts?
I don’t really know yet, but I hope for an effect on the arts. I hope for an effect on everything.

Megan's piece will be performed each night as part of Everything Must Go! which starts on 23 June at Soho Theatre.

Could you briefly describe your piece?
THE FARMER AND THE SHEPHERD is inspired by the biblical story of Cain and Abel.  It's a journalistic examination of race in West Virginia and Mexican immigration.

All the writers have decided to address the issue in a very different way, can you tell me why you have chosen to look at it in the way you did?
I enjoy giving a voice to the lesser heard stories. Coalminers in the US are a forgotten people, though most of the energy we use in America comes from coal.  They are a proud people, but live in oppressive systems.

Did you have a piece in mind before the project began/did you find it difficult to respond so quickly to such a topical event?
I've wanted to write a play about coalminers for a long time.  I volunteered in a coal mining town in West Virginia in 2006.  After trying a different play, I decided to go with my initial impulse of coalminers.  It had legs, so we went with it.

Why did you want to get involved in the project?
I thought it was a fabulous opportunity to explore something I wondered about.

What are your personal experiences of being a writer in the crisis?
I haven't been affected very much because I'm in graduate school!  I'm lucky to be in school right now!

Have you noticed an effect on the arts?
Yes, but not in the way I thought.  I've seen many people still supporting the arts.  More people seem to be going to the theatre or to other events because Art is important to them.  I do know that some of the major donors are not giving as much as they would normally, but still they are doing what they can.  I believe everyone is doing what they can and to me that's very inspiring.

How do you think artists should/would/are responding?
I think people are more content on making the art they want to make without worrying about what others think about it because they're not counting on them for their bread and butter.  They can make the work that interests them.  An unadulterated work because they're not looking for acceptance or financial support.

Have you noticed a change in behaviour/attitudes to money?
See above, but I also think people are less ashamed to talk about money.  That's a social taboo being broken.

How does it feel to have your first production at Soho Theatre/at this time?
It feels very great!  I'm so excited.  It's awesome.  I can't wait.  I feel like a warm Krispy Kreme glazed donut is the best way to describe my feeling.

Ronald's piece will be performed each night as part of Everything Must Go! which starts on 23 June at Soho Theatre.

Could you briefly describe your piece?
A factory worker refuses to leave the building when she is sacked for making accusations about a car company's closure. Recalling her experience at the car plant's picket line, she locks herself in an
office to make a stand.

All the writers have decided to address the issue in a very different way, can you tell me why you chose to look at it in the way you did?
I went with what was in my head at the time. I'd been following the Visteon (formerly Ford) car plant occupation (where the workers at two plants had occupied the building after the company went into
receivership, saying there was nothing left to pay their last wage, redundancy and pensions) I went down to visit the picket line after the Enfield occupation ended as no one seemed to be writing about it
anymore. I just wanted to tell their story. Many of them had never been involved in anything like this before. I was really interested in the effect their actions had on others as they were overwhelmed by the
outside support they got.

Did you have a piece in mind before the project began/did you find it difficult to respond so quickly to such a topical event?
I knew I wanted to look at something concerning people who felt the crisis was being used as an excuse to get rid of them. It seemed to be a big fear among people. The Visteon collapse was already in my head so it wasn't difficult in terms of topic.

Why did you want to get involved in the project?
It sounded exciting. I really loved being given the chance to respond to something now and liked that  Soho gave us the freedom to look at whatever struck us most.

How do you think artists should/would/are responding?
Artists will respond as they always have, grabbing hold and making something out of it.

Do you think humanity is the first thing to go out the window during a crisis?
There are too many people around who won't allow it.

Could you briefly describe your piece?
Gilbert and Sullivan for the new century.
 
You wrote a song cycle for Everything Must Go, is it something that you’ve always wanted to do?
Yep. I want to write a full musical next.
 
Would you say that this follows on from what you looked at in Roaring Trade?
Nope. I've tried to do something totally different. When Soho asked me to write a play about money I said 'I've just written you one'. So I offered them a song instead. Totally different style and flavour.
 
Did you have something in mind before the project began/did you find it difficult to respond so quickly to such a topical event?
My song cycle is about the history of the credit crisis. All the information is now 18 months old.
 
Why did you want to get involved in the project?
Coz I like the people. Honestly. Soho has a 'vibe'.
 
What are your personal experiences of being a writer in the crisis?
Not sure yet. Too soon to say.
 
Have you noticed an effect on the arts?
I think the effect on the arts will come more slowly.
 
How do you think artists should/would/are responding?
People in telly are in two groups. Some producers think we shouldn't be making programmes about the city because the world has completely lost sympathy for the protagonists. Others think that we should get straight in there and ride the wave. There's a lot of stuff in development, and we;re only just starting to see it come on.

Steve's piece will be performed each night as part of Everything Must Go! which starts on 23 June at Soho Theatre.
You can also listen to Steve talk about his plays in the Soho Theatre podcast for Roaring Trade, click here.

Kay Adshead trained at RADA. Her acting work includes Cathy in the BBC classic series Wuthering Heights, Linda in Mike Leigh’s film The Kiss of Death, Sue McKenna in Film on Four’s Acceptable Levels, Tanzi in Trafford Tanzi at the Mermaid, Jill in Walking at the Royal Court, Betty in Touched and Clara Twain in White Suit Blues at the Old Vic, Moll Gromer in Thee and Me and Muriel in Harlequinade at The Royal National Theatre and Constanze in Amadeus for the National tour, and Eve, Savvy, Zoo and Newly-Born in Shaw’s epic Back to Methuselah at The Shaw Theatre.

Kay Adshead’s writing work includes Thatcher’s Women (produced by Paines Plough at the Tricycle Theatre, it was nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award and published by Methuen), The Still Born (Soho Theatre Company), After The Party (Altered States at the Liverpool Playhouse and a short Channel 4 film for Club X), Metal and Feathers (part of Small Objects of Desire at the Cockpit Theatre), Oranges and Lemons (a film for BBC City Shorts), Bacillus (performed at the Red Room),  Juicy Bits (Lyric, Hammersmith Main House), Lady Chill Lady Wad Lady Love Lady God (commissioned by National Theatre as part of BT Connections and performed at the Tricycle and Lyttleton Theatres). Kay has been awarded two Arts Council Theatre writing Bursaries and in 1995 she received the Calouste Gulbenkian Award for performance poetry for The Slug Sabbatical, performed at the Red Room and published by Faber&Faber. Her play The Bogus Woman (the Red Room/Mama Quillo, directed by Lisa Goldman) was produced at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in 2000, where it won a Fringe First, and at the Bush Theatre in 2001. It was also broadcast on BBC Radio 3 (produced by Catherine Bailey). The play is published by Oberon Books and was nominated for the 2001 Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Kay’s play for children, The Snow Egg (Tiebreak Theatre), toured the UK in 2001 ending at the Lyric Studio, Hammersmith. In 2002, Kay’s play Hanging, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (produced by Catherine Bailey). Animal (the Red Room, directed by Lisa Goldman) was performed at Soho Theatre in September 2003 and then toured the UK. It is published by Oberon Books. Bites was performed at the Bush Theatre in 2004-5 and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. It was developed while Kay was writer in residence at Colchester University. She wrote and acted in Of The End, a homage to Samuel Beckett, for BBC Radio 3’s The Verb. Bones was performed at the Haymarket, Leicester and the Bush Theatre. The Playground was published by Methuen. Kay wrote Others for the LAMDA Long Project.  Kay is currently writing Matter and is in a period of research and development on Soho (working title), looking at Westminster Council’s attempt to “cleanse” Soho of its sex workers.

Kay Adshead’s directing work includes Hanging Loose, a promenade production in Hulme, Manchester, On the Verge (Man in the Moon), Fen, by Carol Churchill, Entertaining Strangers by David Edgar, The Possibilities, by Howard Barker (all at the Lyric Hammersmith Studio). Bones (Haymarket, Leicester and the Bush Theatre). Bites by Kay Adshead and East End Tales by Fin Kennedy at the Broadway Theatre, Barking. Kay has devised and directed with students, at East 15 Acting School A Short (but insightful) Musical History of the British National Party and for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Jugular Project, an exploration of direct action for 25 actors on a climbing wall. Kay directed The Beggar’s Baby, a site specific community youth project, funded by The Guardian at St. Mary’s Church commemorating The Putney Debates. She has devised and directed Stuffed, War Song (incorporating The Soldiers Son for The Crossroads Women’s Centre) and Five Crimes Reconstructed (performed at the Broadway Theatre, Barking).

Kay Adshead is Artistic Director and co-founder of the award winning Mama Quillo Theatre Company. It is a woman lead theatre company and spotlights human rights issues. Productions include The Bogus Woman (co-produced by the Red Room), Bites (co-produced by the Bush) and Bones (co-produced by the Bush and Haymarket, Leicester). The company has worked in partnership with the All African Women’s Group (Mother’s Campaign), Women Against Rape and Women in Dialogue to produce theatre workshop events including A Night Out of the Asylum at the Tricycle Theatre and is currently collaborating with the English Collective of Prostitutes and La Compagnie Yorick on Soho. International productions of Mama Quillo commissions include La Mujer Invisible by L’om Imprebis, La Femme Phantome by La Compagnie Yorick. Morsi/Bisse by Teatrificio. Dentandas by Teatro da Comuna. Bones by the Calypso Theatre Company (Dublin) and La Compagnie Yorick. Kully Thiarai’s production of The Bogus Woman won Best Performer and Best Play and the Sensation Award at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and transferred to play in New York in the Brits Off Broadway Season.

Bola was a member of the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre and her first play, Gone Too Far!, premiered there in February 2007. The production won a 2008 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Bola is currently under commission to both Tiata Fahodzi and The Tricycle Theatre. She is also the current Pearson Playwright in Residence at Paines Plough and she is adapting Gone Too Far! into a full-length screenplay.

Bola's other plays include Good Neighbours, Legend of Moremi,  Off The Endz, Rivers Run Deep!, Reap What You Sow and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Oladipo was most recently at Soho Theatre with the critically-acclaimed Iya-Ile (The First Wife), his third production at Soho Theatre, following previous hits The Christ of Coldharbour Lane and The Estate. His adaptation of Kester Aspden’s The Hounding of David Oluwale for Eclipse Theatre received wonderful reviews. His previous plays include Early Morning (Futuretense/Oval House) and a version of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and her Children (Eclipse Theatre). Recent work includes Knock Against My Heart and God is a DJ (Theatre Centre); British-ish (New Wolsey Youth Theatre); For One Night Only (Pursued By A Bear) and Captain Britain (Talawa/New Wolsey Theatre). Oladipo is adapting The Estate as a feature film for Heyman Hoskins and the UK Film Council and is currently writing a feature adapted from his short film Area Boys with director Mel Mwanguma for Focus Features.

Megan Barker’s recent work includes Spend A Penny, Tongue Lie Tight and Cria, all performed at The Arches in Glasgow. Her play Pit enjoyed great success at the Traverse Theatre for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2007. Her play Monaciello is being performed by the Tron Theatre Company in Naples in June and she is currently under commission from Soho Theatre, London and Sherman Cymru, Cardiff.

Marisa has been creating spectacular and kooky shows for over a decade, mixing illusions, theatre and burlesque with subjects both serious and bizarre.

She is currently touring her latest show Magic War, which uses extreme magic tricks to uncover conspiracies of how illusions are used in war.

Carnesky’s Ghost Train is Marisa’s best known and biggest show. A huge vintage styled fairground ride with moving carriages and sets, featuring live disappearing ladies, it was first seen in London’s Brick Lane in 2004. After touring in the UK and Europe it is now a permanent show in Blackpool.

Marisa Carnesky was recently awarded an AHRC Creative and Performing Arts Fellowship and is currently a fellow at the National Fairground Archive in the University of Shefield. Marisa Carnesky also tours her other solo shows and works on a project basis with theatre, dance and circus companies including Duckie and the Insect Circus.

Marisa Carnesky trained originally as a dancer and choreographer at the Laban Centre and then at the University of Brighton. She has been creating performance projects and theatre since 1993 and shown her work extensively in the USA, Central and Eastern Europe, Israel and Japan. Her major works include the solos Jewess Tattooess and Magic War and the group shows C'est Barbican and Carnesky’s Ghost Train.

Will Eno's plays have been produced by the Gate Theatre, Soho Theatre, BBC Radio, the Rude Mechanicals Theater Company, and Naked Angels. He is a Helen Merrill Playwriting Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and an Edward F. Albee Foundation Fellow. His play The Flu Season was recently awarded the Oppenheimer Award. His new play Thom Pain (based on nothing) premiered in August 2004 at the Edinburgh Festival (Fringe First Award, Herald Angel Award). It was produced in New York by Bob Boyett and Daryl Roth at the DR2 Theatre, and was named a Finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. He was awarded the Alfred Hodder Fellowship, which includes a term at Princeton for the 2005-2006 academic year. His plays are published by Oberon Books, TCG, Playscripts, Inc., and have also appeared in Harper's, The Antioch Review, The Quarterly, and Best Ten-Minute Plays for Two Actors.

Ronald McCants was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Ronald’s family originates on the McCants slave plantation in Mobile, Alabama.  After the end of the Civil War, many of his family members worked as sharecroppers until the Great Migration to the North.  His mother’s family comes from Missouri and Mississippi.  His mother has memories of picking cotton in her hometown of Hayti, Missouri in the 1960s and 1970s when she was a young girl and teenager.  After his father left the family, he, his mother, and sister returned to Hayti.  His mother went back to school while his grandmother took care of him and his sister. 

 Theater and community are very important to Ronald.  He spent most of his school age years in Springfield, Missouri.  He attended Central High School where he was the first Black American to graduate from their International Baccalaureate Program.  He was an active member of the Speech and Debate team which is where his love of theater and performance began.  It was his involvement in Speech and Debate where he won numerous awards.  He sang in the gospel choir at the Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church where his family went to church.  Ronald contributes his love of community to his experiences at Faith Tabernacle.  Ronald also recognizes it is his community at Faith Tabernacle that helped his family stay together when his father lost his janitorial job at the Post Office and went to work at Burger King and Panera Bread Company.

Despite the financial hardships of his family, Ronald went on to receive an A.B. in Engineering Sciences and a minor in Theatre from Dartmouth College. Ronald taught science principles to K-9th grade students at the Boys and Girls Club in Newark, New Jersey and  also pioneered Dartmouth STARS which provides extra academic coaching and a support network to college students from underprivileged backgrounds.
Ronald’s career recalibration with a focus on playwriting grows from his need to share.   Currently, he volunteers at Lincoln High School in San Diego as a guest Playwriting instructor because he wishes to provide underprivileged youth with alternative ways of expression.  His strong belief is that he can have an impact as a writer in the theater and beyond.  He believes he can create work that changes the cultural landscape, educates, and inspires others.

Ronald is currently a second-year student at UCSD’s MFA Playwriting program.  His awards and fellowships include: Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship in Production, Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award (Honorable Mention), San Diego Fellowship, Horizon Theatre Fellow, and Eleanor Frost Award.  Ronald’s plays have been produced and developed at: The Kennedy Center, Watts Village Theater Center, Theatre Masters MFA Playwright’s Festival, Dartmouth College, UCSD, and SDSU.  Some of Ronald's works are: The American Menagerie, Refraction, To Serve the Devil, The Peacock Men, Fireman in the 9th, A Poet's Prayer, The Great Pretender, Da Foe Real Story of Cinda’rella A.K.A. Ashputtle (Musical), The Imagy Nation (TV Pilot, Executive Producer), Joel’s Adventure to Fabrichia (Novel), and Eco For Kids (TV Pilot, Writer).

Paula grew up in East London to Caribbean parents. She was one of BBC radio drama’s writers in development group 2005 and went on to study for a Masters in Creative Writing (graduated 2007 Oxford University) Her stage play What’s Lost won the 2008 Alfred Fagon Award, (rehearsed reading, Royal Court Theatre, downstairs) and Late Night Shopping a short, was part of ‘The Outsiders’ a season of new writing (White Bear Theatre, London 2008). Late Night Shopping was also published in ‘The Packingtown Review’, Chicago and ‘Brand’ literary journal, London in Spring 2009. Paula co-wrote Taking My Time a drama documentary style piece for radio with Terri Ann Brumby and has just completed a play Monday for Red Ladder Theatre Company, Leeds. She is currently working on a new play for Soho Theatre and The Freedom Project with writers Ben Musgrave and David Watson for Only Connect Theatre.

Steve was most recently at Soho Theatre with Roaring Trade. He is the writer of the hit play Whipping It Up, which premiered at the Bush Theatre (2006) and transferred to the New Ambassadors (2007). Whipping It Up was later nominated for Best New Play in the Olivier Awards 2007 and he is currently adapting the play as a comedy drama for Hartswood/BBC. Steve’s debut play Damages ran to rave reviews and sell-out audiences (The Bush Theatre 2004) and went on to win the Meyer Whitworth Award in 2005. He has written a new TV drama Parental Guidance for BBC1. Other television includes Whistleblowers (Carnival/ITV) and Mutual Friends (Hattrick/BBC).

Steve is married to the barrister Lorna Skinner and they live in Hertfordshire and Cornwall with their three children.