THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

ENGINE ROOM: NEXT PAGE

A season of plays in development from brilliant new writers

As part of our work in development programme Engine Room, this January we are introducing the Next Page Season.

Rehearsed readings of brand-new, cutting-edge work will take place in January, with the Next Page Season offering writers the chance to share a script they’re currently working on with a public audience; allowing them to gather feedback, invite industry guests and help their play progress to the next stage.

Artists that have previously presented work include: Nouveau Riché, Vera Chok, The Queer House, Opia Collective, Cocoa Butter Club and Playing On.

3-13 JAN
£6 STANDARD
BROWSE THE NEXT PAGE BROCHURE HERE

ENGINE ROOM: NEXT PAGE

A season of plays in development from brilliant new writers

As part of our work in development programme Engine Room, this January we are introducing the Next Page Season.

Rehearsed readings of brand-new, cutting-edge work will take place in January, with the Next Page Season offering writers the chance to share a script they’re currently working on with a public audience; allowing them to gather feedback, invite industry guests and help their play progress to the next stage.

Artists that have previously presented work include: Nouveau Riché, Vera Chok, The Queer House, Opia Collective, Cocoa Butter Club and Playing On.

THE DEVIL’S IN THE CHAIR
3 JAN

A cottage in rural Donegal, where a family holiday is about to go very, very wrong. As events force them to a blistering confrontation, some things need saying – and others really, really don’t. A very dark Northern-Irish comedy by award-winning writer Eoin McAndrew about living with people you can’t stand. 

PARTiTiON PLAY
4 JAN

Some believe we all live with generational trauma. Some believe there is a cure for everything. 

2 doctors. 6 clients. 3 pairs. 1 clinic. 

When a wife, a sister and a father bring her husband, her sister and his son to the PROCEED-2-PARTiTiON CLiNiC, will our doctors succeed in their magical cure to generational trauma or will it all prove to be one experiment too many? 

SEEDS
5 JAN

Dr Aimee Seton is an embryologist. As she and her wife Elsa go through IVF to start a family, Aimee discovers a way to make bi-maternal conception possible. The pregnancy goes along, while in the privacy and security of her lab Aimee flirts with the ethical implications of her experiment. Until the outside world comes crashing in. 

TROUBLE
5 JAN

Darius is writing a song.  

Kate is his muse.   

And Janet… Janet just wants to have some fun.   

Trouble blends intimacy, relationships and the loneliness that delves deep down under, eats us up, and then all over again. We knew how this plays out – trouble can’t promise a happy ending.   

SISYPHEAN QUICK FIX
6 JAN

Krista lives in London. Pip lives in Malta. They’re sisters. They’re close. Even distance couldn’t drift them apart. But what happens when the dark cloud that has been hovering over them since forever, gives way to a huge storm? An authentic story about love, family & ‘the big, terrible thing’. 

WATER BABY
6 JAN

Following a tricky breakup and with no career plans, Leah leaves London and heads home to the only place she truly feels safe; the sea. She’s always been a water baby, and after the year she’s had she needs the sanctuary of the sea more than ever, but as she returns home she finds that even the tides have started to turn against her.

WEIRD LITTLE FREAKS
7 JAN

Sixteen-year-olds Chiara, Sage, and Jasper want nothing more than to leave the UK, but what happens when Chiara’s older Freddy comes home? Exploring identity, money, and power, Weird Little Freaks is about all the ways we can hurt one another without even meaning to.

THE INCREDIBLY SCARY OBJECT
7 JAN

When a space probe goes missing on its way to a new and unusual interstellar object, NASA’s artist-in-residence is tasked with controlling the spiraling narrative. An exploration of storytelling and science; can objectivity compete with the allure of mystery? What will be remembered – the facts, or the story? 

NAAG NOOL
9 JAN

Amina falls pregnant outside of marriage and she is expelled from her community. Her relationship with her mother deteriorates she promised herself that she will not end up like her mother but 20 years later we witness history repeating itself when she fails to fully accept her daughter for who she is!

MESS MAKER
9 JAN

Have you ever gotten home from somewhere and felt like peeling your face off? Me too. It’s okay, you can leave yours in the basket by the door. Outside is cold and hard, but it’s soft and warm in here. Come on in, just watch please where you step, there’s a cold mug of coffee and an open laptop on the floor behind you! 

SHORT PLEASURES LONG WOES
10 JAN

 The story of Adam and Eve is one that we cannot seem to forget. But what if the way we’re telling it is wrong? Short Pleasures Long Woes turns the tale of our creation on its head and argues that our transgressions are expressions of human agency.

DRUM CIRCLE
10 JAN

Drum Circle explores post-#MeToo power dynamics within the cutthroat world of film. Vick, a seasoned producer, and Romy, her infamous ex-assistant, struggle to greenlight a controversial script. Amidst boardroom battles and personal demons, this dark comedy questions the nature of power, the cost of ambition, and the role of art vs. entertainment.

COWS MILK
11 JAN

Ellis and Nate feel perfectly content in their relationship. That is until a past love moves in next door. 

How far will we go to silence our gut when it threatens to destroy everything we’ve created? Do we indulge in past fantasies or stay in the stifling comfort of the present? 

WHEN THE FUN STOPS, TRY AGAIN?
11 JAN

An interactive and audience-led show about addiction, grief and winning the jackpot. When The Fun Stops, Try Again? Is a semi-autobiographical exploration of working-class addiction and how we can’t help but dream of a more lavish life.

ALL THE HAPPY THINGS
12 JAN

Sisters Sienna & Emily are complete opposites. But they love each other fiercely and nothing can break their bond. Hence why Emily is still around despite passing away a year ago, which makes Sienna’s life…interesting. But it’s ok, because she’s coping with her grief however she can, right?

LOVE IS WIDE
12 JAN

Love is Wide is an exploration of different journeys through polyamory and functions as an extended conversation on the evolution of modern relationships. The play was developed in part to platform the ENM community and offer something new in terms of theatrical story-telling. 

TALKING ABOUT A REVOLUTION
13 JAN

In a world that shrugs and looks away from casual violence against women and girls, what desperate measures might make the world sit up and look? A history of desperate measures by renowned writer, Sarah Daniels. 

F**KBOY
13 JAN

F**kboy explores gender dysphoria, bodily autonomy and celebrity crushes from a non-binary perspective. It follows Frankie who finds themselves on the tube with a peculiar mission. As their past, present, future and imaginary selves interact, they gain a new understanding of who they are and who they want to be.