F30 Countdown – Rosie Kellett

With twelve days to go lets give a big hello to Rosie Kellett!

Rosie was a member of the Soho Theatre Writer’s Lab 2015/2016 where she wrote her third full length play, ROOST, which was also developed in its early stage’s at the North Wall Theatre in Oxford and later programmed there as the main show at Alchymy Festival 2017.

Rosie has also been accepted into the Almeida Theatre Writer’s development programme where she developed Morker which was subsequently performed at Courting Drama at the Southwark Playhouse, Itch and Scratch and Drip Action Theatre Trail Festival.

Rosie’s credits include: SKINT (Vault Festival, winner of the ‘Festival Spirit’ and ‘Pick of the Week’ awards), Morker (Southwark Playhouse), PEAK (Old Red Lion Theatre), PRIMADONNA (Vault Festival, published by Nick Hern Books), ROOST (Soho Theatre Writer’s Lab).

 

When did you start writing plays? If you had a moment where you realized you wanted to write, what was it?

I was accepted into the National Theatre’s Young Studio company in 2015 and one of the first workshops I did was with the company Rash Dash. In the workshop we were asked to free write for half an hour whilst being fed provocations. I had never heard of free writing or done it before but I loved it and what came out of that exercise formed the basis of my first play. Ever since then I have been writing.

How did you come to write your OOB play? Was there a particular inspiration behind its creation? How has it developed?

I was on the Almeida Theatre’s writers development programme and we were tasked with writing a short play in response to their greek season. At the time I was researching mental health resources for young men in the UK and it didn’t take me long to see that there was a major lack of resources and support in that area. Depression is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK, which is a sobering statistic. The research I did compelled me to write about it and it developed from there. 

What are 5 words that describe who you are as a playwright?

Instinctive, impulsive, laboured, personal, truthful.

What/who are some of the major influences on your writing?

I tend to write from personal experience, not necessarily always stories that are my own or that I have lived, but always inspired by what I have been around or things I have lived through. I don’t think I know any other way to write. Everything inspires me, but I am a big fan of Andrea Arnold’s film making and her ability to tell real stories so beautifully and with such grace. I strive to tell stories that way. 

What’s one fact someone would never guess about you?

I’m not a real ginger.

What are some of your favorite plays?

Home by Nadia Fall. Chewing Gum Dreams by Michaela Coel. Many Moons by Alice Birch. Yen by Anna Jordan 

Any new projects you’re working on or shameless plugs?

None at this time.

 

Her play Morker will be performed on August 11th at 6:30pm. It’s 5:59am on a Wednesday in April. Pete is going to London. Alex hasn’t slept. Alex is struggling. He’s been struggling for a while now, but he’s doing a very good impression of someone who is getting better, fast. Susan is confident he’s on the mend. Pete is ignoring the whole situation. It’s a normal Wednesday. And everything is going to be ok.