Past Writers
Learn more about the writers and their plays that were commissioned for each of the previous editions of Fresh Ink
2026
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(70 mins)
Elle Douglas is a singer and writer, originally from Newcastle now living in Hull, who was commissioned to write a children’s show with music for Durham Gala Theatre in 2023.
In her 70-minute commission Daddy's Girl, Jules has always looked after her dad, but when she falls pregnant, she questions whether her baby should be burdened with having a relationship with a man like him.
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(70 mins)
Dan McGarry is a writer, actor and director originally from Hull, who runs Writing Doesn’t Have To Be Lonely, a regular showcase of new writing in Northampton.
His 70-minute commission Lucky Numbers follows a cleaner at Hull College who runs the lottery syndicate, but when their numbers finally come in, she can’t find the ticket.
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(30 mins)
Jamie Lee Falk is a lifelong Hull resident and author of two novels, who discovered a passion for theatre after taking part in Hull Truck Theatre’s Playwriting Course. This is their first commission as a playwright.
Their 30-minute play Save the Wreck is set on a Hull council estate where four lifelong friends treasure a patch of woodland, which becomes threatened by developers.
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(30 mins)
Aidan Thompson-Coates is a Hull-born actor, writer and theatre-maker, who took part in the 2025 Middle Child Writers Group, which led to his piece, Hear Lies, being performed at Fresh Ink 2025.
In his 30-minute play Kayfabe Babe, a talented female pro-wrestler finally achieves her dream when scouted to join the biggest televised wrestling promotion in the region – on one unfathomable condition. This is all she ever wanted, but at what cost?
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Monologue
James Hall is a disabled multi-disciplinary performer, whose solo comedy shows have been performed at Edinburgh Fringe and Glastonbury. Born in Grimsby and raised in Immingham, but made in Hull, James is 97% sure they are the only person that still claims they are from Humberside.
In their monologue The Power of Invisibility, Robbie scrambles to be transported to a paradise thousands of miles away as they count down the anaesthetic but instead find themselves on Spring Bank. As their external life faces its own battle, their internal turmoil confronts the never-ending fight to be seen whilst having an invisible condition.
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Monologue
Nina Koshy is a master’s student from Hull, now studying Middle Eastern studies at Cambridge. She spends her time outside of her degree writing prose and for the stage, as well as performing in university productions.
Her monologue Ten Pound Per Minute follows the exploits of a young British Indian woman who decides to earn some extra cash offering custom sitar performances, but finds the line between culture and performance starts to blur.
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Monologue
Emily is a writer from Hull who moved to Bristol to study English literature. Although she’s now based there, Hull continues to shape her voice and the themes she gravitates towards.
In her monologue Please Don’t Make Me Explain This, Joan prepares for her nightly ritual: a swim on the Flamborough coast. Haunted by her family history, Joan confides in us her obsessions, memories, and the fears she can’t shake. Standing on the cliffs, she wonders whether the sea will free her or pull her under?
2025
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70 mins
Ellen is a Hull-based writer. She has had two plays produced by Middle Child, I Hate Aloneand Modest, the latter of which toured the country and closed at the Kiln Theatre in London in 2023.
She was one of BBC’s Northern Voices in 2020, where she turned I Hate Alone into a TV pilot.
Her play Keeper follows Jess and Ben as they meet for the first time on a blind date. Unfortunately for Jess, her inconvenient attraction to Ben is hampering a secret mission of hers…
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70 mins
Jim has lived and worked in Hull for most of his life. It’s his home and a whole part of his identity in one.
He started writing when he applied for the Middle Child Writers’ Group, which gave him the confidence to keep going with it and from there Jim has written for Middle Child and Hull Truck Theatre.
His Fresh Ink play No Scrap, No Chips follows two rag and bone men from Hull reunite on the cart after the death of their father.
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30 mins
Samuel is a writer from Hull, who has written extensively about his experiences as a queer person for publications like The Guardian. He also works for Hull Independent Cinema and recently programmed an entire season of LGBTQ+ films. He took part in Middle Child's 2022 Writers' Group.
Jay is an actor who trained at the London School of Musical Theatre. In 2023, he was instrumental in Autistic Pride's involvement in the city's wider celebrations at Hull Truck Theatre, something he is very proud of and that he hopes will continue into the future. He took part in Hull Truck's 2022 Playwriting Group.
Everyone We Know Has Kids is their first commission as playwrights and follows a couple in their 30s who love being uncles to their hilarious niece, but now wish to start a family of their own.
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30 mins
Noor is a Libyan theatre-maker with a particular interest in comedy and telling Middle Eastern and North African and global majority stories.
Having lived in Hull during formative years in her childhood, she has fond memories of Hull.
Noor has been a part of various programmes including Soho Theatre’s writing programme and The Old Vic Theatre Makers. She is also a trained dramaturg and script reader.
Her Fresh Ink play Colonel Gaddaddy is a comedy about family dynamics, privilege, class, morality and self-discovery, following a young woman who discovers her dad is a dictator.
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Monologue
Sean hails from the middle of nowhere around Glasgow, but came to Hull to study drama at university. He graduated in the pandemic and went back to nowhere in Scotland, where there weren’t many employment opportunities, and decided to move back to Hull as he missed the people there.
He took part in Hull Truck’s Introduction To Playwriting course last year and attended workshops at Fresh Ink 2024, finding both very inspiring.
Sean’s monologue The Pull-Up is set in a gym where Humza is surprised by the arrival of his childhood bully at the benches.
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Monologue
Michelle is an actor, voice actor and singer who is passionate about storytelling through a queer, neurodivergent lens and platforming the work and talent of people of colour.
This commission is her first-ever professional writing opportunity and she is excited and terrified in equal measure.
Michelle’s monologue Roll to React explores the harm that racial microaggressions cause long after the moment has passed, set among a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
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Monologue
Laura is a writer and a local business owner. Born and bred in Hull, she performs, writes, sings and enjoys making people laugh.
She began performing from an early age at every opportunity, playing violin and various roles in school plays and local theatre. Laura has recently graduated with a BA in Creative Writing & English.
Her monologue Meet You at the Corner follows a woman looking back at her life following a devastating illness.
2024
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70 mins
Originally from Hull, Rosie Race graduated from RADA in 2018. She is a freelance actor, writer and a core member of Quirk Theatre in Devon. She works as a movement director and is associate artist at Theatre Royal Plymouth, where her first full-length show Us Against The World opened in February 2024.
Rosie is an associate lecturer in Acting and Physical Performance at the University of Plymouth. Her second play Filthy Animal was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award 2024.
Her Fresh Ink play No Woman Is An Island follows a pregnant woman in search of utopia where she and her baby can live in peace, among climate breakdown.
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70 mins
Hannah lives in Hull and works in public health communications. She has previously worked as a journalist.
She started writing for theatre after taking part in the 2019 Middle Child Writers’ Group. Since then, she has written for the 2020 Middle Child panto and Out Loud scratch night in 2023.
Her Fresh Ink play Can We Be Friends? follows a single parent navigating her young daughter’s attempts to contact her father. It is now under commission with Hull Truck Theatre for production in 2027.
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30 mins
Marc Graham is an actor who predominantly works in theatre. He has lived in Hull for 13 years, after graduating from the University of Hull and is a co-founder of Middle Child.
Marc’s recent credits include The Climbers (Theatre By The Lake), A Very Expensive Poison (Old Vic), Brighton Rock (UK Tour) and various Middle Child pantomimes, as the dame.
Marc took part in the 2019 Middle Child Writers’ Group and his Fresh Ink play Isabelle is his first commission as a writer.
Isabelle follows a middle class woman from Hull who reunites with her children for the first time in ten years, only to drop an inheritance bombshell on them. It received a full commission and opened Middle Child’s new theatre in May 2026.
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30 mins
Grace is a theatre and television maker from Scunthorpe. She founded Hani Projects, a not-for-profit theatre and arts production company committed to developing and attracting new work in and to Humberside.
She has trained with the Old Vic as a young theatre maker and in Sheffield Theatres’ New Dramaturgs Group.
Her Fresh Ink play, Jack and Gill, follows the conversations of an unexpected friendship between two octogenarians, from vastly different walks of life, who wind up in the same crumbling Yorkshire care home.
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30 mins
Grace is a theatre and television maker from Scunthorpe. She founded Hani Projects, a not-for-profit theatre and arts production company committed to developing and attracting new work in and to Humberside.
She has trained with the Old Vic as a young theatre maker and in Sheffield Theatres’ New Dramaturgs Group.
Her Fresh Ink play, Jack and Gill, follows the conversations of an unexpected friendship between two octogenarians, from vastly different walks of life, who wind up in the same crumbling Yorkshire care home. description
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Andrew was born and raised in Hull and loved being part of the city’s arts scene before heading off to university. Since studying at Guildford School of Acting, they have been creating LGBTQ+ focused work with the company they co-founded, Pink Milk Theatre.
Their play Phobia explores identity, family and the gentleness and humour in conversations you’re forced to have when you’re 100ft off the ground, trapped on a ride at Hull Fair.
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15 mins
Prince Kundai is a Hull-raised creative and a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Prince made his acting debut playing Sutter in the critically-acclaimed production of Bootycandy at the Gate Theatre in London.
Following the success of Bootycandy, Prince went on to play Chuck in Paper Cut at the Park Theatre and understudy in the West End production of Slave Play. Prince has also worked with The Globe, Yard Theatre and Telluric on creative projects.
His play Senzeni Na? is an African coming of age story following a young girl and the dynamics between her and her small family, and the world around them.
Selection Process
Each writer was commissioned through an open submission process, with an independent selection panel choosing the final line-up for each festival.
Read a blog post from 2025 about the process, from a previous writer who was on the panel.