Playwriting
Scenes from a...
Martha was selected as one of six commissioned playwrights to produce a series of sketches for the Jersey Arts Centre whilst it was closed. Martha's sketches take readers from a doctor's surgery toilet cubicle to under a table at a wedding. It's hoped that all the sketches will be performed at the Arts Centre when health restrictions allow.
Portfolio
Martha's debut play was professionally performed when she was just 14 years old. Now 23, she has since been a writer-in-residence with Paines Plough and RIFT as well as putting on her own work. With ambitions to write for television, Martha is currently working on a sitcom pilot and a short film script.
Magic, Magic, Magic
October 2019
Martha was approached by actor Jonny Labey and director Quentin Beroud to write a one-man show which she finished last year. Inspired by the life of Charlie Chaplin, 'Magic, Magic, Magic' examines the self-destructive quality of masculinity as the protagonist's determination to position himself as the hero of his own story unravels onstage.
Howling, RIFT
March - April 2017
Written as part of a month-long residency with RIFT, 'Howling' is a short play about how two half-sisters begin to repair their relationship after the death of the only parent they had in common. Directed by Benedict Hudson, 'Howling' was first performed as a rehearsed reading at STYX space in Tottenham Hale. Following this residency, Martha was selected as one of three writers for a further commission, but funding could not be secured.
Come to Where I'm From, Paines Plough
October 2011 & October 2014
Aged 14, Martha was hand-picked to take part in a residency alongside other local writers and the company's commissioned playwrights - including James Graham. Her monologue 'Sum Puella Bona' took a wry look at her time as the scholarship kid in a public school. She first performed it at the Jersey Opera House before being asked to read it again at the company's CTWIF installation at the Southbank Centre for the London Literary Festival 2014.
Unsex Us Here, Jersey Festival of Words
September 2015
Written to mark the fourth centenary of Shakespeare's death, 'Unsex Us Here' stars three of his heroines, Kate (The Taming of the Shrew), Ophelia (Hamlet) and Viola (Twelfth Night) and gives them the space to confront the Bard over the way they were portrayed by his writing. It was performed as a site-specific production in a Norman Castle for Jersey's literary festival.
We are the Young, Plays Rough
April 2013 & September 2014
Martha's first full-length play, 'We are the Young' sees a group of overly-earnest young people try and fail to stage a groundbreaking piece of theatre. Their constant stumblings, uncertainty and false starts are exacerbated by a voiceover hellbent on sabotaging their efforts. Directed by Martha, extracts were performed twice at new-writing scratch night Plays Rough before the full-length piece was performed at the Jersey Festival of Words 2014. It also made it to the second round of the Theatre503 Writing Award 2016.
Broken Record (Repeat to Fade), New Plays Project
June 2011
Martha's play 'Broken Record (Repeat to Fade)' was selected by renowned dramaturg Claire Grove and the Jersey Arts Trust as a winning entry for this playwriting competition. As the youngest ever entrant and winner, Martha had the opportunity to work with now Artistic Director and CEO of tiata fahodzi, Natalie Ibu to bring her script to life at the Jersey Arts Centre.
Examples of work and more information are available on request...