Star of the BBC Talent Hotlist, Katie Redford, Chats Her Debut Stage Play Tapped

Firstly, thank you for speaking to us today! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started as an actress and playwright?
Thank you for having me! So, I’m originally from Stapleford, and from quite a young age I knew I wanted to become an actress. When I was eighteen, I trained with the National Youth Theatre, but I actually pulled out of drama school at the last minute. 

In one of my first jobs, I was a floor runner for a TV show which featured upcoming writers and actors. While driving them to and from the set, it was really exciting getting to hear the writers talk about their first experience of watching their work come to life for television. I remember thinking after that job, ‘I really want to do that.’

In 2015, I won the BBC Norman Beaton Fellowship, which is a scheme run by BBC Radio Drama to help actors who haven’t trained at accredited drama schools. This jump started my professional career, as I got a six month contract working with the Radio Drama Company. From there, I started working as an actress on some really lovely projects, such as Mount Pleasant, Still Open All Hours, and Young Hyacinth.

I started writing because I got frustrated when the phone stopped ringing. I felt like I was losing patience, I desperately wanted to do something and needed to be creative. I began writing short plays, which helped to build my confidence and led to me becoming a member of the BBC Writersroom's Comedy Room. A few years later, I won the 2019 BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Competition for TV Comedy, which really opened some doors for me. Since then, I’ve been writing for radio, stage and TV, and have produced projects such as Ghosted, Yellow Lips, Christmas Wings, and Tapped.

Sounds exciting! Was there anything in particular that inspired you to write Tapped?
The initial idea came from a friend of mine who was launching a start-up company with the intention of pushing people out of their comfort zone. But, as I started writing, Tapped developed into so much more. It became a play about real, relatable characters in real, relatable situations just trying to make it work. 

Tapped was meant to launch back in 2020, but obviously lockdown happened and the future of theatre was unpredictable and unknown. I think, in a way, when Tapped finally got its debut, it was the best time for it. The play is essentially about the importance of human connection, which is something we lost for nearly two years. It felt even more relevant when it debuted around this time last year.

Could you explain how you approached the writing process? How did you develop the play’s structure and create the characters?
I wrote the first draft fairly quickly. I entered it into Theatre503’s International Playwriting Award and it was shortlisted. I got some feedback from their Literary Manager, Steve Harper, who was brilliant and an important person throughout the writing and redrafting process. 

I don’t really have a set method. I barely plan or know what my end is until I’m actually doing it. For me, a lot of my work is about the characters. There’s a particular moment in Tapped where you see these relationships strengthen purely from a conversation about Nando’s! It’s the little, relatable things that connect us regardless of our age, background, what spice you get at Nando’s… that’s what brings us together. 

My process, therefore, was essentially about getting to know the characters. Instead of trying to think about a big plot, they led the way for me and came alive the more I wrote. I get a lot of inspiration from what I’ve overheard people say. I have notes on my phone with random conversations I’ve heard on the street or in the shops – I think ‘what character could be like that, or say this?’ and the plot grows organically from that.

As you’re probably aware, mental health portrayals in theatre can be a great way to spark discussion and personal reflection for the audience. Was this an important factor when deciding to include this theme in your play?
Honestly, no. I feel like, creatively, that would’ve really blocked me. Mental health is a theme that was introduced naturally, and I think it was really important to portray it as such, rather than trying to dress it up a certain way. 

One of the characters has struggled with it and has a history of mental illness within their family. If someone has a mental illness, it’s a part of life. It’s not something you can suddenly get better from; you learn to cope with it. Sometimes, I think people don’t know how to talk about it, so as a result things are left unsaid for years and years. That’s something I wanted to address with Tapped - things can only go unsaid for so long without there being problems. Rather than looking outward for solutions, it’s about going inward and seeing how we can make ourselves better. 

Did you encounter any challenges while producing Tapped? What would you do differently next time?
The entire production is set in one room - a garage. There are also only three characters, so I think one of my biggest challenges was overcoming the pressure of keeping an audience entertained for over an hour and a half. There was the stress of hoping the audience will like and root for the characters, too, which was especially important to get right. 

My advice to myself for next time is to remember that, when the play comes to life, there’s a team of people who are there to help. You don’t need to have everything figured out. I was really worried about the transitions between scenes, I had no clue how to illustrate that fifteen minutes had passed on stage, but that’s what the team is there for! Just remember: write from the heart and the rest will follow.

If you could sum up Tapped in three words, what would they be?
Heart-warming. Vulnerable. Club biscuits…?

What are your next steps and goals for the future? Is there anything you’re currently working on that you can share with us?
At the moment, I’m writing my second play, which I’m developing with a company called Theatre Centre. I can’t reveal too much yet, but it’s a play that I hope will be very relatable, exciting, bold and a little bit angry…

I’m also hoping to create something, a short film perhaps, with a team of collaborators which I’d love to be able to do in Nottingham. With most of what I write, I automatically think of Nottingham as the place to set it - I think it’s because it’s home. So, it would be really cool to make something there as well.  

For all of the aspiring writers out there, could you tell us a particularly helpful piece of advice you’ve gotten as a writer?
Don’t get it right, get it written. Perfection is the enemy.

Tapped is coming to the Nottingham Playhouse on Saturday 20 May