Hitchcock meets Lord of the Flies in this exciting comedy-thriller at the Nottingham Playhouse

Without giving anything anyway, what’s Rotten about?

Rotten follows a group of actresses who are really down on their luck. They see other people living the life they want, especially the wealthy influencer-aristocrat who lives opposite them. After catching her in a compromising position, they spot an opportunity to try and turn their fortunes around. But from there, everything begins to spiral out of control.

What would you say are some of the biggest influences on your writing?

I grew up reading Agatha Christie and watching Alfred Hitchcock films. I’m really inspired by their work. I was also privileged enough to be taken to the Theatre Royal’s Thriller season when I was a teenager and I loved the plays I saw. It was always a real family affair. I remember discussing the plots with my grandparents in the intervals and trying to guess who did it. I’ve never lost that enthusiasm for the thriller genre and how it can bring people together.

Rotten feels like a love letter to those classic thrillers, but it’s also very modern.

One thing I think Agatha Christie does so wonderfully is paint a picture of the world she grew up in Devon. She wrote about the countryside and the people that lived there. But I haven’t had anything like the upbringing she had. I grew up in a city, and lived in London while training to be an actress, so I was interested in writing about a very different world, one where you can have a block of council flats on one side of the street and a row of massive mansions on the other.  

So witnessing that disparity first-hand, is that where the idea for the play came from?

I was living as a struggling actor in a flat share in London. One day, I was sitting on my balcony that overlooked these beautiful flats. I could see into them, too, because everything was built so close together. I found myself imagining what the people who owned those flats lives were like, who were are, and what they did. And so that’s really where the idea for the play came from.

The play definitely has a real political edge to it. Can you say more about that?

It’s really a reflection of the times we’re living through. I began writing it during the pandemic and there was so much tension in the air. And when we were putting together the tour this spring, the general election was coming up, so there was a lot of tension there too. I wanted to put all of that into the play and show how people were processing those feelings. You can’t write about people struggling in London, or in the rest of UK, without mentioning what’s going on politically.

And that political turmoil is something the characters are trying to work through?

Right, that’s one of the reasons I wanted the characters to be from regional backgrounds, to show how these big political events continue to affect people in very different ways. One of the girls is from Midlands, for instance, so there’s a lot of history there with everything that happen to the mining community during the Thatcher years; another one of them grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and of course the Good Friday Agreement has been in the news a lot recently with Brexit. Even though these characters are now living in a completely different world, they’re still influenced by where they came from and the experiences they’ve had.

They’re really sympathetic in that way. But they also do a lot of terrible things.

Yeah, they do some really heinous stuff! But I wanted them to be endearing. Most people aren’t good or bad; they’re usually somewhere in-between. Even when these characters start spiralling, they still occasionally slip back into being decent people. One thing with them is that they’re constantly trying to make excuses for why they’re doing what they’re doing. You wouldn’t think that characters who’ve been so much would be capable of inflicting the same pain on someone else, or each other. But when push comes to shove, they find themselves doing exactly that.

And what about the role that social media plays in this?

I really wanted to do a play that explored the dark side of social media. The characters are driven by what they see and read online, especially where their wealthy neighbour is concerned. They’re chasing this social media dream, but it’s really just a complete façade.

There’s so much misinformation online these days, it’s hard to be young!

It’s really hard! I think I was born in the last year of people who grew up without a lot of TV or access to social media. I feel really lucky in that way. But I look at people younger than me and I don’t know how they do it. All of the things they can access now, it’s really frightening.

Drawing in a younger audience, was that part of what you hoped to achieve?

Definitely. I wanted it to write a play for younger people, one that felt really contemporary and would resonate with many of their concerns, whilst also being fun and entertaining.

Right, the play’s not just dark, it’s also really funny!

I was really interested in this new wave of black comedy that we’re seeing more and more of now, particularly in the past few years. I wanted to bring that mixed genre to the theatre, because I feel that it’s something which really resonates with younger audiences.

Speaking of young people, what advice would you give to those hoping to get involved in theatre?

There are actually some writing workshops happening as part of this project! My mentor, Rikki Beadle-Blair [an accomplished playwright who serves as the play’s director] is running them.

But more generally, it’s important to look for opportunities in your local area. Find people online or in-person with similar goals and ambitions as you. And don’t be afraid to reach out to people at your local theatre. Most of them will be happy to have a quick chat and share some advice.

You’ve also previously spoken about the importance of arts’ funding.

Definitely. For a long time, theatres have had to prioritise keeping the lights on and the doors open; they haven’t always had the resources or funds to invest in new work. But I hope that things will start improving and that theatres will have more money to put into development.

In the meantime, it’s important to apply for as much stuff as you can! It can be disheartening when you’re applying for funding and keep getting rejected, but it’s so important to keep going.

How do you stay motivated?

One exercise that Rikki taught me is to write down a mission statement and then ask the question: Why? Then keep rewriting the statement and asking the same question until you get to the core of what’s motivating you. It’s so important to know why you’re doing what you’re doing.  

Finally, are you working on anything new at the moment?

I’m actually working on something right now! I’m interested in delving into the dark side of reality television and how it that affects people. But it’s still in the very early stages, so watch this space!

Rotten plays at the Nottingham Playhouse on Saturday 12th of October 2024.