Stage Interview: Rosie Hollingsworth from Sugar Theatre

So, what can audiences expect from F*ck You, Claire?
 
‘F*ck You, Claire’ is part of a double bill called FRENEMIES, with  'Spare Goose' as the other part of the bill. It’s a whole evening of female led theatre with show ‘Lovett’ on afterwards. 

‘F*ck You, Claire’ is a playful exploration of mid-twenties confusion, existential curiosities and fears, and mental health recovery. We deal with some heavy topics but in a fluffy, light hearted way, working WITH the audience to create a night at the theatre that we hope will stick with you. Plus it’s got a banging soundtrack…

And what is Sugar Theatre? 

Sugar Theatre was founded in 2019 upon us founders (Rosie and Jack) graduating our drama degree.  Our aim is to always work from the heart, creating performance inspired by our own stories. Our process is very experimental and very messy: we laugh, we cry, we play, we dance, we throw everything we’ve got at the wall and see what sticks. We want our audiences to feel a sense of us in the rehearsal room (our ultimate happy place) when we share our work. It’s aaaall about the process! “We have LOTS of feelings and we think you may feel some of them too…”

Our debut show ‘Scruffy’ toured the UK in 2023, stopping off at Camden &; Brighton fringe along the way. After putting things on pause for a little while, Sugar is back in action with fresh new
writing, ready to play with new audiences and continue our journey.
 
Is there an autobiographical element to the work?

There is indeed. I started writing this show when I moved to London 3 years ago. I spent a lot of time in my room, with the walls absolutely littered with post-it notes with a range of worries. Some would read things like ‘you need oat milk!’ or ‘bin day is Thursday’, while others would say things like ‘Start an independent business’ or ‘write your first novel’ or some quite aggressive: ‘GET UP: TIME IS RUNNING OUT’. I was so terrified (and still am) of making these years the most important years and not wasting a second, but these pressures I put on myself were in fact making me quite ill. There is a lot of me in protagonist Penelope (though I like to think I’m a fraction more chilled out…) and CLAIRE is a personified caricature of a lot of my 24-year-old hang-ups and mental health issues that began to surface.  

The play deals with depression, anxiety, and OCD. How do you go about dramatizing these issues in a way that is sensitive and respectful but also honest?

It’s a tricky one – and one of the many challenges I have found is making sure to ‘check in’ and look after yourself while writing and performing something that deals with such personal but also serious issues. I have however found myself in a bubble for the past few years, looking inward so intensely, thinking ‘why me? Why does my brain do this? Why can’t I be normal like everyone else?’ to realise every single person I know is going through their own sh*t. This has become a comfort but also has fuelled the creation of this show. I really want to evoke an atmosphere where the audience can almost feel a collective sigh of relief. We all have a lot of stuff going on in this weird little life, but we get to do it together: what a joy that is! 
 
What made you want to become a playwright?
 
I definitely didn’t see myself as a playwright until recently. I’ve always just written as a hobby, scrapbook style: I often see an encounter at a shop or will meet someone whilst at work that I would say ‘is quite a character’, and so I instantly have to write some notes about the encounter in the notes app on my phone. I’ve always wanted to act, and went to study screen acting after doing my BA in drama. But after getting an insight into the industry and going through the self-tapes, trying to find an agent saga, I realised I was perhaps not thick-skinned enough to go down that route. I also was so driven by my own ideas – I wanted to make my OWN theatre! That’s when Scruffy, my first one-woman-show, was born, and I have been writing ever since. My dream is to one day be writing for TV: I have many, many ideas for mini comedy series that I would love to see put into practise. 
  
What has helped you on the journey thus far? 

Sugar is a VERY small theatre company, and at the moment consists of just me! However I’ve been super lucky to have toured my first show with my best friend producing, and my sister stage managing, which has definitely added to how special my time doing ‘Scruffy’ was. It was very DIY, very rough round the edges: we once did a last minute show to an audience of 3 people in which everything stopped working including the projector, so my sister was holding a laptop and passing it round. We couldn’t access the lighting either and so this was replaced by a rubbish little kids disco ball. But this all just added to the DIY nature of the show: it was actually perfect! I realised from then on I wanted to make work that could ‘go ahead’ without fancy backdrops and tech – and that this would in fact only better the performance and add that extra layer of intimacy.

I’ve also been extremely lucky to have worked with Lincoln Arts Centre as one of their Innovate artists, and now working with Beccy D’Souza at Amplify. It’s extremely daunting and confusing navigating the theatre world, especially doing it alone after uni' when you don’t have the safety blanket of being a student anymore, so these experiences are invaluable to artists like me who are still establishing themselves.   

What makes a play a good play for you? 

For me, something has to take me out of my comfort zone and shake me about a little and ideally make me laugh AND cry. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy something a little more easy-going from time to time, but really, I want to feel some magic. I don’t go to the theatre just to be entertained, I want to feel nervous when I’m sat waiting for it to begin and I want to feel like I’ve been through something once the lights come up. It should be an experience. I don’t want to sit passively I want to be part of the journey: this doesn’t mean the play has to be heavy on audience participation, in fact I often find the shows that hit you the most are the ones that connect us without us even realising that’s what’s happening. They tap into something we all share.

In the face of the various digital media dominating our life, is there a place for theatre ?
 
It pains me to say it, but I do think theatre is really struggling. It’s hard enough to get people to spend a tenner on a night out at the theatre when we can stay inside, spend the same on a Deliveroo and a film and do it all from

the comfort of our own sofas, whilst scrolling our phones if the film doesn’t grip us within the first 30 seconds. Our attention spans are worsening at a scary pace. People want comfort and they want it fast, and that’s exactly what a lot of theatre isn’t. It challenges you and pushes you and you’re often not sure what to expect. 

I don’t know what the future of theatre is looking like, I can only hope we will get to a point where we are desperate to break free from social media’s grip and experience real life magic moments again, but I really do fear the journey beforehand that will get us to that point.

What advice would you give other young women wanting to get into scriptwriting?

I would say just write as often as you can, as you never know what little encounter or everyday scenario could spark an absolutely electric idea. I write in my notes app but always carry a notepad so I can jot an idea down really quickly and then come back to it in my free time. Once you start viewing things this way it’s quite hard to go about your day without seeing every encounter through this lens: “Oh he’d make a great character” etc.

I would also say don’t wait until something is perfect or finished to get it out there. I managed to get this event with Amplify from Beccy seeing a 5 minute scratch I did as part of Sophie Corner’s scratch night ‘It’s Nott-working’ at Squire Arts Centre. I’m not a big believer in waiting until things are finished before showcasing, because I think you can block potential paths this way. You never know what’s around the corner! You just have to share your ideas even when they’re still bubbling. Apply for scratch festivals, book a room and invite like minded creatives. Film that sketch and upload it. It’s terrifying but it’s also extremely exciting. Keep playing all the time.  

Nottingham Playhouse and Amplify also offer dramaturgical feedback to all artists with lived experience of womanhood through their Women’s Writes submissions – (details are on their website.)
 
With F*ck You, Claire, what have been the frustrations and the joys of putting it on at the Playhouse?
 
I can honestly say it’s only been joys thus far, and any frustrations only come from logistics of being able to do this by myself. I’m very much on the hunt for some more heads to join Sugar Theatre! I am very lucky to be given this opportunity and have mentorship from Beccy also. If you’re an artist struggling to get further established and desperate to find like-minded creatives to work alongside I’d strongly recommend joining Amplify. It’s free to join and open to all professional theatre makers with a connection to the Midlands region! Amplify offers support, workshops, development, networking and showcase opportunities, access to an online artists forum, and advocacy for Midlands artists on a local and national scale.

 F*ck You, Claire by Sugar Theatre appears at the Nottingham Playhouse as part of the AMPLIFY season on Friday 4th of July 2025.