Live Writes
“A North East that writes its own story and fights for a more creative future” - Live Theatre vision
What is Live Writes? …it’s a Scratch Night, with a twist.
Live Theatre’s brand new writing showcase and development event with all creative positions filled from Open Calls for North East based Writers, Directors and Actors. A whole host of opportunities for theatre creatives of all experiences to flourish in a safe and supportive space, with live feedback, networking and championing of the amazing artists of our region.
Live Writes is all about the words on the page, for writers to experience their work in progress up on its feet and have a panel of theatre experts share their thoughts to help develop their script and future craft going forwards.
Each Live Writes event will see a handful of writers chosen from an open submission window to have their work performed in a scratch setting in our main theatre space in front of a panel of industry experts and a full house audience. Rehearsals, tech and performances all happen over one wild day, with no set and minimal props and tech.
Directors and Actors for each piece will also be selected from open windows, getting to choose which script they would like to be considered for from the synopses and character breakdowns of the four pieces.
Not only that, our open calls take place 4 times a year, and are only open to artists based in the North East.
We can’t wait to see your creativity hit our stage!
The Bacardi Chronicles
Written by: Macy Stasiak
Directed by: Katie Stubbs
Cast: Macy Stasiak
At the Prince Albert, everyone's got a poison. Most order a double! One pub. One raffle. Several reasons to call the police. Landlady Jackie has it all under control, but how much trouble can one pub get into before last orders?
Best Man
Written by: Sol Taibi
Directed by: David Kirkbride
Cast: Sol Taibi, Dom John Holmes, Jack Robert Young, Mitchell Wilson
Best Man is a play about men’s mental health through the guise of a four way buddy comedy. It’s about Fatherhood and wanting to become a better man, and how we set a much better example to our children when we live in a system where men don’t speak about mental health, and more often than not groups of men are frightened to speak about how they’re actually doing. They tend not to have real conversations, or just make references to memories of days gone by; rather than speak about how they’re doing and where they are right now. Best Man is The Inbetweeners meets Aftersun.
The Other Room
Written by: Liv Gilchrist
Directed by: Ginny Leigh
Cast: Liv Gilchrist, Sam Bell, Craig Pearson
One room. A hot-cold couple in a crumbling marriage. A daughter on a journey of self-discovery, and a priest in hiding…with his sexy boyfriend Neil. Underneath the sheets, they confront some hard truths about sex. Come stay in the other room, for an intimate night in.
The Smell of Waiting
Written by: Grace Kirby
Directed by: Tracy Gillman
Cast: Grace Kirby
It was an ordinary life with no secrets - until a family friend exposes what really happened when they all went on holiday. Gina’s never been inside a prison before and it won’t be the last time. She’s visiting her husband of four decades. We watch as she begins to declutter her memories. Her life. She takes us with her as she moves through security doors, barriers and alien procedures to visit Barry. All the while the emotional pain of the last few months has taken its toll and her childhood condition of osmophobia, (fear of specific or unpleasant odours) has resurfaced.
Creative Team
Macy Stasiak - writer and performer The Bacardi Chronicles
I'm Macy, I'm an actor, writer and performer, and most importantly, a proud North-Eastern-er. I am a trained theatre actor and also have experience in sketch-comedy writing and stand-up. 'The Barcardi Chronicles' is a fictional, imaginative mix-up of the comic influences in my life, from the world around me, and from the media and comedians I consume. It is a love letter to funny women and the North East. I have performed this material once beforehand, to an audience of friends and colleagues, but this is it's North-East debut and I hope it gathers a few laughs along the way.
Katie Stubbs - director The Bacardi Chronicles
Katie is an Actress and Director based in the North East. Katie is most recently known for playing Ranger Katie on Milkshake / Channel 5’s ‘Aneeshwar’s Outdoor Adventures’. She would like to thank Live theatre for the opportunity to perform for the first time at Live. Aside from acting Katie works as an Assistant Director with credits including ITV’s 'Emmerdale', 'The Dumping Ground' and 'Coronation Street'. She also worked as part of the AD’s team on TV shows such as ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ , ‘Vera’ , ‘The Railway Children Returns'’ ‘Dead Canny’ and ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. Katie also works as a theatre director with recent credits including ‘Do You Like My Pants’ (By Ruth Raynor) Live Theatre, ‘Neon Brown’ and ‘Final Exam’ at Alphabetti Theatre.
Sol Taibi - writer and cast Best Man
Sol Taibi graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2024 and received the JustAddMilk' scholarship. He also trained with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. 'Best Man' is Sol’s professional writing debut. Theatre includes: Tommo in Calendar Girls: The Musical (Theatre by The Lake), Craig in Haddaway & Write (Blowin' A Hooley Theatre); Multirole in Wormtown (The Customs House, Takeover Festival).
Television includes: Sam in 'Forever Home'; 'Smoggie Queens'.
Short film includes: Michael Best in the award winning short 'Best', Michael Mason in 'Hörmann Social' and Gavin in 'No Gorillas in Thailand'.
Radio includes: 'The Goat in The Wonderful World of Dissocia'
David Kirkbride - director Best Man
Originally from Thornaby in the North East of England, David has worked for over 20 years on stage, screen and radio. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Currently appearing in BBC’s 'Smoggie Queens' series one and two as Trev and AppleTV’s 'Ted Lasso' as Damion. David has popped up on BBCs 'Sherlock', 'Silent Witness' and 'Holby City', Netflix’s 'Enola Holmes' and 'Topboy', 'A Very Royal Scandal' on Amazon and 'Temple' and 'The Spanish Princess' on Sky. You may also have seen him in Boot’s Summer Ad these last 3 years. Theatre wise in the last few years he played Robert in 'The Play That Goes Wrong' in the West End, Geppetto and Coachman in Disneys 'Pinocchio' at the National Theatre, everyone in 'Under Milkwood' at Northern Stage and most recently on stage in 'Loves Labours Lost' (more of less) at The Stephen Joseph Theatre & Shakespeare North Playhouse and The Cowardly Lion in THBL 'The Wizard Of Oz'.
Director credits. 6 years as Associate Director for Robert Icke. Creative Director of Arden Theatre and Vivid Theatre in the North East. Directed and worked as a dramaturg for Edinburgh show ‘Entropy’. Directed ‘All Boxed Up’ at the Waterloo East Theatre Directed and dramaturg for Theatre By The Lake, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Newcastle Theatre Royal, National Theatre Workshops, The Arcola Theatre, Northern Stage and The Vaults London.
Dom John Holmes - cast Best Man
Dom Holmes an actor based in the North East and is a recent graduate of Project A. He has also performed multiple times at the Newcastle Fringe Festival multiple times.
Jack Robert Young - cast Best Man
Jack is an actor from South Shields, and a 2024 Acting graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Credits include 'Eureka' (short film, GMAC), 'Earthquakes in London', 'Glory On Earth' & 'The Effect' (RCS), and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' & 'Measure for Measure' (Shakespeare's Speakeasy).
Mitchell Wilson - cast Best Man
Mitchell is a North East actor originally from Middlesbrough who works across theatre, screen and digital platforms. He recently performed at The Customs House in their production of 'Bundled', as the role of Dipper. Other selected stage credits include 'The BBC’s First Homosexual' (Inkbrew Productions), 'Rob & The Hoodies' (Vienna’s English Theatre) and 'Paperman Patrick' (Northern Stage). Recent screen work includes 'Trying Not To Kill Each Other' (Green Witch Films), 'Nosebleed' (Oxygen Films), and 'Behind Closed Doors' (The Halo Project). Mitchell is also a content creator, amassing over 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.
Liv Gilchrist - writer and cast The Other Room
Liv Gilchrist is new to the world of playwriting and has a keen interest in building relationships with audiences and tackling weighty topics with a dash of wit (and insanity). She graduated from Newcastle University with a First in MA Creative Writing and her short play 'Plant Baby' was selected to be published in their Between The Lines Creative Writing Anthology 2023. She has since kept herself busy working in theatres and cultural venues in Newcastle - facilitating and supporting community and young people's projects, storytelling to children, and fundraising for the arts. Most recently, her one-woman play 'Sugar Coated' was longlisted for The North East Playwriting Award and she’s currently working on her second full-length play
Ginny Leigh - director The Other Room
Ginny is a dramaturg and playwright based in North Tyneside. Recently graduating from Glasgow University with an MLitt in Playwriting and Dramaturgy, she has script read for The Customs House, Seven Dials Playhouse, Goldman Picture Company and the People’s Play Award. She is currently a dramaturgy member of Glasgow Playwrights’ Collective and a Waypoint-1 mentee with Al Seed Productions. She was also Researcher for the 2025/26 Survey of Scottish Playwrights for Playwrights’ Studio Scotland and the Society of Scottish Playwrights. As a playwright, she was longlisted for ScriptSpace2023 and was a finalist for the 2026 Future Playwrights Competition. With a background in acting and a brief spell of directing during her undergraduate degree, she is looking forward to exploring directing once again and working with new writers across the region.
Sam Bell - cast The Other Room
Sam Bell is a Geordie actress whose recent credits include Isabelle Jeunet in PBS Masterpiece’s 'Maigret', Luna Anderson in Syfy’s' The Ark' and Govan in 'The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin'. Her other screen credits include Mary in MGM’s 'Robin Hood', Madame Visconti in TNT’s 'The Librarians: The Next Chapter', Sarah in Netflix’s 'Death by Lightning' and Tasha in 'Fallen', which won an International Emmy Award. Proud of her Geordie roots, Sam is passionate about championing regional voices and working-class stories on screen.
Craig Pearson - cast The Other Room
Craig Pearson is a North East based actor, writer and acting teacher. He trained at conservatoire level and is represented by APM Associates. Since 2019 he has built more than 20 screen credits, including the RTS award-winning 'Gan Canny' (Morning Sir Productions) and 'Take Me Home', a Best Drama nominee at the 2026 Tees Valley International Film Festival. He is regularly on stage in and around the North East.
Grace Kirby - writer and cast The Smell Of Waiting
I graduated from "The Poly" in the 80's and began my career working with Tyneside community theatre's including Dodgy Clutch. Recent work includes November Club and I'm a regular contributor to The Border Readers - working right across the county of Northumberland into Cumbria reading short published stories in community settings. I've just completed a 2 year writing programme with Paines Plough and a short screen writing hub with Chanel 4 and New Writing North.
Tracy Gillman - director The Smell Of Waiting
Tracy Gillman is an actor, dramaturg and director. Specialisms include theatre making and performance in traditional and non-traditional spaces. As a practitioner Tracy has worked as a freelancer and associate artist with Live Theatre, Northern Stage, Ad Infinitum, New Writing North, Workie Ticket Theatre, and various universities, colleges and organisations.
