PLAYTIME is a curated night of short plays from emerging and established writers. A mix of bold ideas, sharp writing and unexpected stories, brought together for one night only.
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Adam and Steve
Billy Currid
Billy Currid is an actor and writer from Bolton, who's work tends to revolve around "the worst person you know", through comedy-dramas that give us a little peek into their lives. His solo show with Third Floor Theatre - The Probability of a Dog Becoming a Receptionist - premiered earlier this year in Manchester, and in late August he'll be performing in The Octagon's production of The Trials.
Adam and Steve
Samuel Carrera (Writer and Actor)
I am a queer artist based in Manchester. Primarily an actor but Adam and Steve is my first ever written project. I love to mix humor with phisical comedy in my pieces. I want to collaborate with more queer artist to write and make many more projects.
Adam and Steve
Ellis Brown & Izzy Watson (Directors)
We are so excited to be directing this show! This will be our second time directing as a duo and the script feels like it was written for us. We've enjoyed playing with the script and put our own spin on it.
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Breadcrumbs
Hannah Kendell
Hannah Kendell (they/them) is a performer specialising in physical and immersive theatre. A graduate of the Cass School of Art in London (2019), they have developed a dynamic and expressive practice rooted in movement and audience interaction. In 2025, they co-wrote, directed, and performed in Strings Attached, which was featured in both the Greater Manchester Fringe and Camden Fringe Festival. Hannah has worked with touring companies including Tip of the Iceberg and Shy Bairns, gaining experience across a range of devised and collaborative productions. Their work can vary from socially and politically driven concepts to children’s immersive theatre during the Christmas season.
Breadcrumbs
Cerys Wrigley
Cerys Wrigley (she/her) is a Manchester-based artist, and Drama and Contemporary Performance graduate from Manchester School of Theatre. She works in both onstage and technical production roles and enjoys where these two skills cross over. Her professional roles have included performing in children's theatre, immmersive theatre, and in various theatre festivals, including most recently in Sibiu, Romania's FITS festival. She is currently developing her own creative practice while working within her theatre Company (@OffPeakTheatre) on a number of creative projects and community events.
Breadcrumbs
Katie Fletcher
Since Graduating she has worked with Päi Productions on the amazing ‘Ward 76’ and is currently working on the play ‘F*** Myself to Death’ directed and written by Lucas Blackburn, coming to Greater Manchester Fringe!
Katie was also commissioned to write a rapid response piece as a part of ‘The BBC’s first Homosexual’ showcasing new work, and has recently written a new piece for Flat 4 Theatre’s Freshly Squeezed showcase.
Breadcrumbs
Steffan Eldridge (Writer and Director)
Steffan is a writer and performer (and now director!) based in Greater Manchester. He enjoys making and engaging with outlandish but grounded theatre, and often draws from his lived experience. Steffan was part of the 2024-25 cohort of the Old Vic Theatre Makers, for which he co-wrote Super Mega Ultra Stars with Geneve Chu. His work was recently featured at Lived Experiences in Salford. He enjoys writing music and poetry in his spare time, and is a reviewer for A Young(ish) Perspective. Steffan co-founded theatre company Folkloric Productions with Madison French.
Holy Name Church
Joe Henry-Evans
Joe is an award-winning writer and actor from Merseyside whose recent credits include Finding Emily (2026) and The Rainbow Crossing Academy (2025). I have written the short piece ‘Holy Name Church’ and I am also performing as the character Nat. I am very excited by the piece as it’s unlike anything I’ve written before and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to showcase it with Playtime
Holy Name Church
Christopher Noone
Recently graduated from The Arden School of Theatre with BA(Hons) in Acting . Has a keen interest in telling truthful and representative stories of the LGBTQIA+ communities. I’ll be taking on the role of ‘Rumm’ and I’m intrigued by the ambiguity of the narrative and the challenge of the intimate staging
Holy Name Church
George Bailey (Director)
George Bailey is a theatre director, producer and community arts practitioner based in Greater Manchester, and Founder and Creative Director of Common Arts CIC. His work centres on new writing, collaboration and creating opportunities for artists to develop and share ambitious new work.
Alongside his work with Common Arts, George works across youth, community and participatory arts, with recent projects spanning theatre, audio, documentary storytelling and artist development.
For PLAYTIME, George produced the evening and directed Holy Name Church by Joe Henry-Evans. This marks the third time George has directed a piece of Joe’s writing, a creative partnership he absolutely loves. Anyone fancy a fourth?
RANK
Leni Murphy (Director and Actor)
Leni Murphy is an Actor, Director, Writer and Dramaturg based in Manchester. She is the Founder of Asphalt Roses Theatre Company and Associate Director for ‘RoughBoy Productions’. This is the second time she has worked with Common Arts and it has been just as wonderful an experience as it was the first time.
Leni excels at ‘hot cup’ acting and her favourite film is Jaws 3 and she will accept no judgment on this
RANK
Morag Peacock
One of my first ever theatre gigs was with Leni and after a good while, I'm so chuffed to be working with Leni again.
Lover of comedy and drama in equal measure, I've been lucky enough to be busy doing both genres in theatre pieces lately, as well as filming the lead in a docu-drama earlier this year which is airing later in the year. Ooooo....
RANK
Paul Antony & Vicki Morris (Writers)
Paul Antony is a Manchester based actor, writer, stand-up, events manager and Bar tender and is very very tired.
Vicki Morris is still reeling from her experience working in the taxi industry and is very very tired.