Actress Lucy Grace Boards Greenwich Theatre's Artist Development Programme

The "simplicity, honesty and charm" of Lucy Grace's Garden - a huge hit at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival - has secured Lucy a place on Greenwich Theatre's far reaching artist development programme, with the show confirmed among a range of productions by Greenwich Theatre's supported companies to appear at the venue in the year ahead.

Garden will begin its national tour at the theatre in September 2016, while other confirmed productions include Lost Watch's Goodstock and Broken Leg Theatre's Three Generations of Women, showing on January 20-23 and March 2-5 respectively.

"Lucy Grace is an experienced actor and a developing writer, but with the support of new producer Chrissy Angus Garden is the first piece she has taken from script to full production by herself," said James Haddrell, the theatre's Artistic and Executive Director. "It's a really charming piece of theatre which attracted great audiences and great reviews.

"Every year I go to Edinburgh to look for shows to bring to Greenwich and companies to work with. This year, Garden was one of the few pieces that really stood out for me. I was incredibly impressed by Lucy's show and immediately contacted her to find out what she was doing next and whether we could help."

Greenwich has become one of the country's leading supporters of emerging theatre companies. "We're always looking for people who have got that spark but might need a helping hand," said James.

"That absolutely fits with Lucy. Her show has a whimsical feel to it, with fairytale elements, but at its heart it's about a young woman dealing with anxiety, creating an artificial oasis to help her retreat from the world. It has simplicity, honesty and charm but there's an underlying message about isolation and depression which is told in a brave and beautiful way."

Garden is about a socially anxious young woman who is in charge of the office's photo-copier, printer, scanner, shredder and binder. Her escape from this madness is via the pot plant she rescues, which leads to her turning her high-rise flat into a garden.

"I've worked in so many offices while acting but the catalyst came when I made a trip to America as part of a tour," said Lucy, who lives in Crystal Palace. "I visited huge natural spaces like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park and it really put life into perspective.

"It might sound a bit pretentious but life began to make sense. I went back to working in offices in London and that simplicity of life quickly dwindled away, but living to earn £10 an hour still made me wonder what I was doing.

"I was walking to work one day when I saw a hedgerow and thought I would be better off rummaging around in that all day. I didn't do it, I went to work, but this was the link I needed for the garden in the flat.

"The character's senses are revived by rescuing the office pot plant, creating the garden in the flat and wondering about the world, what it was about and what she wants from life."

The show will have try-out performances in May at The Pleasance in Islington and at the Brighton Fringe. "James has been helping us with how to approach venues and all those things that don't come naturally to us," said Lucy. "James is so open, you can ask him anything at any time, and it's so important to know how to approach people.

"It's been a breakthrough in my belief in my own ability. I had all these ideas for shows, including this one, but didn't have the confidence to do it. I've moved from being terrified of what people think of me to going forward as a theatre maker. It's been a big shift in my mindset and my confidence.

"I do believe in solo shows because it represents a chance to stand up as a person in front of other people, giving your view of life with no safety net, and I find it incredibly uniting."

Tickets for Garden will go on sale in January 2016.