Mercury Theatre Reveals Full Cohort For Mercury Creatives

The Mercury Theatre in Colchester has announced the full cohort for their acclaimed Mercury Producers and Mercury Directors Development Programmes and their Mercury Playwrights Development Programme, which this year is in association with Paines Plough’s Tour The Writer. This year also marks the first year that the three development programmes have been run under the Mercury Creatives umbrella.

These seven-month creative practice programmes will sit alongside the Mercury Creatives Business Mentoring Programme and the Mercury Creatives Online Directory & Resource Portal, allowing for the Mercury to support a wide range of individuals and multiple stages in their career as part of Mercury Creatives.

Antony Stuart-Hicks, Mercury Senior Producer, said “Merging Mercury Playwrights, Producers and Directors with Mercury Creatives has allowed us to enhance our commitment to developing talent from Essex and the east of England and for the first time increase the total number of places to 30 across the annual cohort. This is in addition to the 55 currently onboarded mentees for the Mercury Creatives Business Mentoring Programme, which we are continuing to accept applications for. This is a first for our Directors and Producers programmes, led by Action to The Word Artistic Director, Alexandra Spencer-Jones and myself as a Senior Producer at the Mercury.  The Playwright’s programme, led by Kenny Emson is this year in association with Paines Plough’s Tour the Writer and boast alumni including recent Stage Debut nominee Martha Loader (Bindweed), Kelly Jones (My Mother’s Funeral – Edinburgh Fringe First winner 2024) and Waleed Akhtar (The P Word – Olivier Award Winner).

Mercury Creatives provides a rich opportunity to expand on knowledge, network and strengthen individual frameworks to enhance careers in our industry for local creatives. The Mercury is committed to supporting and championing underrepresented artists and creatives from across the region.”

Mercury Playwrights with Paines Plough’s Tour The Writer

The Mercury Playwrights Development Programme consists of monthly sessions in association with Paines Plough’s Tour the Writer and will be led by award-winning writer Kenny Emson and will take writers through a two-draft process with one-to-one dramaturgy support. Throughout the programme, Kenny will also be joined by an exciting list of guest writers. 

The Mercury looked for fresh new voices, writers who are bold, ambitious and theatrically daring. To ensure they tell the most dynamic and varied stories, they were particularly keen to hear from writers who were underrepresented in this industry whether this be by class, disability, ethnicity, gender or sexuality. Alumni from the programme include 2024 The Stage Debut Award nominee Martha Loader (Bindweed), 2024 Edinburgh Fringe First winner Kelly Jones (My Mother’s Funeral: The Show) and Olivier Award winner Waleed Akhtar (The P Word).

This year’s cohort consists of: Emma Bernard, Sue Bevan, Tassa Deparis, Daniel Hallisey, Giannini Hemmings, Eleanor Hyde, Ed Ismail, Fiona Padfield, Ben SantaMaria and Benjamin Wilkinson.

Mercury Directors Development Programme

The Mercury Directors Development Programme supports individuals by taking them through the page to stage directing process. Participants will meet both in person and virtually and be led by Alexandra Spencer-Jones, independent theatre director (Associate Director of SIX the Musical West End and UK & Ireland Tour) and Artistic Director of Action to the Word.

This year’s cohort will be formed of: Tyler Reuben, Tippy Elgar, Jamie Weston, Deborah Roome, Ross McCrory, Rachel Dingle, Eloise Pennycott, Sharan Atwal, Jesse Smith and Annabel Caldwell.

Mercury Producers Development Programme

The Mercury Producers Development Programme will explore making work at a range of scales learning the specific skills and knowledge involved in mounting a successful production, led by Mercury Senior Producer, Antony Stuart-Hicks.

This year’s cohort will formed of: Harry Bailey, Bradley Cole, Ian Barnham, Holly Baynes, Jazmyne Evans, Annabelle Irvine, Marina Cusi Sanchez, Spike Cook, Chyanne Hooks and Lauren Scott.

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