It's All in the Edits

I’ve finished writing ‘Save the Wreck’ for the Fresh Ink Festival!

It’s the second draft, ready for the script-in-hand performance at the festival on the 18^th/19^th July – The Fruit Market, Humber Street, Hull.

The rehearsals are taking place in early July, and I cannot wait to meet the actors, director and see the play come to life. The big day is getting closer, and I’m feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves. It would be great to see you there. I could really use the support. ;)

The full program and tickets will be available on the website in June. Fresh Ink Festival 2026

When I saw the Fresh Ink post last year looking for new playwrights, I knew I had to go for it. They wanted the play to have a community feel and represent what it was like growing up in Hull.

I had been playing with an idea for a TV series set on a Hull council estate, although it was a very different story to ‘Save the Wreck’. The four friends were desperately trying to stop a building development because they had buried a body on the site.

I started writing it for the Fresh Ink submission, but it got very dark, and I decided that it wasn’t where I wanted to go with it. I wanted to write a comedy, but also something close to my heart. So, as a green supporter, I chose an environmental theme. I’ll save the murderous dark tones for another time.

Yes, I’m woke…and proud!

I submitted it, and weeks later, I was overjoyed to be commissioned to write a thirty-minute play.

I wrote the first draft of the play before Christmas, and I was happy with it, but at forty-eight pages, it was far too long.

I had a choice: I could either write the entire play, which would run around 90 minutes and use an excerpt from it, or condense the whole story into 30 minutes.

I decided to tell the whole story in thirty minutes so the audience would feel as if they’d seen a complete play. That meant I had the task of losing eighteen pages but also trying to keep the story intact.

I started by removing any scenes that weren't part of the main story arc. It was sad to lose some of my favourite scenes, but at this stage I had to be ruthless.

Next, I tightened the dialogue. Every sentence had to matter; it either had to reveal something about a character or move the story forward.

I also rewrote and extended some scenes to minimise the number of scene changes. I was also able to cut a scene out completely and show a time-lapse through dialogue. It was a real challenge trying to visualise how it would come across on stage.

However, I’m so pleased I had the opportunity to write it. It’s been a steep learning curve, and I’ve learned so much. I’m currently writing a TV comedy-drama, so learning to write under strict time constraints has been really helpful.

I hope to see you at the Fresh Ink Festival – It’s a great weekend for all the family. The link is in the article, and tickets are on sale soon.