Nottingham Playhouse has announced the line-up for its exciting Amplify Seasons: Winter event, with an intriguing new play and two bold works-in-progress from Midlands artists being showcased.
Amplify Seasons: Winter offers a unique opportunity to see new writing by emerging Midlands creatives, and takes place on Friday 23 January 2026, in the Neville Studio at Nottingham Playhouse. It opens with Conversations in the Dark: a work-in-progress double bill, featuring:
They Said My Masculinity Was Toxic, But What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger by Esther Warren.
Evening, May 1994.
The year’s Criminal Justice and Public Order Act has yet to be passed; this encounter is illegal. Let’s watch anyway.
Taking cues from the works of Arthur J Bressan Jr., Armistead Maupin, Dennis Cooper, Torrey Peters and Christine Love, this new play is a tender look at intimacy, the fear of being seen for who you are and the lengths that we might go to feel close to anyone.
This work-in-progress performance shows the first of two stand-alone scenes that will make up the finished text, which will examine two romantic liaisons in the life of Michael. It is performed by East Midlands based actors Laurie Owen and Ken Ogborn.
The second part of the double bill work-in-progress is:
Unfinished Business by Jeanette Bird-Bradley.
Jeanette has always been preoccupied by ghosts, it’s the way she was raised, from childhood ghost hunts to spooky imaginative games played with her brother, the paranormal has always been a backdrop to her life. Little did she know that in her adulthood she would be haunted by something a lot more real – multiple sclerosis, a life altering condition.
Unfinished Business is a comedic ghost story about what it’s like living with a chronic illness. Join Jeanette as she hunts the ghosts that haunt her, in this honest but playful performance. It is supported with funding from Arts Council England.
The double-bill is followed by a show that premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 2025:
You Oughta Be In Pictures by Polis Loizou.
‘Keep your pretty head, son, or you’ll lose it.’
Hollywood, the 1940s. A charismatic film director auditions a young actor for a horror film whose lead has died under mysterious circumstances. As he shares tales of exploitation, broken promises, sex, cults, and the fine line between artifice and truth, it transpires there may be a more malevolent eye than that of the camera in the room. But the horrors on screen were never real – were they?
Award-winning theatre-maker Polis Loizou brings a tale to fill you with dread … and doubt.
The Amplify Seasons: Winter programme was created through an open submissions window process. Open programming sessions were led by Benjamin Wilson (Associate Artist) and Laura Turner (Associate Literary Artist) and decisions were informed by a panel of seven members of Nottingham Playhouse’s creative community, who were able to gain insight into the programming process.
Adam Penford, Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse, said:
“Amplify Seasons: Winter features a trio of brilliant shows written and performed by Midlands artists. It’s really important that we support local creatives in their careers, and AMPLIFY SEASONS allows those artists to put their work in front of audiences, and gain feedback, which is crucial to their artistic development.
“It’s a great opportunity for audiences to see new work up close and get involved in its development, as well as having a unique, entertaining night out.”
Nottingham Playhouse’s Amplify artist development programme has over 1000 members, and offers support through free workshops, mentoring, one to one sessions, co-working days, a networking platform and use of space at Nottingham Playhouse. Led by Beccy D’Souza, Artist Development Producer, the programme continues to expand its reach and have a real impact on artists’ careers.
Tickets for Amplify Seasons: Winter are now on sale. Multi-buy offers are available.
Amplify: Seasons is generously supported by:
- The Fenton Arts Trust. The Trust is a charity which focuses its efforts specifically on the support of artists at the beginning of their careers.
- The Noël Coward Foundation. The Foundation continues Noël Coward’s charitable work by supporting educational and development projects across the performing arts.
Listings
Neville Studio
Nottingham Playhouse
Wellington Circus
NG1 5AF
Frida7 23 January 2026
Conversations in the Dark Double Bill – 6.45pm
They Said My Masculinity Was Toxic, But What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
Writer: Esther Warren
Unfinished Business
Writer: Jeanette Bird-Bradley
8.30pm
You Oughta Be In Pictures
Writer: Polis Loizou
Posted on 07 January 2026
