Wagatha Christie writer 'excited' to return to county theatre where it all began...
Liv Hennessy is the new Jerwood Writer-in-Residence at Pentabus, where she originally started writing through their Young Writers programme. She will take up the year long residency in January.
Liv is originally from Hereford and wrote her first short play on the Pentabus Young Writer programme. Her first full length play, Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial ran in the West End and was nominated for the Noël Coward Olivier Award. Liv has also worked as a story editor and producer on ITV’s Emmerdale.
Jerwood Foundation are providing £40,000 in funding over two years to fund the Bursary, which includes £8,000 per year to assist the process of finding and supporting the writer. The £12,000 Bursary is an increase of £2,000 from previous bursaries, recognising the increased cost of living and need to support artists of all levels at a financially challenging time.
Liv will spend time with the company at their new home in Ludlow Assembly Rooms, where her first ever short play was performed. She will teach on the Young Writers programme she came up through, and be supported to write a brand-new play.
Pentabus has a strong tradition of Writers in Residence, which over the years have been funded by the Clive Richards Foundation, Film4/Peggy Ramsay Foundation, and Channel 4.
Liv will join Pentabus in their 50th anniversary year, which has included a move to a new home at Ludlow Assembly Rooms, and the tour of Make Good: The Post Office Musical, which played sold-out dates across the country. Driftwood, written by former Writer-in-Residence Tim Foley, will tour mid-scale venues in early 2025 after a successful rural tour in 2023, in a co-production with ThickSkin.
Commenting on the announcement, the new Jerwood Foundation Writer-in-Residence Liv Hennessy said: “I’m so excited to be returning to Pentabus – the place where I wrote my first ever short play as a young writer. In what is a difficult climate for theatre – specifically for new writing – this residency will give me the time and support to work on a brand-new play. Pentabus has such a strong commitment to new writing, and to bringing theatre to the rural communities I grew up in, and I can't wait to get started. A huge thank you to Jerwood Foundation.”
Pentabus Artistic Director Elle While added: “Liv is an exceptional playwright and there is a beautiful full circle to her becoming the next Pentabus Jerwood Writer in Residence as she began her writing career as one of our Young Writers. Her first ever ten-minute play was written through the Pentabus course and staged here at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms. We can't wait to welcome her into the team for the next year.”
