Stephanie Kempson

I am a director, writer and dramaturg, who works both with communities and young theatremakers, as well as on professional productions. I make theatre for traditional theatre contexts, museums and archives, online, festivals and more.

I have a BA English and Creative Writing from Falmouth University and an MA in Film and Literature from the University of York (where I looked particularly at adaptation). I trained in theatre with Bristol Old Vic’s brilliant Made in Bristol scheme in 2011 and have since been working full time in theatre.

My most recent production, Breathless by Laura Horton, won a Fringe First in 2022 and toured to Soho Theatre and New York’s Brits Off Broadway Festival at 59E59, where it received the New York Times’ Critic’s Pick.

I assistant directed on the Bristol Old Vic’s Jane Eyre, which went on to become a co-production with the National Theatre and has since toured and streamed extensively. I adapted Stephen Collin’s graphic novel The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil for Bristol Old Vic’s Young Company. I have attended the National Theatre’s Emerging Director Scheme, I was a Leverhulme Scholar with Bristol Old Vic in 2019, and I am a resident at the Pervasive Media Studio.

My theatre company, Sharp Teeth Theatre, is an associate artist with The Wardrobe Theatre in Bristol. Between 2018-2020 we co-created a new musical, Polly: The Heartbreak Opera, with Marie Hamilton, which was supported by Bristol Old Vic’s Ferment, Arts Council England and Greenwich Theatre. We also created a co-production, Parlour Games, with Wardrobe Theatre which toured nationally. Our first production was a storytelling and music production called The Fox and the Child.

I taught an intro to scriptwriting course for Taunton Brewhouse and for Tobacco Factory Theatre YTM in 2021 and 2023, and would love to teach more of these! And I was a mentor director for the NT Connections festival since 2022.

I have a chronic illness (ME/CFS) which is generally mild, but it means I am particularly interested in access and inclusion in theatre.

Training and Awards:

Fringe First for 'Breathless"‘ by Laura Horton (co-produced with TRP)
New York Times Critic’s Pick for Breathless
Made in Bristol Scheme at Bristol Old Vic 2011
National Theatre Director’s Scheme 2017
Bristol Old Vic Leverhulme Scholar 2019
Toast of the Plymouth Fringe for Score 

Recipient of JMK Regional Bursary 2014 for Bristol Old Vic’s Jane Eyre with dir. Sally Cookson 

Roles:

Sharp Teeth Theatre Artistic Director & Producer 2014 - present 

Founder of Sharp Teeth Theatre; a Bristol-based theatre company who tell stories with bite. Productions include The Fox and the Child, Parlour Games, Troll Hunter (a work-in-progress), Polly: The Heartbreak Opera, Streaming Beauty & Sherlock In Homes 1-3. The company has previously run popular monthly theatre, poetry and storytelling events at the Wardrobe Theatre, Theatre 503 and the Drayton Arms to nurture emerging artists. We are an associate Artist with The Wardrobe Theatre.

We have curated a storytelling and poetry stage with Poet Beth Calverley at Valleyfest two years in a row, and a stage at Totterdown Arts Trail. We have also run Stories for Sharp Teeth, a storytelling night with our in-house folk band Cruel Sister.

Directing credits:

The Good, the Bad and the Coyote Ugly

Produced by the Wardrobe Theatre
October 2023-January 2024, July-August 2024
Touring to The Wardrobe Theatre and the Front Room Weston-Super-Mare

Minny Stynker

Soap Soup Theatre
Touring to from May 2024 (Tobacco Factory Theatres, Merlin Theatre, Little Angel Theatre and many more)
From a story by Tomasin Cuthbert
Written by Saikat Ahamed
Music by Tom Ball

Of This Place - A Night of New Writing

Produced by Theatre Royal Plymouth
Dramaturgy by Laura Horton, Babs Horton and Mich Sanderson
Theatre Royal Plymouth
June-July 2023

Glass Town

Bath Theatre Academy and The Egg Theatre
Spring 2023
Written by Tom Wentworth
Design by Rebecca Wood
Lighting Design by George Seal
Musical direction and composition by Lizzy Westcott

Breathless by Laura Horton

Winner of Scotsman’s Fringe First 2022 / New York Times’ Critic’s Pick
Co-produced by Laura Horton, Theatre Royal Plymouth & The Pleasance
July 2022-Ongoing
Theatre Royal Plymouth, The Pleasance Courtyard, Taunton Brewhouse, Exeter Phoenix, Soho Theatre, NY’s 59E59 Brits Over Broadway Festival.
Written by Laura Horton
Sound Design by Holly Harbottle
Lighting Design by Dan Heesem

Minny Stynker (RND)

Soap Soup Theatre
From a story by Tomasin Cuthbert
Devised with Tomasin Cuthbert, Saikat Ahamed, Gabby Shepherd
Music by Tom Ball

Around the World in BS5

Compass Presents
June 2023
Created by Tara Sachdeva
Directed and written by Stephanie Kempson
Performed by Emile Clark

Wild, Wild Woods

Scratchworks Theatre
Nov-Dec 2023
Devised by Scratchworks Theatre and Jack Dean
Music by Jack Dean

Until the Sun Goes Down

Arts University Bournemouth
Autumn 2022
Written by Hannah Probyn Duncan, Amy Mason and Stephanie Kempson
Dramaturgy by Amy Mason

Sherlock In Homes 3: Murder at the Games

Sharp Teeth Theatre & The Wardrobe Theatre
November 2021-2022
Bristol Old Vic, Royal & Derngate, Oxford Playhouse, Carn To Cove, Artsreach Dorset, TakeArt and more.
From an original idea by Peter Baker, devised by the company.
Designed by Cat Fuller
Tech direction by Chloe Mashiter

The Precipice (Working Title)

On The Run Theatre
August 2021

ShakesQueer

Tom Marshman Productions
February 2021
Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust
Written, created and performed by Tom Marshman

Sherlock In Homes 2: Murder On Ice

Sharp Teeth Theatre & The Wardrobe Theatre
February 2021- Ongoing
Bristol Old Vic, Awen Wales, Theatre Orchard.
From an original idea by Peter Baker, with additional writing by Eleanor Nawal & devised by the company
Designed by Zoe Brennan

Streaming Beauty: An Interactive Panto

Sharp Teeth Theatre & Tom Marshman Productions
December 2020
Bristol Old Vic
Devised by the company (Edson Burton, Carmen Monoxide, Lotte Allan, Megan Clark-Bagnall, Peter Baker, Tom Marshman, and Stephanie Kempson)
Designed by Rebecca Wood
Sound and Composition by Ben Osborn

Housebound the Musical (Working Title)

Supported by Pervasive Media Studio
Sept-Nov 2020
Composition and sound by Ben Osborn
Movement by Linzy Na Nakorn

Sherlock At Home: An Online Murder Mystery

Sharp Teeth Theatre & The Wardrobe Theatre
Sept 2020-Ongoing
Bristol Old Vic, Royal & Derngate, Hampshire Cultural Trust, Awen Wales, Artsreach Dorset.
From an original idea by Peter Baker, co-devised by the company

Polly: The Heartbreak Opera

Marie Hamilton & Sharp Teeth Theatre
Oct 2019-March 2020
Bristol Old Vic Ferment Fortnight, Greenwich Theatre, The Lowry, Sheffield Theatre Deli, (cancelled) Salisbury Playhouse & (cancelled) Wardrobe Theatre
Co-written and devised by the company
Music by Ben Osborn
Design by Sam Wilde
Movement direction by Linzy Nakorn

Spooky Ship: Shipwrecked!

Oct 2020
SS Great Britain & Bristol Old Vic

House Party on Henley Street

Compass Presents
Nov 2019
Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust

Spooky Ship: Shipwrecked!

Bristol Old Vic & SS Great Britain
Nov 2019
SS Great Britain
Designed by Sam Wilde

The Changing Room

Bath Theatre Royal & Bath College
May 2019
The Egg Theatre, Bath
Design by Caitlin Abbott
Sound Design by Dinah Mullen

Spooky Ship

Bristol Old Vic & SS Great Britain 
Oct 2018
SS Great Britain

Where We Are Now

Bath Theatre Royal
July 2018
Composer Isolde Freeth-Hale 

Parlour Games

Sharp Teeth Theatre & The Wardrobe Theatre
July-Oct 2018
Wardrobe Theatre, Pound Theatre, East Harptree Theatre, Rondo Theatre & Clevedon Theatre Shop

The Book of Jo (Research & Development)

Viv Gordon
Autumn 2018

Polly (Research & Development)

Sharp Teeth Theatre & Marie Hamilton
April 2018
Wardrobe Theatre

Boxes (Research & Development)

Tin Shed Theatre
February 2018
The Welfare, Ystradgynlais
A Theatre Iolo Commission

Spooky Ship

Bristol Old Vic & SS Great Britain 
October 2017
SS Great Britain

Pulling Out

Documental Theatre
May 2016-May 2017
Plymouth Theatre Royal, Exeter Bike Shed, Camden People’s Theatre, The Wardrobe Theatre, plus custodial environments & South Devon College. Included Forum Theatre. 
Written by Lucy Bell
Movement by Joel Daniels

Eclipse

April 2017
Creative Youth Network, Bristol
Written by Alice Nicholas
Movement by Joel Daniels
Design by Ali McDowall
Music by Alex Lupo 

Troon

View From Here Festival
Summer 2016
Theatre 503
Written by Julie Tsang

Score

Documental Theatre
Jan 2015-April 2016
Battersea Arts Centre, Royal Festival Hall (The Southbank Centre, London), The Wardrobe Theatre (Bristol), Bournemouth University, Sheffield University, Exeter Bike Shed, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Camden People’s Theatre
Written by Lucy Bell
Music by Verity Standen

Writing and Dramaturgy:

Boxville

July-August 2023
Created and directed by Samuel Wilde and Ian Nicholson
Designed Samuel Wilde
Dramaturged by Sam Wilde

City of Threads Podcast

Part Exchange Company
Jan-Dec 2020
Dramaturged by Stephanie Kempson

New Production: Research and Development

Pins & Needles Productions
July-Oct 2020
Adapted by Stephanie Kempson

Echoes of the Port

A Bristol University and Brigstowe Institute Commission
Summer 2019
Written and directed by Stephanie Kempson

City of Threads (Research and Development)

Part Exchange Company
Sept 2016-March 2019
Written by Stephanie Kempson

Troll Hunter (Work-In-Progress)

Sharp Teeth Theatre
2018
Sprint Theatre Festival
Written by Stephanie Kempson
Directed by Adam Fuller

Mary (Short Script)

Herstory, a Festival of Women’s Theatre at Theatre N16
August 2016
Written by Stephanie Kempson

Associate & Assistant directing credits:

Boxville

September 2022
From a workshop by Samuel Wilde
Designed Samuel Wilde
Associate Director Stephanie Kempson

Burke & Hare

New Wolsey Theatre
April-May 2022
Director Abigail Pickard Price
Writer Tom Wentworth
Associate Director Stephanie Kempson

Lizard King

Serena Flynn & Morag Davies Productions
April-July 2022
Camden People’s Theatre, Tom Thumb, Wardrobe Theatre, Brighton Fringe
Director Evie Fehilly
Associate Director Stephanie Kempson

The Rocky Shock

A Wardrobe Theatre Production
Oct 2018-Jan 2019
Tobacco Factory Theatres, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Tolmen Centre, Norwich Playhouse, Oxford North Wall, Salisbury Playhouse 
Director Tom Brennan
Associate Director Stephanie Kempson

Snow Beast

Scratchworks Theatre
January 2018
Outside Eye

Lego Beach

INKBLOC Ensemble
December 2017 
Dramaturgical Advisor

Jane Eyre

Bristol Old Vic 
Nov 2013-March 2014 
Directed by Sally Cookson

Bristol Proms (Daniel Hope & Alison Balsom)

Bristol Old Vic 
Directed by Tom Morris
July 2015

The Engineer’s Corset

July 2015
Directed and written by Janet Goddard
Redgrave Theatre 

The Sexual Failings of Ed

September 2015
Directed by Helena Middleton
Written by Miriam Battye
Remount directed by Stephanie Kempson

Drama Practitioner & Outreach Credits:

Currently a term-time workshop leader for ACTA Bristol and Taunton Brewhouse, and developing a project with Arts University Bournemouth. An ongoing mentor director for NT Connections Festival. As well as occasionally Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bath Theatre Royal, ActOn Drama, 20:20 Effect, Hauser & Wirth, Documental Theatre and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s young drama course. All credits are directed by Stephanie Kempson.

On Bower Hill

Bath Theatre Royal Engagement Department
March 2018
Written by Brian Coyle 

Hungry

Bath Theatre Royal Theatre School & Engagement Department 
March 2018
Written and directed by Stephanie Kempson

Everything is Fine, Everything is Falling Apart

Tobacco Factory Theatres’ CYP 14-19
Jan 2017
Devised by the company 

The Sting in the Tale

Tobacco Factory Theatres’ CYP 14-19
Dec 2016
Partly devised by the company & Partly written by Stephanie Kempson & Lucy Coren. 

If You’re Lonely

Hauser & Wirth Somerset Summer School
Aug 2016
Devised by the Company 

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

Tobacco Factory Theatres’ CYP 14-19
July 2016
Devised by the Company 

Tingo

Tobacco Factory Theatres’ CYP 14-19
March 2016
Written by various writers 

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil

Bristol Old Vic
Jan 2015
Adapted by Stephanie Kempson
Music by Verity Standen

The Bellybutton of the World

Cotham School & Bristol Old Vic
March 2013
Written by Stephanie Kempson 

If These Walls Could Talk

Cotham School & Bristol Old Vic
March 2012
Written by Stephanie Kempson

Other experience:

Project management for Jennifer Bell Productions and Tom Marshman, producing for Sharp Teeth Theatre. Observed and taken part in research and developments with Oh! Productions, Hannah Ringham, Malcolm Hamilton and Splash and Ripple. Writer and dramaturg on various projects: currently under commission by Part Exchange Co and Wyldwod. Performer and storyteller for Sharp Teeth Theatre (Bristol Old Vic, Wardrobe Theatre, Valleyfest, Theatre503 and Open Attic Company). Adventure Bureau Company Member Arvon/Scottish Writing Centre playwriting training with Jessica Swale, Nicola McCartney, David Eldridge, Lucy Kirkwood, Chris Thorpe and Simon Stephens. Other skills include grade 6 singing, forum theatre, dramaturgy, writing and storytelling training with Ben Haggarty.

Education:

University of York MA in Film & Literature (Merit equivalent) 2011
University of Falmouth English with Creative Writing (First class) 2010