Tower Theatre Company : Past Events

Reflections on A Mirror

Sunday 25 October, 2026

At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington

The Tower's Writers' Room is a group of members who meet each month to create new scripts, generally on a theme set by the groups's co-ordinator, Janet South. They were each invited to write a short play inpired by the story and therems of A Mirror by Sam Holcroft, which the Tower had recently produced. These were performed as a rehearsed reading by a group of Tower actors.

Part 1

A Morning After by Janet South
A piece of new writing is rehearsed

Censor Committee by Oscar Gill The committee meet to discuss which plays are on or off the censorship list

On Script by Neha Vaze Heather introduces her girlfriend to her parents

Cinderella v2.0 by Jacky Rowland A playwright responds to a challenging writing brief

Smile by Lisa Hevey A strategy awayday for the Department of Gratitude

Hello Audience! by Chelsea Fernandez Chuck and Ruby go to the theatre

Part 2

Out of the Mouths of Babes by Alison Kelly
Four generations of women contemplate a long and distant war

Classified by Marilyn Campbell-Fessal
Zara and Elodie await the results of their government classification test

Showcase by Ian Hoare
Sam struggles to meet the brief for a theatre showcase

Company Town by Caroline Trettine
Finding an acceptable British show for the Shanghai Grand

Hay Fever - How the World Ends by Jonathan Reed
It’s just whist and karaoke in the bunker

The Cast

Rachel Bothamley
Tim Waghorn
Katie Smith
Sue Brodie
Emily Carmichael
Joe Lewis
Richard Hague
Martin South
Kate Pemberton
Simona Hughes

Production Team

Producer : Janet South
Directors : Janet South, Ian Hoare, Martin South
Stage Manager : Matthew Ibbotson

Photography by Laurence Tuerk

Janet South has been writing short plays for about eight years. A few have been staged at the Tower and more recently at Bard Books and at the FFinc conference for women in business. She likes to be female focused in her writing but also enjoys dark humour and social awkwardness.	Oscar Gill has been with the Tower Writers’ Room since last year. In that time, he has written 12 short plays, a few of which have been performed at the Tower and various London scratch nights. His response to A Mirror focuses on the absurd parts of dictatorships and police states. Behind all the pomp, fear, and murder - they’re ridiculous, petty, and entirely hilarious.
Neha Vaze has no prior writing experience, and this is her first play both at the Tower and generally! She is 27, studied Languages at university and now works in banking.	Jacky Rowland has a standard reply when asked if she gets pre-show nerves: “No, because I’m not getting shot at.” Her experiences at the frontline of international news inform her work, both as an actor and a writer. She is drawn to morally complex stories where the characters hover between light and dark. She also loves to write comedy, particularly the dark or surreal. Two decades in broadcast news taught her only some of the skills needed to be an actor and a playwright, so Jacky went on to train at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.
Lisa Hevey joined the Tower Writers Room in 2024 and she has thoroughly enjoyed learning how to write plays over the past few years. Lisa’s work usually involves dark humour and, if you’re lucky, a puppet or two. Her first short play, Lorelei, was performed in September 2025 and is one of Lisa’s proudest achievements to date.	Chelsea Fernandez is an emerging playwright and performer. Her short play Casual Day was produced by the Australian Theatre for Young People and published by Currency Press last year. She is currently developing her absurd comedy Locking In, which was recently programmed by Tripped Theatre as a rehearsed reading at the Golden Goose Theatre.
Alison Kelly is new to playwriting and is enjoying experimenting in the Writers’ Room. She is particularly interested in exploring social commentary through humour and is inspired by translating Irish mythology to modern contexts.	Marilyn Campbell-Fessal is an author and former educator with a passion for storytelling and the creative arts. Marilyn is involved with Black Arts Production Theatre a local theatrical group in Tottenham. She is keen to develop her experience both on and off the stage. She brings her life experience, creativity and enthusiasm to her theatrical journey. Alongside her writing, she enjoys exploring her artistic side as an amateur artist and T-shirt designer.
Ian Hoare joined the Tower in 2002 and has been involved in more than 40 productions. He started as an actor but has more recently worked as a director and a writer. He is a former journalist and lecturer.	Caroline Trettine is a composer-singer who writes musicals and plays (with music). She has lived in Stoke Newington for 40 years. Her next community project is to crowdfund and film her screenplay - a romcom, mystery musical The Blue Jay Cafe; a love-song to Stoke Newington.
Jonathan Reed is an improviser, writer and director. He performed improv across London for over 10 years and was on the writing team for the sketch show Vice Captains (Edinburgh Fringe, 2018) and for a follow up podcast (Vice Captains: How to Life Life, 2021). Jon has been part of the Writer’s Room for two years. Jon directed Seagulls in 2023 and The Children in 2025 at the Tower, One Day When We Were Young in 2025 at the Hen and Chickens Theatre, and Jerusalem at the Tower and Brighton Open Air Theatre in 2026.

		Reflections on A Mirror
		Sunday 25 October, 2026 At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington