Writer’s Avenue runs writing competitions which provides new writers with a platform to showcase their work and receive feedback from both the literary department as well as the audience of a paying public.

The Literary Department are dedicated to finding plays that deliver compelling stories that resonate with a contemporary audience. We look for thought provoking plays that explore original themes, plays that ask questions about the society and world we live in today and plays that entertain.

Sandra Quartey

Artistic Director & Producer

Sandra sees potential for great stage stories all around her, she has worked with individuals that would make great characters and is currently working on a new play herself! She started Writer’s Avenue in response to meeting people who expressed a desire to write plays but felt held back by a lack of opportunities and confidence. She believes the events and structure of Writer’s Avenue is the best way to address this.

Sandra trained at The BRIT School of Performing Arts. She has a BA in Modern Drama Studies and Creative Writing from Brunel and an Acting MA from East 15 Acting School. Sandra was offered a place on Identity's Typecast course led by Che Walker in association with Shadow Arts Entertainment.

She has been a drama workshop leader for Tricycle Theatre, Trap Media and Stagecoach Company. As an actress Sandra also wants Writer’s Avenue to create opportunities for actors and directors to keep their skills active and to give them opportunities to network. The play she will always remember is Shakespeare's Macbeth. Though it's a classical play its themes are timeless.

Caro Dixey

Literary Manager

When not immersed in all forms theatre, Caro can be found indulging in her other passion cricket. It’s a game that emulates how Caro wishes to live her life: with structure, honour, fun, occasional excitement and the endurance to last the course. She is currently working one a one-woman play about the great game.

She has a BA in Music with Drama and an MA from the Central School of Speech and Drama specialising in Dramaturgy. She works as a freelance dramaturge and has worked with Syndromus Theatre Company (Still, also as co-writer) and Universal Citizen(Quango 193). A stint at the world renowed Goodman theatre in Chicago, saw her working on some fantastic productions including Brett C Leonard’s The Long Red Road directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sarah Kane’s Blasted changed her life.

Naa Wallace-Davies

Marketing & Development; Reader

Naa is a seasoned daydreamer. Though she will never be trusted to fly a plane, at least she’ll always have her imagination as a vital tool to tell people about Writer’s Avenue and to eke out the best of the submissions. She has a BA in Film Production specialising in writing screenplays. She writes and makes short films, one of which, Pudding, opened the 2007 Cornish Film Festival. She has worked as a camera assistant in feature films and TV dramas including ITV’s Poirot. She believes everyone should hear the radio play Spoonface Steinberg by Lee Hall at least once. 

Giles Cole

Reader

Giles has spent half a lifetime trying to grow out of his youthful passion for theatre, but is now happily resigned to wholehearted failure in that regard. He has had seven plays produced for BBC Radio 4 and his most recent stage play, The Art of Concealment, about the life of Terence Rattigan, was performed on the Brighton Festival Fringe 2011. He has worked in the BBC TV script unit, on the script panel of Croydon Warehouse Theatre and as a reviewer for Whatsonstage.com. He chaired the theatre panel for the Writers’ Guild Awards for six years and is completing a postgraduate degree course in Creative Writing (Plays and Screenplays) at City University. A play he will always remember is the RSC production of Peter Weiss’s Marat/Sade (revived at Stratford in 2011).

Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Jane Holmes started acting as a child with her two sisters putting on a Christmas show every year for her family whether they wanted to watch or not.

She is now an actress of the stage and screen, having featured in productions for The Arcola Theatre, Jackson’s Lane Theatre and appearances on the BBC and MTV. 

Elizabeth trained at Lancaster University in Drama and English Literature. She will always remember seeing a production of Neville’s Island by Tim Firth.

Graeme Thompson

Graeme has a BA in Theatre Dramaturgy and an MA in Performance from the University of Leeds. He works as a freelance script reader and dramaturg and has worked with The West Yorkshire Playhouse, Brockley Jack Studio Theatre. He has also worked in the programming department of The Albany. He will always remember the experience of seeing Woman in Black.

June Trask

June is a playwright, director and drama teacher. Her plays include Shelter, produced as part of The Five Tenners programme at Wickham Theatre in Bristol and Can You Hear Me? (2010) a touring school play about cultural awareness for the Cornwall LEA.

As a director she has over 60 small and large productions under her belt, including productions for Writer’s avenue 2010 season. She is currently working on a play about cyber bullying and will direct at the 2011 Barnstaple Fringe TheatreFest. June has a BA in English/Drama, an MA in creative writing and a MLitt in directing Shakespeare and a diploma in Creative Writing for Performance.

Christina Angus

Christina has a BA in English and Drama from Queen Mary, University of London. She has previously interned for Arcola Theatre and the Bush Theatre and is a Programming Intern for The Pleasance Theatre, Islington. Christina has also been Assistant Director on plays both at The Pleasance and Theater 503 and is currently in developing projects as a director

Clare Abbott

She works for Globe Education, which helps people passionate about learning and engaging with Shakespeare. Clare studied English Literature at Oxford.