Marietta Kirkbride
Bristol-based writer and dramaturg. Co-founder and associate of award-winning theatre company Bucket Club (produced by Farnham Maltings).
Marietta has been part of Creative England’s South West Talent Module and Pentabus Theatre’s Young Writers programme. Her play THE LONG TRICK was selected for Bristol Old Vic’s The Open Session and was a winner of The People’s Choice award at VAULT Festival 2017. As a dramaturg she has worked with artists and companies including Bucket Club, Travelling Light Theatre, Theatre West and Theater Am Tisch.
South West (Wessex)
RADIO
THE TEACHINGS OF SMART TOWN (episode of Angst!) - Afónica. BBC Radio 4
FIRECRACKER - Rebecca Ripley. BBC Radio 4
THEATRE
FIVE CHILDREN & IT (2021 - in development) - Bucket Club and The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath. Based on the novel by E Nesbit.
THE FAIR FIGHT (2020 - in development) - with director Emma Callander. Based on the novel by Anna Freeman.
RECKONER (2020 - in development) - Theatre Royal Plymouth
OUR CHURCH (2019) - Watermill Theatre. Directed by Nik Partridge
THE LONG TRICK (2017) - directed by Nel Crouch. Winner of The People’s Choice Award at Vault Festival 2017. Selected for Bristol Old Vic’s The Open Session
THE ORATOR (2016) - Theatre West. Directed by Chloe Masterton
SITTING WITH THISTLE (2011 / 2013) - commissioned by Theatre West and directed by Ed Viney in 2011. Produced by Odd Flock, directed by Elf Lions and Simon Kane in 2013
PRESS
“A fascinating ninety minutes that challenges us on the meaning of repentance and forgiveness.” ★★★★ Pocketsize Theatre on OUR CHURCH
“Marietta Kirkbride's play is a lesson in the power of drama to engage.” ★★★★ Broadway World on OUR CHURCH
“There is something very brave about a young writer channelling elderly voices, and Kirkbride does so excellently. It is, in the end, a focused study [...] with a power that lies in its quiet, emotional understatement.” ★★★ The Guardian on OUR CHURCH
“Kirkbride is a master at showing us how our online identities can take over and inform our real lives, and how the two in the end can be indivisible. A play for our times.” ★★★★ Stagetalk Magazine on THE ORATOR
“Kirkbride’s play addresses the issue of gentrification and social alienation with subtlety, and avoids oversimplifying the divides that exist between us.” A Younger Theatre on THE LONG TRICK
“Kirkbride’s nicely crafted script develops the story at an effective slow-building pace.” ★★★★ What’s on Stage on SITTING WITH THISTLE
“A heart-rendering and at times shocking piece of brilliant theatre.” ★★★★ Mouth London on SITTING WITH THISTLE
THE TEACHINGS OF SMART TOWN (episode of Angst!) - Afónica. BBC Radio 4
FIRECRACKER - Rebecca Ripley. BBC Radio 4
THEATRE
FIVE CHILDREN & IT (2021 - in development) - Bucket Club and The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath. Based on the novel by E Nesbit.
THE FAIR FIGHT (2020 - in development) - with director Emma Callander. Based on the novel by Anna Freeman.
RECKONER (2020 - in development) - Theatre Royal Plymouth
OUR CHURCH (2019) - Watermill Theatre. Directed by Nik Partridge
THE LONG TRICK (2017) - directed by Nel Crouch. Winner of The People’s Choice Award at Vault Festival 2017. Selected for Bristol Old Vic’s The Open Session
THE ORATOR (2016) - Theatre West. Directed by Chloe Masterton
SITTING WITH THISTLE (2011 / 2013) - commissioned by Theatre West and directed by Ed Viney in 2011. Produced by Odd Flock, directed by Elf Lions and Simon Kane in 2013
PRESS
“A fascinating ninety minutes that challenges us on the meaning of repentance and forgiveness.” ★★★★ Pocketsize Theatre on OUR CHURCH
“Marietta Kirkbride's play is a lesson in the power of drama to engage.” ★★★★ Broadway World on OUR CHURCH
“There is something very brave about a young writer channelling elderly voices, and Kirkbride does so excellently. It is, in the end, a focused study [...] with a power that lies in its quiet, emotional understatement.” ★★★ The Guardian on OUR CHURCH
“Kirkbride is a master at showing us how our online identities can take over and inform our real lives, and how the two in the end can be indivisible. A play for our times.” ★★★★ Stagetalk Magazine on THE ORATOR
“Kirkbride’s play addresses the issue of gentrification and social alienation with subtlety, and avoids oversimplifying the divides that exist between us.” A Younger Theatre on THE LONG TRICK
“Kirkbride’s nicely crafted script develops the story at an effective slow-building pace.” ★★★★ What’s on Stage on SITTING WITH THISTLE
“A heart-rendering and at times shocking piece of brilliant theatre.” ★★★★ Mouth London on SITTING WITH THISTLE
Radio, Theatre