Interview with East Midlands Theatre editor and reviewer Phil Lowe and James Sweeney
Images from Make It Count in rehearsal.
Q&A:
On your impressive website you call yourself a playwright and screenwriter. How did you begin your journey to doing that?
Thank you very much for your kind words about my website. I started writing in June 2025, and it began in quite an odd way.
There were a couple of films I was excited to watch, but for whatever reason I just couldn’t get into them. My wife suggested — tongue firmly in cheek — that I try writing one myself. I took it as a challenge. I hadn’t seriously considered writing before, but I’ve never been afraid to try something new.
I read what I could about screenwriting, downloaded Final Draft to help with the formatting, and got stuck into writing my first feature film, LIFE DEBT. I loved the process. Something about the combination of structure, dialogue and problem-solving immediately appealed to me.
Then, in August 2025, I attended a course on writing for the stage and screen, led by John Hewer of Hambledon Productions. That was when I realised those same instincts were also very well suited to theatre. I haven’t really looked back since.
What successes have you had so far?
As a newcomer, getting people to read a film script can be difficult, so I entered LIFE DEBT into a few competitions, partly for exposure but mainly for feedback. I was delighted when it won Best Thriller at the New York Script Awards in August 2025 and was a finalist in several other competitions. That gave me the confidence to take the writing more seriously.
My wife then spotted the course at Louth Riverhead Theatre led by John Hewer and encouraged me to go for it. The course culminated in a Scratch Night, where the first three scenes of MAKE IT COUNT won the competition. I was invited to finish the script, and the play was then offered a three-night run at Louth Riverhead Theatre from 18–20 June.
Since then, MAKE IT COUNT has been named Best Stage Play at the Best Script Awards 2026. It’s also been selected by Langham Court Theatre in Victoria, Canada, for a staged reading on 12 September, and was given a staged reading at The Bridge House Theatre in London as part of the Off the Page programme.
The London reading was a wonderful experience. Hearing the play performed by professional actors was incredibly useful. Sarah Finigan and Katy Morgan from Off the Page were fantastic to deal with. The audience feedback mattered a great deal too, because ultimately the real test is whether the work connects with people in the room.
I’ve also recently been selected by New Perspectives for their 2026/27 New Associates talent development programme, which feels like a very exciting next step.
Your latest play Make It Count is currently in rehearsals, it’s described as a ‘high concept’ comedy-drama. What do you mean by high concept?
For me, “high concept” means the central idea can be understood almost immediately.
A man dies by mistake and is given the chance to relive the last sixteen years of his marriage — while his wife remembers none of it. Armed with knowledge of the future, he tries to perfect their life together, only to discover that every attempt to control it drives them further apart. Guided by the Grim Reaper’s well-meaning but inexperienced stand-in, he is forced to confront the damage he has done.
So, the premise is surreal, but the emotions are very recognisable. I’ve worked hard to make sure the audience can follow the story easily and enjoy the ride, while also rewarding people who pay close attention. I like writing pieces that work as entertainment first, but hopefully leave people with something to think about afterwards.
How have New Perspectives helped you to achieve your playwriting dream so far?
It’s still early days with New Perspectives, but the support already feels very valuable.
I attended the induction at the end of April, where I met the other members of the cohort and the hugely experienced team behind the company. There are masterclasses and workshops scheduled throughout the programme, and I’m keen to absorb as much as I can.
I’ve already had very helpful feedback on my script from Jayne Williams. What was particularly encouraging was that her notes chimed with things I had started to notice in rehearsals, and with some of the responses from the London reading. She identified those points from the script alone, which really impressed me.
For someone still near the start of this journey, that kind of informed, practical support makes the writing process feel much less solitary. It is a real privilege to have Jayne and the New Perspectives team supporting me as I continue to develop.
I read that you are working on a new stage play The Last Next Time. Can you tell us what that is about please? Assuming a work in progress.
I’m very excited about THE LAST NEXT TIME, although it is still very much a work in progress.
It shares some of the same core themes as MAKE IT COUNT — love, time, memory and control — but it pushes them into much darker territory. Tonally, the two plays are very different.
It is about a man who repeatedly relives the same twenty-year relationship in an attempt to save his dying wife, only to discover that he may be the person causing the harm. He must choose between the past he is addicted to and the woman he cannot live without.
Structurally, it is more intricate, but I still want it to be simple to stage and clear for an audience to follow. In some ways, it feels like a feature thriller built for theatre, which is where my screenwriting experience has been especially useful.
You seem to be drawn to black comedy which is, to use your words, exciting, edgy, layered and emotionally deep. Why do you think that genre appeals?
I believe going to the theatre, or watching a film, should have one primary purpose above all else: to entertain.
Black comedy appeals to me because it lets you approach serious, frightening or painful subjects without becoming heavy-handed. Sometimes humour is the most honest way into something difficult. It gives the audience permission to laugh, and then perhaps leaves them with something more complicated to sit with afterwards.
I write the kind of shows I want to experience myself: stories that trust the audience, reward attention, and reveal more than you first realised. I love work that makes you want to watch it again immediately, partly for the enjoyment and partly because you suspect the second viewing will change your understanding of the first.
That is always in my mind when I write. I want people to have a good night out first and foremost, but I also want the story to linger.
How are rehearsals going?
It’s my first experience in a rehearsal room, and I’m loving it.
John Hewer is directing MAKE IT COUNT, and he has been fantastic in involving me throughout the process. I told him early on that I wanted to learn as much as possible, from auditions through to the final show, and he has been very generous with that.
The actors have brought real intelligence, care and curiosity to the work. I particularly enjoy it when someone asks why a certain line is there, or how it connects with something earlier in the play. It shows they are interrogating the script properly and thinking hard about how each moment should land.
Being in the room has also helped me make small, practical refinements. Sometimes you only really understand whether a line works when you hear it spoken aloud by an actor. More than anything, rehearsals have taught me to trust the process and trust the people bringing the play to life.
Are you using professional actors?
It’s a non-professional production, but everyone is approaching it with real seriousness, care and ambition.
All three actors have brought talent, intelligence and generosity to the work. They have strong comic instincts, which is hugely important for this play, but they are also finding the emotional truth underneath the comedy.
I feel very fortunate to have actors willing to give so much time and energy to the piece. The priority is to make the Louth run as strong as it can possibly be for the audience and reward their willingness to support new writing.
What are the actors’ theatre backgrounds?
Derek Hodges plays Noah, the Grim Reaper’s husband. He has been involved with amateur theatre for over fifty years, so he brings a huge amount of experience.
Brayden Kerr plays Jonas, the husband of Lily. He brings great energy, range and comic timing to the role. That instinct for comedy has been very valuable in rehearsals. He previously played the lead role of Edward Jones in A Bolt From The Blue at Caxton Theatre in 2022,
Laura Thompson plays Lily, the wife of Jonas, and she brings real range and emotional intelligence to the part. Lily is a deceptively difficult role because the audience’s understanding of her shifts as the play develops, and Laura has been very thoughtful about how to handle that.
Together they make a really strong trio, and because the play is a three-hander, that chemistry is vital. The play only works if you believe in the relationships between them.
How well are they gelling?
They haven’t worked together before as a group, but it clicked very quickly. There is a lot of respect in the room, and they’re all helping one another find the rhythm of the piece.
The relationships in the play have to feel believable, and so much depends on timing, trust and tiny shifts in affection, frustration and understanding. That chemistry is already starting to show in the work.
Rehearsals are a genuine pleasure. We’re all having so much fun bringing the play to life.
Are you directing as well?
No, John Hewer is directing. He has a very strong background in comedy, so he’s really enjoying the script and bringing his vast experience to the play.
I’m learning a great deal from watching him work. The more I understand about pacing, staging and the director’s relationship with the actors, the better writer I can become.
At this stage, my role is very much to watch, listen and learn.
How big a learning curve is it all for you?
It has been huge, but I’ve tried to approach it with discipline, curiosity and a willingness to listen. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I am treating this as the first step on what I hope will be a long journey.
The biggest lesson has been how collaborative theatre really is. You can write the script alone, but the play only properly reveals itself once actors, a director and an audience begin to test it.
I’m taking it seriously, but I’m also trying to enjoy the process. I realise how fortunate I am to have a play produced, and I’ve been struck by how generous people in the creative sector have been, both locally and further afield.
Some new theatre writers admit to feeling a bit of imposter syndrome even when they are talented individuals. Would you say this applies to yourself?
Not in the classic sense, no.
I respect experience enormously, and I know I have a lot to learn, but I don’t believe in waiting for permission to try. This may sound a bit neat, given the title of the play, but MAKE IT COUNT is called that for a reason. We get one crack at this, so why not give the thing you want to do your best shot?
That does not mean pretending you know everything. One of the first things I did after winning the Scratch Night was contact two local playwrights and ask if I could buy them a drink and pick their brains. It’s amazing how much you can learn if you are prepared to ask questions, listen properly, and invite honest feedback.
That is also why New Perspectives is so valuable. Being around people with real experience helps you develop faster, and it reminds you that confidence and humility do not have to be opposites.
How vital do you think new theatre writing is?
I think it’s vital, especially in the long term.
Before I started writing, I probably hadn’t thought deeply enough about where new plays actually come from. But if Louth Riverhead Theatre and Hambledon Productions hadn’t created that new writing opportunity, I don’t think I would have written a stage play at all.
That is why those opportunities matter. They don’t just support work that already exists; they can create the conditions for new work to happen in the first place.
New writing keeps theatre moving forward. It gives audiences fresh stories, fresh voices and fresh ways of looking at familiar experiences. It also gives new writers the chance to discover what they might be capable of.
What is your ideal audience?
MAKE IT COUNT is for a general audience.
The idea of the path not chosen is something most of us think about at some point, whether it relates to a major life decision or something much smaller. Films like It’s A Wonderful Life, Groundhog Day and Back To The Future are classics for a reason. They take big ideas and make them accessible through character, humour and emotion.
I felt it was important that my first play could reach a broad audience. That made it difficult to write, because the structure has to do a lot of work without the audience noticing the machinery underneath. I want people to feel as though the play is carrying them along naturally.
I often think about the reluctant theatre-goer: the person who has come along with someone else and is secretly hoping the interval arrives quickly. I want to write plays that make that person glad they came — and maybe, eventually, turn them into the one suggesting the next trip to the theatre.
