SHORTS by NOT LONG

Saturday 02 August 2025 - From 7:30pm

This inaugural SHORTS is the first pilot for a quarterly event, supported by and hosted at Stockroom. One evening, 3 short plays, 1 director, 1 repertoire cast, and one big afterparty, hosted by our friends at Bruk. It's a new alternative night out for Stockport, and a phenomenal way to champion and platform the talent the North West has to offer. NOT LONG is fundamentally a network. A means to meet other creatives, collaborate, or just sit back and watch. That sense of 'community' that's so needed everywhere, not least the creative industry. It's a way to prove to your mates that theatre, in fact, is very cool. Let's all experience something funny, something shocking in a room together. Then have a good boogie afterwards.

ACT I by CHARLES ABBOTT
ACT II by SADIE PEARSON
ACT III by HARVEY WEEDON

DOORS: 6pm
PLAYS: 7:30pm

MEET THE WRITERS:

Harvey Weedon

Harvey is a queer, British-Irish creative from Southampton. Moving to Manchester five years ago to attend Manchester School of Theatre, following in the footsteps of his father who spent much of his young adult life partying in Stockport.

Since graduating in 2023 with a BA in Acting, as well as furthering his performance career, he’s developed as a poet and playwright within the fringe theatre scene, with work being performed at Hope Mill, The Kings Arms, and Contact Theatre. Day-to-day he works with Hulme-based arts charity Odd Arts, traveling around the North West delivering workshops on social issues, in schools, community centres, and prisons.

Sadie Pearson

Sadie is a Mancunian prize-winning playwright, director and co-founder of Full Frontal Theatre Ltd. Her critically acclaimed debut play To Watch a Man Eat saw a UK tour, including a five-star showing at The Shakespeare North Playhouse, and was named Backstage Bristol’s top 3 plays of 2024.

Her second play, Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working, was a winner of the Alpine Fellowship Playwrighting Prize 2024, is currently longlisted for the Ifeld Prize 2025, and has been competitively programmed at Gilded Balloon for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. She was the winner of The Wickham Theatre’s 75th Anniversary Playwrighting competition and has gained mentorship under playwright Mike Akers in Tobacco Factory Theatre’s Writer’s Scheme.

Charles Abbott

Born in Burnley, Lancashire, Charles grew up between those northern platitudes of the moors and mills. Moving to Manchester in 2014, he’s been involved with the club and theatre scenes in the city for a while. Self-taught in the ways of playwriting and screenwriting independently whilst working at venues around the city.

In the last four years he’s trained with some of the industry’s standout names, including Paul Abbott (NO RELATION!) and Kate Leys as part of a BFI course. He doesn’t write kitchen sink. He doesn’t write northern bleakness, or poverty porn. He does hope to write the richness of humour and language manifested in the people he grew up around.

MEET THE DIRECTOR:

Tom Ferguson

Tom is a theatre maker from Stockport who’s passionate about telling authentic working-class stories that are full of theatricality. He directed Simon Stephens’ PORT as part of Stockport being Greater Manchester Town of Culture in 2023.

Tom is enthusiastic about the development of new writing, previously directing for OFF CUT (53two), FULFILMENT (Little Finn Productions at Joshua Brooks), being Festival Director for STOCKPORT FESTIVAL OF NEW WRITING (Stockport Garrick Theatre) and being a co-founder of the playwright-led DogCatTrumpet Productions. He’s excited to be making professional theatre in his hometown - and not having to get a train home after the show.