SJT Play Reading: This is Not America

About

Idris lives in the shadow of his precocious sister Nusiba, seemingly unable to ever do enough to impress his Dad. His girlfriend gives him an ultimatum – find a job or lose the love of his life. Then he’s offered the chance to escape. To Mars. Idris can’t think why he’d want to stay on earth, but can think of many reasons why he’d blast himself into space and reach for a new future for the human race.

Josh – or Val – developed with the SOHO Theatre and Royal Exchange Theatre’s respective playwrighting schemes. His work includes musicals for Central School of Speech and Drama, documentary plays for Northampton Royal and Derngate and the New Vic Theatre, and his play This Is Not America won the Bruntwood Commendation Prize in 2017. Most recently, he’s worked in a writers room on a new SKY television series; written, performed and toured a one-man show; and is currently finishing a new-play commissioned by Silent Uproar. Aside from writing, Val has had a piece of visual art in an art gallery in Iceland, and earns his bread and butter having founded ‘Free Manchester Walking Tours’ seven years ago, as well as Manchester’s LGBT+ tour. During the pandemic, Val completed a History MA from the University of Manchester (with help from his dog, Alan).