The Last Tide is a poetry-play inspired by the legend of the Mermaid of Dunnet Head. Told through poetic monologue, it follows a siren’s perspective as she experiences the decay of the sea.
Set in 2045 on the Moray Coast, the piece blurs the line between myth and reality, exploring human greed, love, betrayal and what might happen to the sea if no action is taken.
Developed with director Anna Whealing and actor Rosie Hart.
When I first sat down to write this piece, I wanted to use my own natural voice without overthinking form or style, in a stream of consciousness. Unsurprisingly, the play wrote itself as a poem.
The idea was sparked by my surroundings and the time I spend on a beach near my home, Sunnyside. One day, while walking there, I heard the eerie sound of seals singing, and immediately thought of sirens. What if I reimagined a siren story in a modern setting? From there, I drew on the tale of the Mermaid of Dunnet Head and began to write.
In May 2026 the play went through its first development week. I was joined by Anna Whealing and Rosie Hart, two creatives who have a strong connection to the area. We imagine that the performance will tour beaches, with the audience experiencing the narrative through headphones. We’re also keen to incorporate technology alongside a live performer to bring the story to life.
More to come on this!
The Seamstress is a poetic and multi-threaded theatrical experience exploring creation, connection, and the fragile architecture of human fate. Five performers weave through a series of interconnected vignettes. A call girl on the phone with a client, stitching desire and performance together; a woman bleeding in a public toilet; another tracing the seam of her new caesarean scar, unsure whether it marks loss or beginning. She cuts, shapes, mends, makes her ordinary life. She is not a mythical figure, but a force – part maker, part witness – connecting each event on stage into a complete tapestry.
Written by Bryony Barclay
Directed by Isabella Iversen
Produced by Mad Bad Productions
Cast: Valentina Bordeu, Isabella Iversen, Philippine Lazare, Gina McTeague and Manon Vernier
Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh
Trinity Community Arts, Bristol
Proposition Studio, London
The Seamstress began as poetry. Ideas appeared in fragments, and found shapes thanks to artistic residencies with the Mad Bad team. Writing with and for Mab Bad Productions is truly collaborative. Hence, the play is largely based on the experiences of the ensemble as well as my own, and this collage of stories became a tapestry play. Scenes are connected through themes, shared memory, movement, visual elements.
The Seamstress is about celebrating our resilience – our ability to cope in the face of the onslaught of modern life. It pays homage to the ordinary and the extreme in equal measure, the casual and the absurd. It is a recognition of the extraordinary amount of willpower and energy it takes to thrive in the world today.
Designed for open, site-specific spaces, the play combines live sound, handheld light and movement to create an intimate, immersive encounter between performers and audience.
Little Beast is a creative retelling the fascinating and tumultuous life of Lady Caroline Lamb, whose defiance and love affair with poet Lord Byron captivated and scandalised her contemporaries.
Written by Bryony Barclay and Isabella Iversen
Directed by Gina McTeague
Produced by Mad Bad Productions
Performed by Valentina Bordeu, Bryony Barclay, Isabella Iversen, Philippine Lazare, Gina McTeague and Manon Vernier
theSpace on the Mile
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024
Writing Little Beast involved extensive research into Lord Byron and Lady Caroline. The challenge was to honour their lives whilst keeping a playfulness in the narrative. One of the most exciting creative choices we made was introducing a modern-day counterpart to Caroline. This allowed me to experiment with language, blending Old English with contemporary slang. This approach bridged the gap between past and present, making Lady Caroline’s experiences feel immediate and relatable to a modern audience.
My writing process often begins with poetry – and the poems then evolve into scenes or monologues. For Little Beast, we chose to retain some of the spoken word elements. These sections became some of my favourite moments in the piece. One of them, the ‘Girls Guide’, represents the inner workings of Caroline’s mind, as well as the external voices of upper-class society, echoing the women who sought to shape her into a “proper” lady. Ultimately though, she resisted – and that defiance lies at the heart of her story.