Matt Morrison is a playwright and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing. He teaches on both the BA and MA Creative Writing routes.
His recent plays include: The Shelter, performed at the Riverside Studios in July 2013; Through the Night, one of four plays chosen by the Papatango New Playwriting Awards (2011) for production at the Finborough Theatre; and Inside Out, a monologue play selected for the inaugural HighTide festival. Matt is also a member of ‘Hannah Bruce and Company’, a theatre/dance collective which has performed site-responsive work at venues including the West Yorkshire Playhouse (2014), Wilton’s Music Hall (2013), Northern Stage (2013) and Shoreditch Town Hall (2012).
Matt has also written radio comedy for BBC 1 and BBC 4, several short stories and two non-fiction books: Key Concepts in Creative Writing (Palgrave Macmillan) and Big Questions (an introduction to philosophy for teenagers). Between 2003 and 2005, he was the Literary Manager at Theatre503, one of the country’s leading new-writing venues. He is currently conducting doctoral research into the history of the Soho Theatre, where he is an Associate Reader.
Ben Musgrave grew up in Britain, Bangladesh and India. His play Pretend You Have Big Buildings was the winner of the inaugural Bruntwood prize. It was performed in the main house of the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in July 2007. He was subsequently commissioned by the National Theatre (and was also on attachment at the National Theatre Studio in 2012–2013). Exams are Getting Easier, for the Birmingham REP, was performed by the Young REP in 2010.
Ben has written extensively about science. His play for Y Touring, Breathing Country, in association with the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Wellcome Trust, toured the country in 2009-10, and was shortlisted for the Theatre Centre Brian Way award. Stunted Trees and Broken Bridges, about neuro-intervention, toured the country in 2013. A filmed version of the play was screened in Picturehouse Cinemas.
Ben has also worked with ex-offenders. His play for a mixed cast of professionals and ex-offenders, His Teeth, at the Only Connect space in 2011, was Evening Standard and Time Out critics’ choice and nominated for an Offwestend.com award for best new play. He is now under commission to The Big House, a new company working with care-leavers.