9th to 13th September 2025
Produced by Roger Niven and Di Wallsgrove
It is 25 years since Bench Theatre launched an ambitious one-act play competition aimed at promoting local and national playwrights and displaying the fruits of their labours on our stage, in a week-long festival - Supernova.
The 9th outing will take place in September 2025 at The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre. Brand new works will be performed three times each over the space of a week, each directed and performed by the Bench Theatre membership.
You think you know who you are, right? But when you are summoned to room 102 to answer for your alleged offence, everything may be in doubt. After all, the system is infallible…
| Elliot | Francisco Booth |
| The Man | Jeff Bone |
| The Woman | Jenni Scott |
| Director | Stephen Mollett with Erin Offord |
We are in the seventeenth century (sort of) when fear of witchcraft stalks the land. The wealthy Lady Antonia Shayle must defend herself against her accusers. But what is that half-hidden object in the corner of the cell?
| Lady Antonia | Sarah Ash |
| Lump | Tasmin Halford |
| Witch-pricker Nathaniel | Paul Jerome |
| Captain Longshuffle | Stuart Reilly |
| Sir Howard Splather | Geoffrey Pye |
| Director | Fiona Callingham with Ingrid Corrigan |
Shortly after the death of the great playwright, Ibsen’s bathtub was removed from his home. Now, employees from the museum in Grimstad have tracked it down…to a pig farm in the middle of Norway…
| Nils | Joff Lacey |
| Kristina | Jenni Scott |
| Magnus | Jack Sweet |
| Director | Roger Niven with Laura Sheppard |
When Ellie urges Eddie to ‘sign the papers’, he is reluctant. The photos say it all – they are captured moments of their life together. Surely that life can’t now be over – can it?
| Eddie | Callum West |
| Ellie | Bernie Lomas |
| Director | Stuart Reilly |
A woman meets a man in a dingy hotel room. No-one knows where she is. But surely Clare can trust Robbie, can’t she? After all, he has told her that he loves her…
| Claire | Lorraine Stone |
| Robbie | Jack Sweet |
| Director | Roger Niven |
When they built Death Row, the crows sat on top, yelling and cussing. Now, on his final night, Jack waits with the preacher, a man who can surely have no understanding of what he did…
| Jack Reynolds | Callum West |
| Guard | Stuart Reilly |
| Preacher | Peter Ashdown |
| Josie | Tasmin Halford |
| Director | Pete Woodwood |
Alan struggles when it comes to writing female characters. Surely this time, for this assignment, he can finally get it right…
| Alan | Jeff Bone |
| Laura | Di Wallsgrove |
| Adrian | Stuart Reilly |
| Director | Killian Wheeler with Lucy Flannery |
Everyone knows what the rail network is like these days. So if you were setting out on your honeymoon, surely you wouldn’t try to get to the airport by train… No-one could be that stupid…could they?
| Marie | Claire Lyne |
| David | Chris Vanstone |
| Announcer | Jasper Utley |
| Jessica | Janice Halsey |
| Strange Man (Jeff) | Chris Wrein |
| Gus the Station Worker | Lorraine Stone |
| Director | Callum West with Peter Ashdown |
Lucy Flannery is an award-winning writer with credits in theatre, radio, film, TV, fiction and non-fiction. She leads playwriting courses at Chichester Festival Theatre and is a member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Audio Committee. Lucy lives in central Havant, very close to The Spring and so is always last to arrive at rehearsals. She is a member of a Bench-heavy Playwrights Group which meets regularly to try out new work, provide constructive feedback and complain about getting caught at the level crossing.
Dan is a previous member of Bench Theatre. He works in academic publishing, but in his spare time he dabbles in lots of creative endeavours including drawing, photography, acting, painting and writing. His short play 'Keywords' was performed in Supernova8 in 2019.
Stephen Mollett is a member of Bench Theatre. He has had 8 audio plays produced by BBC Radio 4 and written episodes of the series ‘Doctors’ for BBC1. Stephen directed his own stage play ‘Breaking the Wall’ for Bench in 2023. He taught creative writing at the University of Chichester for many years and runs some writing workshops in schools for the Royal Literary Fund. He has just completed a novel ‘Gull House’ which was shortlisted for the Cinnamon Literature Award 2024.
John has been involved in Drama and Theatre, as teacher, actor, director and writer, in Hampshire and London schools and youth theatres for more than 40 years. He retired from teaching in 2019 with his sanity reasonably intact. John has been a member of various companies over the years, including Snowdrop Theatre, The Bench Theatre and Titchfield Festival Theatre. Whilst living in London, John created a TIE group, which regularly performed in schools and Youth Clubs. He has continued to work with young people and is presently one of the leaders of Titchfield Youth Theatre, [based at Titchfield Theatre] directing and writing bespoke plays for the group since 2017. John is currently writing their autumn production, 'My Son Tom', for first performance in November. A number of his plays for young people have been published by Zig-Zag Education.John has also directed a variety of plays, [from Dennis Potter to John Middleton] and has been fortunate in having the opportunity to write and direct his own plays at Titchfield Theatre; plays include The Nose; Olga At The Theatre; All That Is Left Rosa Goldberg; Back to the Sky; Blanket of Deceit and Bonefire. John is honoured to be part of Supernova 9.
Mark started writing at Middle School encouraged by an inspiring teacher and scribbled away for many years without showing anything to anyone. At University the college theatre society asked writers to submit original work and Mark had his first ever plays performed there, with one of them being taken to the Edinburgh Festival. Mark first joined the Bench as a student and when he returned from university he began a 30 year stint as an actor, appearing in dozens of productions, and as a frequent director. Although illness made it difficult for him to act or direct after 2020, he remained fiercely committed to the company until his death in March 2025. He was tireless in his hunt for plays he felt would appeal to our audience and continued to write. Two of the pieces we are performing in Supernova 9 were written in the few months before he died. Mark Wakeman is the only writer to have had work selected for every Supernova the Bench has performed. He also wrote the three Bench pantomimes Cinderella (2010), Aladdin (2012) and Sleeping Beauty (2014). His work has also been performed at the Steyning Festival and Bare Essentials in London as well as the Totton Festival of Drama (where he has won the award for Best Original Script five times) and the all England Drama Festival.
| Festival Producer | Roger Niven & Di Wallsgrove |
| Competition Reading Panel | Paul Millington, Sarah Ash, Laura Sheppard, Pete Woodward, Natalie Green & Caitlin Green |
| Stage Manager (Set A) | Di Wallsgrove |
| Stage Manager (Set B) | Tas Halford |
| Assistant Stage Manager (Set A) | Emma Parkin |
| Assistant Stage Manager (Set B) | Laura Sheppard |
| Lighting Design | Phil Hanley |
| Lighting Operator (Set A) | Ingrid Corrigan |
| Lighting Operator (Set B) | Robin Hall |
| Sound Design | Howard Alston |
| Sound Operator (Set A) | Janice Halsey |
| Sound Operator (Set B) | Paul Millington |
| Programme Design | Derek Callam |
| Poster Images | Dan Finch and Jenni Scott |
| Front of House Manager | Ingrid Corrigan |
| Photographs | John Ash |
You are Andy Evans
The Witch
The Bathtub
Captired Moments
Lightwell
Black Wing
Maximum Three Actors
Honeymoon Express
