Biography

“I want to build spaces and projects in which political theatre is allowed to say what it really means, but I also think we often have to be sarcastic, sadistic, or downright silly in order to do this. This means I am often tongue in cheek, but am certainly not biting my tongue. My writing is always queer, as I am a queer writer. I want to make queer theatre, but I don’t want to vocalise that, I just want to let the characters’ queerness exist and, whenever possible, let that exist with joy and freedom. I also write extremely political narratives, as I am a political person, but I allow politics to seep through the cracks of odd, often unbelievable situations. I am writing in a time that is comically cruel, so why shouldn’t my plays be the same?”

Jessie Millson is a Bristol and London-based writer, whose past work includes Options at Tobacco Factory Theatres as part of SPARK Festival. The play is now in development and explores which spaces queer love feels safe or dangerous in. Other writing work includes Pressure Cooker, a medical drama about a night out from hell, which toured to London and Edinburgh and was enjoyed by a sold out audience after being banned in Bristol following uproar from the University of Bristol’s Medical Faculty.

Students drinking coffee in Clifton Village
The training provided by the MFA programme is superb. The depth with which we explore, paired with unyielding curiosity that is met with the most knowledgeable, passionate, expert tutors is what makes BOVTS programme one of the finest around. I feel honoured to call BOVTS my grad school. Rachel McVay, MA Professional Acting Student