Spiders is not a love story. We were pretty clear on that from day one, especially given that as close as it comes to flirting is: ‘Steve Fucking Irwin. Used to just shove his hand in the – in the crocodile’s mouth, yeah?’

“It’s always strange seeing something you’ve written come to life.”

However, the play is firmly rooted in the relationship between Harry and Mia, two teenagers from completely different worlds. Harry is homeless, reckless, and overly invested in the documentaries of David Attenborough. Mia has everything he doesn’t. Sit with them in a squat for an hour and a half, and you’ll find they make for an explosive combination.

It’s always strange seeing something you’ve written come to life. You spend ages hacking away at a keyboard, for those people you dreamt up suddenly to start walking, talking, swearing, dancing and having ideas of their own. (You also feel very guilty about the amount of food you decided to include in the script, causing an immense ball-ache for all involved, especially for very kind and patient stage managers.)

Cambridge has been lit up with new student writing this term, and I hope ‘Spiders’ will continue to fuel the fire for it. I’m hugely grateful to have a cast and crew who are deeply invested in the play, always ready to ask questions, and have produced a show that is fast-paced, witty and touching.

- Kate Collins (Writer)

To be given a piece of writing to work with that is fresh, exciting, and has never been performed before, is immediately a thrilling prospect. It’s an opportunity to produce something entirely unique, a piece of theatre that is unlike anything I have seen so far in Cambridge. I am very lucky as a director to be able to work with a script that is so natural, so incredibly well written, that simply doing a static dramatic reading on stage would have made for a knock-out show.

The rehearsal process was collaborative, it was open and honest and valued the work of Jessica Murdoch and Alistair Henfrey in developing their relationship as actors and as individuals. Their incredible talent, passion, and professionalism meant that the process was both rewarding and enjoyable.

“I believe we’ve managed to create something intimate and sincere”

Our deep and engaging character discussions allowed us to talk about them as though we knew them, and the actors’ ability to slip flawlessly in and out of character never failed to astound me. Together with a fantastically talented and devoted crew, I believe we’ve managed to create something intimate and sincere that’s guaranteed to be both challenging and utterly worth it.

We appreciate it can be hard to know what to expect when you come and see student writing. But that’s what’s exciting about it. You’re seeing something totally new.

Subverting the genre of the Teenage Rom-Com: Stalin’s Russia: A Teenage Rom-Com

We don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but we can’t wait to share this production. There’ll be lads’ mags, paper fortune tellers, a few cans of Fosters, a dog with an unfortunate end, and utterly fantastic performances. This is one you don’t want to miss

- Rachel Kitts (Director)

Spiders runs from Tuesday 23rd May 2017 - Saturday 27th May 2017, 7:00pm at the Corpus Playroom