A B O U T
We’re Distracted Rat, a new writing company working at the intersection of radio, film and theatre with a focus on collaborative processes to cultivate rich, human stories.
We are particularly interested in new writing with complex, honest characterisation and work created through a feminist and queer lens. Our anthology projects favour work that is playful, political, surreal, irreverent and imaginative.
NEW
WRITING
DIGITAL RAT
THE EMOJI PROJECT
Distracted Rat New Writing Festivals bring artists together to develop their work for production in front of a responsive audience. We encourage writers to work alongside producers, directors and actors, present and heard throughout the process. We privilege collaboration, understanding the importance of creating a space for different crafts to meet and mesh, for the best possible expression of text and artistic voice.
Digital Rat is an ongoing digital festival of content. We created Digital Rat to make a super accessible opportunity: everyone who signs up takes part and you'll work and meet new practitioners form around the world. All communications are online and you’re encouraged to use what you have to hand (not buying anything new). We are all about sustainability, and it's close cousin thriftiness.
The Emoji Project is an intergenerational, participatory anthology of new writing responding to emojis as an ever-evolving, nuanced language.
We've assembled a team of creatives to consider our use of digitised communication and to imagine what emojis we'd still like to see.
Emojis allow us to creatively share our experience, but what words in this collaborative, living language are still missing?
W H O W E A R E
TILNEY BRUNE
CREATIVE PRODUCER - SHE/HER
Is an American theatre maker who recently finished an MFA in Writing at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD). She has worked previously in casting and production for film and theatre In Virginia, New York, and Chicago. A graduate of L’école Jacques Lecoq, she specializes in physical theatre, devised work and movement direction.
ARIELLA COMO STOIAN
CREATIVE PRODUCER - THEY/SHE
Is a genderqueer playwright, dramaturg and theatre-maker. Ariella has developed theatre and worked at new writing organisations across Australia and now in the UK. In London, their work has been performed at Camden People's Theatre, Blue Elephant Theatre, OSO Arts Centre and streamed with Very Rascals Theatre. They've also written for a number of unusual venues as a resident with accessible, site-specific company ŠITE in Greater London. Ariella has been Lab Assistant for the Soho Theatre Young Company since 2019 and recently finished their MFA in Writing at RCSSD.
JALICE CORRAL
CREATIVE PRODUCER - SHE/HER
Is a writer and stand-up comic from Baltimore. Since finishing her master’s degree at RCSSD, she has become a member of the 2019/2020 Soho Writer’s Lab. She also is a member of the stand-up group, Mumsn3t Comedy Collective, with whom she performs at The Apple Tree.
WILL JARVIS
CREATIVE PRODUCER - HE/HIM
Is a writer, producer, director and actor from London. Since finishing his Writing MA at RCSSD, he's been writing scripts, working at Battersea Arts Centre, managing content for a startup podcast app and playing Animal Crossing. He created 'The Clockwork Arms', soon to be performed at the Boulevard Theatre, and is one of the OSO's resident Panto Players.
ANNA SUWANASUK RATTRAY
CREATIVE PRODUCER - SHE/HER
Is a Scottish-Thai writer and producer from Edinburgh. She is currently on Playwrights’ Studio Scotland’s Mentoring Programme 2019/2020, following her masters at RCSSD where she was an Embassy Scholar. She is part of GOATS whose work has been showcased at Camden People’s Theatre and the Boulevard Theatre (West End).
Born during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown, Digital Rat is an ongoing digital festival of online content that shares bold new stories across social media.
P R E V I O U S
W O R K
DIGITAL RAT
OLD SORTING NEW WRITING FESTIVAL
Distracted Rat’s first outing was a three-night New Writing Festival at the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes. We produced 14 new short plays with over 50 writers, actors and directors to three nights of sold out audiences.
Several of the plays we premiered at this event have gone on to be developed further: one has been reimagined as a short film, several have been written as full-length plays, and there are even plans to take one to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
