It strikes me that the working life of playwright and actor Luke Norris may be built on two foundation stones.

I have long been taken by the idea that the county of Essex is a perfect breeding ground for writers and for playwrights in particular. The county that gave us Kenny Emson and Rebecca Prichard, David Eldridge and Sarah Kane is striking for the diversity of its economic and social geography. All kind of people come from and move through Essex. Romford, the Havering town that Norris was born in is the quintessence of the county. A market town for eight hundred years it brings together, in its cauldron of booze and nights out and transport routes and good shopping, exactly that clash and diversity and contradiction that energises a writers imagination.

This podcast was produced with support from the original Playwrights Podcast team Simon Stephens and Anoushka Warden.

Sophia Chetin-Leuner is a writer from London.

Her work for theatre includes THIS MIGHT NOT BE IT, an unflinchingly human look at NHS mental health services, which was short listed for the Women’s Prize for Playwrighting in 2020, followed by a sell-out run at the Bush Theatre in 2024.

Sophia’s play PORN PLAY, which she begun writing whilst studying in New York, will debut at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in November this year, directed by Josie Rourke and starring One Day’s Ambika Mod.