Guest Blog: Morag Davies and Rob Ellis of Relish Theatre on New Writing, Sustainability and Queer Joy

Relish Theatre was initially established in 2015, like many companies, to take a production to the Edinburgh Fringe. What started out as a feisty new-writing company has grown and evolved over time into the pretty specific niche we have now carved out for ourselves.

We still produce new writing, but our sole focus is on LGBTQIA+ work and primarily on producing queer stories we don’t often see and don’t often get to tell. Our focus is on queer joy, rather than on the queer pain and trauma we so often see in the mainstream. We find inspiration both formally and thematically from our LGBTQIA+ community, platforming artforms like drag, cabaret, and clowning alongside more ‘conventional’ narrative-led drama and musical theatre.

In 2020, we also started to think more intentionally around our ethical obligations in the face of climate change, and made the commitment to become a sustainable company: utilising and pioneering sustainable working practices on our own productions, and helping other companies do the same through an extensive workshop programme and internal support. It was also during this time that we decided to produce Acid’s Reign, our climate crisis cabaret musical (say that five times fast!).

However, Covid had other plans and we faced delays in getting our work out to the audiences we so desperately wanted to reach. Like many companies in the wake of the pandemic, we at Relish Theatre were left with the question of how we would ‘build back better’.

As an independent theatre company, pre-pandemic we had worked primarily on a project to project basis; fundraising for a specific play, mounting that play and then entering a fallow period while we selected our next project. In an increasingly unstable funding landscape, in the wake of Covid and facing a national cost of living crisis, we knew that the way we had been working couldn’t continue for long, and we were determined to keep going.

It was in this context that we first came up with the idea of our ‘Regeneration Season’ in 2022, a programme of work that would showcase who we are as a company and make a bigger stamp on the industry than we had previously been able to. Essentially borrowing from the rep model, we realised we’d be able to share creatives across the season, leading to longer contracts for artists (and overcoming some of the financial barriers that short-term freelance contracts throw up for marginalised artists in this country), and create a body of work that would speak to us as a company. It was an opportunity to platform so many more LGBTQIA+ perspectives, to hire more queer artists than we ever had before, and to work in an entirely new way for us.

As well as being an exciting opportunity, we’d be lying if we said that we didn’t have any reservations and seeing it through has required nerves of steel (or stupidity!). We’re a small team, and bringing together over 50 freelancers to create these works is no small feat. When you add to that mix drag performers who’ve never done work like this before, particularly enthusiastic writers with a penchant for lots of props, and the general downturn in spending we’ve seen in the sector, it was never going to be easy. However, we think we can safely say that the risk has definitely paid off: as of March 2025 we have successfully mounted two of the three shows: Acid’s Reign and Oh My Pain, My Beautiful Pain! ran at the Pleasance, London for four weeks to incredible critical and public acclaim.

The third and final show in the season, Puppy, runs at The King’s Head from 1- 27 April. Producing theatre is as much about learning from each experience, to see how you overcome challenges and develop for the future. By producing three shows at once, you accelerate that development process, and get better faster. Whilst no one can see the future, we’re excited to see what working in this unconventional way does for us as an independent company, and we’re excited for all the things to come… (watch this space!)

Puppy is at the King’s Head Theatre from 1 – 27 April

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