EVALUTION MEDIA

As this year comes to a close, I’ve realised that transition is the word that best sums up 2025. It’s been challenging, joyful, exhausting, expansive – sometimes all at once – and it’s quietly set the foundations for some very big things to come.

Looking Back: A Year of Shifts

In many ways, I’ve become who I always wanted to be. I’m performing, entertaining, and working across theatre, film and television – both behind the scenes and on screen. That’s something I don’t want to rush past or minimise.

Of course, human nature dictates that this is still not quite enough.

This year began with loss. I lost a dear friend, and grief sat heavily alongside the comedy projects I was working on at the time. After a few weeks of struggling to “find the funny,” I made a conscious decision to change direction. That pivot led me back to ‘The Year Dot’ (2022), which I began reworking as a stage play. By removing the pandemic setting, the piece opened out into something more timeless – illness, isolation, and connection – and it felt like the right creative container for where I was emotionally.

At the same time, my living situation became increasingly unworkable due to building works. While the drilling raged on, I took a solo trip to Turkey near Izmir, using some savings to rest, think, and write. That space was invaluable. Coming back made it clear that I needed a longer-term plan, not just a temporary escape.

Spring Momentum

April and May were busy in my favourite way. I taught dance and art, and rehearsed for Brighton Fringe with Penny Pound’s Big Palava., taught dance and art, and in In May I spent a week on an autobiographical solo performance workshop with the brilliant Bryony Kimmings, which. That week planted the seed for what will become my first solo autobiographical show.

In April, I also co-founded a one-page scriptwriting competition with my fellow MA screenwriters and Shark Tank creators: 54321 Lights Camera Made (applications via FilmFreeway). Each month we select one winner and five finalists, with an overall yearly winner whose script will be produced. We’re now approaching the pointy end of choosing that overall winner, and I’m both excited and braced for some very passionate debate.

Summer Survival (and Joy)

June brought another attempt at escaping the auditory nightmare of home – this time to Crete with friends. It doubled as birthday celebrations, and for the first time in what felt like years, I didn’t work. I actually rested.

The summer itself blurred into camping trips, festivals, teaching, performing, and any excuse not to be at home. I did what I could to keep my dwindling savings alive, including starting to teach EFL online (from my mum’s house, because I couldn’t do it from mine).

At the end of August, I went to Cardiff to work as 1st AD on the short film I’m Autistic and Also That Bitch (coming 2026). It was a joy to work with a mostly neurodiverse crew, led by the wonderful director Izzy Rabis and the soon-to-be superstar Molly Siobhan Parker, who wrote and starred in the film. This experience was partly thanks to the Gobby Girls network that helped us find each other, and it reminded me exactly why I love being on set.

By September, it was clear I couldn’t keep living the way I was. With support from my doctor, I decided to follow a lifelong dream.

A Bigger Leap

In November, after giving my last two UK performances of the year for Arcanic, I finally made it to Thailand. The plan: find a place to base myself for a few months while my flat is sorted, and see what happens when my nervous system isn’t constantly under attack.

So far, I’ve learned a few practical things – I’ll likely need a visa to work online there, accommodation isn’t quite as cheap as I’d hoped, but the food definitely is. More importantly, my health issues have been almost non-existent, aside from travel days or when I overdo it. I’m still pacing using the Visible app and I’ve joined a study looking at the effects of environmental conditions on illness.

My PA also introduced me to TikTok as a way of documenting my travels. I wouldn’t call myself a natural, but I’m getting used to talking to the camera, and it’s proving surprisingly helpful as a way of emptying my head. I’m far more consistent when I’m solo – when I make friends, I tend to just talk to them instead!

Creative Progress

Alongside all of this living, the work continues.

• Hug Hard: I’ve completed the treatment and scene-by-scene for this family-friendly feature and am ready to write the script. A long flight with no distractions feels like the perfect writing retreat.
• Somewhen BCE (possibly retitled Surviving Somewhen): I’m deep in pitching mode. Casting for the trailer, practising pitches, refining materials. The script, treatment, pitch deck and series bible are now at a stage where any further changes come with a price tag – a small but significant milestone.
• The Year Dot: The play version is coming into focus, and I’m aiming to cast and stage it in autumn next year.

Looking Ahead to 2026

I’ve got big plans for 2026 – watch out, world.

Next year, I want to:

• Decide once and for all whether it’s Somewhen BCE or Surviving Somewhen, and cast the project properly
• Put The Year Dot on as a play, ideally reconnecting with the original The Year Dot actors
• Write and perform my first solo autobiographical show
• Sell or option one of my scripts (ideally Somewhen, with me attached as showrunner)
• Start a new spec script (Buffy or Star Trek – watch this space)
• Finish a first draft of Hug Hard
• Revisit my MA distinction script and re-work it enough to clearly separate it from Extraordinary, which inconveniently came out before I could pitch mine

Throughout November, the wonderful Sienna has also been revamping our website, so keep an eye out for a proper announcement in the new year.

This year asked a lot of me. But it also gave me clarity, confidence, and momentum. I’m heading into 2026 tired, yes – but aligned, excited, and very ready for what’s next.