POLKA THEATRE ANNOUNCES CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR POLKA PLAYWRITING AWARD WINNING SHOW DWEEB-A-MANIA

The cast for Dweeb-A-Mania will be Amy Blake (‘Brassic’, Sky TV) and Chidera Ikechukwu ('Waterloo Road’, BBC) as best friends ‘Norah’ and ‘Kemi’, with Grace Carrollas ‘Lily’, and Wesley Ruthven as ‘Bentley’, both making their professional stage debut.

Written by Sarah Middleton, the show is directed by Hannah Stone (‘Ruby’s Worry’, Mishmash Theatre), with Katie Lias (‘Handbagged’, National Theatre and Queens Theatre Hornchurch UK Tour) as Set and Costume Designer, movement direction from DK Fashola(‘Pig Heart Boy’, Unicorn Theatre) and fight direction from Nora Iso-Kungas. Alongside them are Ellie Isherwood as Composer and Sound Designer and Jane Lalljee (‘Tidy’, Theatr Iolo) as Lighting Designer.

Polka Artistic Director Helen Matravers said: “I am so excited that Dweeb-A-Mania is coming to life at Polka, with this incredible cast and creative team. We are creating work for a pre-teen age group, so often overlooked in the sector, or so limited with their choice of theatre to explore. With this work we have genuinely included young people and their passions in the programming and telling of a totally new story. We enter a world of wrestling and nerdy joy and aren’t holding back in either, expect some high-octane wrestling moves and brain-tickling science to get stuck into. Dweeb-A-Mania is a play where every child is celebrated for their individuality and their creativity. Polka’s Playwriting judging panel laughed out loud - a lot - reading this play and it will entertain and empower in equal measure. I can’t wait for young audiences to sit ringside and find out who reigns champion of the wrestling ring in the end.”

Dweeb-A-Mania has been brought to life through The Polka Playwriting Award where the play was chosen from over 80 submissions. The award is generously funded by The Garek Trust, supported by Cockayne and London Community Foundation and the Award Partner is Methuen Drama, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.

Sarah Middleton is a writer/actor from Derby. Her credits include ‘SHEWOLVES’, UK Tour and Southwark Playhouse; ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ for Nottingham Playhouse; ‘The Wishing Stone’ for Separate Doors/Derby Theatre/Chichester Festival Theatre; and ‘Wilf Goes Wild’ for MPTheatricals. Shows in development include ‘Chuckers’ (Derby Theatre), ‘Skin & Blister’ and ‘VAMP’. Sarah is also the recipient of a Hosking Houses residency, Peggy Ramsay grant and National Theatre Peter Shaffer commission.

Polka Theatre is one of just a handful of dedicated children’s venues in the UK. Re-opening in 2021 after a major renovation, Polka continues to present a year-round programme of shows produced by Polka and from visiting companies. Polka also offers a full programme of creative learning activities for ages 0–12, with over 20,000 children taking part in the last year. Polka enjoys flexible rehearsal and workshop spaces along with two performance spaces: the Main Theatre has a 300-seat capacity, and the Adventure Theatre can seat up to 90 depending on the show format.

Polka is a community hub and vital resource, open 6 days per week, 50 weeks per year at a challenging time to be a sustainable public venue with step-free access, free-to-access play spaces and a cosy and welcoming café and shop.