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Xana Marwick

Writer, Children's, Preschool, 6+ years, 10+ years, Animation, Live Action

Agent: Jean Kitson - jean@kitsonpress.co.uk

Email Agent

Xana is a stage and screen writer based in Edinburgh. After leaving school aged fifteen, she later went on to study at the Royal Conservatoire for Scotland, has been nominated for and won numerous awards and residencies, including the highly competitive BBC Writersroom, Dramaroom scheme and her work has been seen throughout the UK and internationally.

Xana has written across a variety of television and theatre productions, including all five series of BAFTA-nominated Molly and Mack for CBeebies, and has written pilot episodes, bibles and script polishes across drama, animation and kids, and currently has a number of original ideas in development.

Xana has a particular interest in finding the magic and humour in stories about people who have been let-down, left-behind or left-out, often inspired by those she has met through her work with socially excluded communities and by her own life. Xana’s writing spans everything from joyful pre-school comedy to dark and gritty drama, often exploring themes around the treatment of women and girls, mental illness, poverty and neurodiversity, all subjects with which Xana has first-hand, lived experience.

Work

Current

Title TBA
Dog Ears

Development work on an animated series

CBeebies Prom
CBeebies

Writer for last year’s CBeebies Prom, ‘A Journey Into the Ocean’, performed on Saturday 23rd July 2022 at the Royal Albert Hall.

Not the Autobiography of Xana Marwick
The Lyceum Theatre

Autobiographical, magical realist play about one girl’s journey into becoming a woman and the cyclical nature of abuse. Supported by Playwrights’ Studio Scotland.

Solidness

Drama mini series. Pilot episode and series bible written with support from BBC Writersroom Scotland.

Amy and Ariadne

New animation series in development with comedian and writer Phil O’Shea

The Third Sister
Solar Bear

Touring theatre commission, due early 2023.

Thrown - a new musical
Imaginate / Accelerator Fund

Reading at the International Children’s Festival 2021, commissioned by Imaginate through the Accelerator Programme.

Television

Molly & Mack S5 (2022)
CBeebies

Episode ‘Jungle Dreams’

What is Gutai?
Tate Kids

Short animation commission

Becoming Cedric Morris
Tate Kids

Short animation commission

Molly & Mack 3 & 4 (2020-2021)
CBeebies

Two episodes:
‘Game Day’ (S3)
‘Fairy Bundle’ (S4)

Molly & Mack 2 (2019)
CBeebies

1 x 15′ episode, ‘Show and Tell’, for the live action kids show.

Molly & Mack (2018)
CBeebies

1 x 15′ episode for the live action kids show. Currently available on BBC iPlayer.

Swashbuckle (2017)
Cbeebies

Writing for the Cbeebies live action gameshow

Something Special (2017)
Cbeebies

Writing on the pre-school show aimed to help children develop communication and language skills

Theatre

Mixed Up (2021)
Starcatchers

Dramaturgy on an interactive dance-film commissioned by the International Children’s Festival 2021

Valentina's Galaxy (2019)
Frozen Charlotte Productions

Writing and dramaturgy for this production at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2019 and Edinburgh Fringe 2019, and shown as a screening at Big Dreamers Festival and North Wall Arts Centre.

Willow in the Window
Unicorn Theatre

A new play written with seed funding from the Unicorn Theatre and Imaginate

Looking for Birds
Dancebase

Development residency with Dancebase creating a piece with a choreographer, a musician, a visual artist and three Boys. Supported by Imaginate.

Nests
Frozen Charlotte Productions & Stadium Rock

Play developed with Frozen Charlotte Production for a Scottish tour in Autumn 2018.
Rehearsed reading took place at the Imaginate Festival 2016 as part of the Expo Programme.

NOMINATION: Best Production for Children and Young People at the 17th annual Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS)

A Good Enough Girl?
Scene Change Productions & Greenwich Theatre & Nutshell Theatre

Original story, Edinburgh Fringe 2018

Happy Harry's Café (2015-2016)
Birdsnest Theatre / Polka Theatre

A musical adaptation of the book by Michael Rosen and Richard Holland that played for four weeks at Polka Theatre.

My Friend Mole (2014-2015)
Birdsnest Theatre

Toured throughout England and Scotland

Yellow Valley (2014)
Starcatchers / Culture 2014 Creative Programme

National tour of this play with songs adapted from the Kenyan book Who’s Calling by Charity Waciuma

Hansel and Gretel (2011)
Platform Glasgow

Alternative Christmas show

You Suffer, But Why? (2010-2014)

8 minute solo/interactive/one-to-one performance inspired by the Napalm Death song of the same name played at Forest Fringe as part of Brian Lobel’s Cruising for Art, Buzzcut, Manipulate and Outskirts Festival.

Radio

The Moment When... I Lost Everything I Never Knew I Had (2019)
BBC Radio
R3 Monologues: Six Weeks (2019)
BBC Radio 3

Development commission.

Awards / Residencies

One of 21 artists on a year long attachment to the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh for The Lyceum L20

NESTS shortlisted for Best Production for Children and Young People at the 17th annual Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) 2019

Named as a writer on the BBC New Talent Hotlist 2017.

HUP (Director) nominated for Outstanding Children’s Production Canadian DORA Awards’ 2017.

Invited to attend a three day development residental with BBC Writersroom, BBC Childrens and BBC Stay Safe exploring new drama ideas around social media / safety online.

Selected to take part in a three-day-residential for writers of interest to BBC Scotland’s RIVER CITY.

Invited to pitch ideas to BBC Scotland’s The Social, aiming to work towards a new, contemporary, female-led, online drama.

BBC III / The Writersroom The Break III – shortlisted to development workshop stage.

BBC Radio 3 / The Writersroom The Verb – opportunity to work as far as full draft script stage.

BBC Writersroom / Dramaroom Attachment 2016 – only participant living in Scotland, selected from over 3100 applicants.

Creative Scotland funded Artist-in-Residence at Summerhall 2013/2014. Writing NESTS with mentorship from Douglas Maxwell. Performed reading with actors David Mackay and Nicola Jo Cully.

Playwrights’ Studio Scotland / Mentee under the guidance of Clare Duffy, 2012-2013.

Oxford Samuel Becket Theatre Trust Award (Baton / Stadium Rock) – Longlist.

Creative Scotland Vital Spark Award (The Marsmallow Test / Stadium Rock) – shortlist.