my work as a writer
Miracle On Deanston Drive
A one-man show written for A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Glasgow’s wonderful Òran Mór.
Christmas time in Glasgow isn’t so magical when you’re a cab driver dealing with drunken passengers, potholes and never-ending rain. As Jaz is approaching the end of his night shift, he suddenly sees a woman running into a street, cradling something in her arms… the contents of which will change his life completely.
“a beautifully written and paced solo drama, full of vivid imagery, deep feeling, and real love for the texture of city life in Glasgow… the roar of applause that greeted the play at Òran Mór speaks volumes for Williams' high promise as a writer” Joyce McMillan in The Scotsman
Miracle on Deanston Drive was performed by the brilliant Kal Sabir, and ran from 11th to 16th November 2024.
Strangeways Rooftop 1990
Drawing: Oliver Townsend
Strangeways
Strangeways is set during the 2015 rooftop protest at the prison, where memories of the 1990 siege echo the landings.
Today isn’t like any other day in the Drug-Free Wing at HMP Manchester. There is a prisoner on the roof, and the recovery workers can feel the tension rising.
Lisa is holding on by a thread. Louise is trying to negotiate the ethics of signing off a travel order on a prisoner who isn’t well enough to leave Strangeways prison, never mind being deported on a charter flight. And Michael isn’t the Immigration Officer that they were expecting.
Strangeways is a story of recovery, rehabilitation and redemption, within a system that isn’t famous for its humanity.
A development of Strangeways was supported by Stellar Quines and Creative Scotland between December 2020 and February 2021.
Walk With Me
Walk With Me is hugely informed by my work in the Calais Refugee Camp (the Jungle) and also addresses the structural racism that is woven into the fabric of the UK. Walk With Me is, as all of my work is, ultimately a love story and an honouring of the spirit of the characters portrayed. It is an acknowledgement of the very best in humanity that shines so brightly against the system that seeks to contain it.
Walk With Me was performed as part of Vault Festival in 2017. The week of performances were script-in-hand rapid response readings featuring a number of different actors as Michael and Sasha, and live drawing from artist and set designer Oliver Townsend. It then transferred to the Bloomsbury Festival where it was performed alongside Maddy Costa’s CALAIS, a verbatim account of the forced demolition of the Jungle.
Love Letters to the Home Office - the play and the book
One of the key outcomes of the Love Letters to the Home Office project was a book, curated by myself and the core team, which exists to raise awareness of the income-based human rights tiering of the UK’s Family Migration Rules, as well as to celebrate the love, strength and humanity of those affected.
I adapted this book into a stage play which was performed for two nights at BAC in London as part of a political festival in May 2015. There were script-in-hand rapid response readings in Paines Plough’s Roundabout at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2015 and at West Yorkshire Playhouse in July 2016.
'Emotive and powerful... the strength of its message and the heart-rending passion of the actors and director alike as they wove through details of personal stories with facts about the law itself were captivating.' Middle East Monitor
