Meet the readers

Our readers have decades of experience working as dramaturgs and professional readers. Both Paddy and Conway are award winning writers with proven track records in screen, film and stage. Generally we will assign Conway or Paddy to your script when you book a session - but if you do have a preference just let us know in your initial email and we will be happy to accomodate.


  • Founder

    Paddy Hughes is a playwright and dramaturg based in Liverpool. He is a graduate of the University of Glasgow and has an MA in scriptwriting at University of East Anglia under the tutelage of Steve Waters and Timberlake Wertenbaker.

    He has previously worked in the National Theatre's New Work Department and at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and is currently a Future Playmakers Associate at Box of Tricks Theatre.

    He has had play readings presented at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, HOME Theatre, Manchester, and Wildcard Theatre, has been longlisted for the Bruntwood twice, and his most recent play LEAVE THE MORNING TO THE MORNING won the 2022 Bruntwood Prize for the inaugural North West Original New Voice Award and Residency.

    Paddy is the current Writer in Residence at Royal Exchange Theatre.

    In screen, Paddy’s first short film (co-written and co-directed with John Gillespie) was produced by BBC Radio 5 Live and won the ‘Well Done U’ Award.

    Paddy has been a script reader for The Everyman Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre, National Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Finborough Theatre, Box of Tricks, 503 Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, Synergy and many more. He has read for competitions such as Verity Bargate, 503 International Award and Screen/Play.

    Paddy has worked as a visiting lecturer, delivering scriptwriting sessions to students at Liverpool John Moore’s University and Edge Hill University.

    He is currently represented by Cassarotto and Ramsay Associates.

    WHAT I LOVE TO READ:

    I love stories that give a voice to those we don’t normally hear from. I want to be emotionally invested in the world you create. I want to cry like a baby and laugh like a drain. If you are a passionate storyteller with something to say about the world I will LOVE your work. I believe that storytelling is a gateway to empathy and empathy a fast-track to kindness. We need more kindness in the world. We need more new work. We need you.

  • Hiyaaaa, I'm Conway McDermott, an award winning trans writer for stage and screen with a passion for juicy, accessible stories which ask big questions.

    I recently had my new musical - Billie The Kid, a show about queer family and youthful rebellion - staged in the Vaudeville Theatre on the West End, and am currently a writer on BBC's Eastenders, as well as the Playwright in Residence for Box of Tricks Theatre Company where I'm developing a new play, Priestess.

    In 2021 I won the Sky Studios 2021 Screen/Play Award, and have developed original work for the screen with Sky, and as part of Screen Yorkshire's FLEX programme. I've had work commissioned by The Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Popelei Theatre Company, The Theatre Royal Stratford East, and the Liverpool Light Night Festival, as well as working as an artist and performer with FACT, the Liverpool Biennale, Creative Europe, and a handful of other organizations across the UK and Europe.

    WHAT I LOVE TO READ:

    While I love new work in general and supporting anyone who wants to tell their story authentically, there's a special place in my heart for writing that's ambitious, weird and the wonderful. I'd love to see magical realism and work that plays in a genre fiction space. I especially love when playwrights use these heightened or landscapes to explore something important about our world today, or about themselves and their experiences. I've also done a huge amount of work in developing original musical theatre, so if that's what you've got, send it my way!