At this year’s Annual New-Writing Showcase Bomb Factory Theatre are breaking down creative boundaries—no themes, no restrictions—just great storytelling.
Bomb Factory Theatre is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women and non-binary writers, providing a platform for fresh, unexpected stories that challenge the status quo. The industry still has a long way to go in achieving equality, and they are proud to take meaningful steps towards that change.
Bomb Factory’s annual showcase is a celebration of the next generation of playwrights, offering a space for emerging writers to experiment, take risks, and bring their bold ideas to life on stage.
India Peppe (she/her) is a writer and the founder of Bomb Factory Theatre.
A University of Bristol graduate with first-class honours in English Literature, she later earned a Master’s in Dramatic Writing from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her debut play, Something of My Own, won the Bloomsbury Festival Theatre New Writing Prize, while her play Branded was picked through the Bush Theatre’s open submissions following its run at the Bloomsbury Festival. Her play Girls With Wings and Trauma was performed at Bomb Factory Theatre’s Summer Festival of New Writing, ranked in the top 10% of Verity Bargate Award submissions, and recently received a reading at the Bush Theatre.
India is an alumni of the Royal Court Writers’ Group and Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab and has been shortlisted for the Henry, Procter and Choate Fellowships to study playwriting at Yale University. In 2022, India became the inaugural Peter Shaffer Playwright in Residence at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Her screenwriting credits include Sense of Occasion for Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and a campaign for Palermo Football Club. Alongside writing, India works as Participation & Learning Coordinator for the Bomb Factory Art Foundation, a freelance workshop facilitator (Almeida Theatre, Bomb Factory Theatre, St Mary Magdalene School, Centrepoint), and a script reader.
Merle Wheldon (she/her) is a Director based in London and Co-Artistic Director of women-led new writing CIC Bomb Factory Theatre. Merle has worked as an Assistant Director both on tour and in the West End at venues including Birmingham Rep and Theatre Royal Haymarket.
She has directed and produced numerous plays, readings, R&Ds, and workshops at venues including the Wilton’s Music Hall, Pleasance Theatre, Bush Theatre, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (shortlisted for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence), LAMDA, the Hope Theatre, and VAULT Festival.
Merle’s work with young people includes working with White City Theatre Project at the Bush Theatre where she directed their National Theatre Connections production at the Lyric Hammersmith. Alongside theatre, Merle has also worked in film and television for companies including Netflix, BBC, Channel 4, HBO, and Paramount.
