Motivational Monday – Playwright & Screenwriter

For the latest in our Motivational Monday series, we spoke to playwright, screenwriter and alumna of BBC Studios Writers’ Academy, Charlotte Cromie.

Charlotte joined South Hampstead in 2007, leaving at the end of Sixth Form in 2014. Before beginning her three-year course studying English at Cambridge University, Charlotte took a gap year where she volunteered for Hoxton-based children’s creative writing charity, Ministry of Stories. After completing her English degree, Charlotte studied for an MA in Text and Performance, run between the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Birkbeck University. Here, she honed skills in writing and directing, earning herself a distinction.

After sending the BBC a play she wrote at Cambridge (and subsequently took to Edinburgh Fringe), Charlotte embarked on what became a challenging selection process for the chance to write at the BBC. After many stages of interviews, Charlotte’s perseverance paid off and she began an 18-month programme at the BBC Studios Writers’ Academy, writing material for Casualty. She has also won several playwriting prizes and was a finalist for the Theatre503 International Playwriting Prize 2023, a testimony to her talent as a writer.

At school, Charlotte’s favourite subjects were English and Drama. She recalls a particular essay she wrote on Pygmalion, which her teacher printed out and sent round the class as a model answer. ‘That’s when I first knew I was good at writing.’ Such confidence instilled in her by her English teacher could also be said for Drama, where she received unwavering support from her teachers who ‘really loved and were excited by the subject.’

At school, Charlotte started her own arts magazine to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, named Callow Youth. She also took part in the Scheherazade creative writing club, which still continues today.

Her advice to those wanting a career in writing or theatre is to be persistent. ‘Everyday is different and it can be really competitive, but one of the best things you can be as a writer is flexible and curious. Keep writing, keep practising, keep showing it to people – think outside the box, and always listen to your gut.’

Charlotte joined our Aspirational Futures Fair recently, where she spoke with fellow alumna, Tatty Theo, about working in the creative industry.