Geoffrey Aymer (Max) and Charlie Kafflyn (Tyler) in Clutch at Bush Theatre. Photo by Ali Wright.
‘I’ve been doing this for over twenty years and I’ve never had a student not pass first time. Tyler, do you trust me?’
Max is a retired cabbie who now prides himself on being the best driving instructor in Birmingham. Tyler is desperate to escape his suffocating hometown and start a new life in the big city.
As Tyler gets to grips with clutch control and the highway code, he and Max find themselves navigating the challenges of manhood and personal regrets. Within the confines of a Vauxhall Corsa, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship they both needed more than they ever knew.
This heart-warming story of acceptance is a new Bush Theatre commission written by Will Jackson (Yours Sincerely, Soho Theatre & UK Tour)….
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Jess Edwards is a Queer writer and director who splits her time between Margate and Tottenham in North London. Jess directed and co-wrote Torch (New Diorama / Underbelly), Passengers (Summerhall / Adelaide Fringe) and The Box (Theatre Deli / Latitude).
More of her directing credits include: War and Culture (New Diorama); Elephant (Bush); Funeral Flowers (Roundhouse and UK tour); Albatross (Playground); Hotter/Fitter (Soho); Sparks (HighTide / Radio 4 / Pleasance); The Other Tchaikovsky (Radio 4); Nacktsängerin (BKA-Theater, Berlin); Denim: World Tour (Soho / Underbelly); Punts (Theatre503); The Itinerant Music Hall (Lyric Hammersmith / Latitude); Jekyll & Hyde (Southwark / Assembly).
Jess has also worked as an associate director at the the Young Vic, Almeida, Theatre Royal Bath and in the West End. She has won the Summerhall Lustrum Award for Passengers and the Best New Musical Award for Sparks. In 2021 she was awarded a Developing Your Creative Practice grant from the Arts Council for her writing.
She is currently workshopping her first play, creating a new musical with Trafalgar Entertainment Group, and developing two original screenplays.
Jess won the Studio21 Script Competition for her original pilot, Clitorati.
Pete Rickards is an experienced Production Manager and Technical Consultant within the performing arts industries. He has undertaken numerous technical and design roles across multiple disciplines alongside production management, meaning he is well placed to understand the complexity of roles within the production team.
Pete has managed shows throughout the UK and Europe for over a decade at venues including The Roundhouse, Hackney Empire, Schaubühne (Berlin), Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Soho Theatre, Liverpool Everyman, Battersea Arts Centre, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham O2 Academy, and Nottingham Playhouse.
Pete has also designed, built and run immersive experiences for clients, including Merlin Entertainment and The Tussauds Group.
He has toured and worked with musicians and artists worldwide for many years, including: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Shit Theatre, B Team, Sikth, We are The Ocean and Mallory Knox.
Theatre credits for the Bush include: House of Ife.
Pete Rickards is an experienced Production Manager and Technical Consultant within the performing arts industries. He has undertaken numerous technical and design roles across multiple disciplines alongside production management, meaning he is well placed to understand the complexity of roles within the production team.
Pete has managed shows throughout the UK and Europe for over a decade at venues including The Roundhouse, Hackney Empire, Schaubühne (Berlin), Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Soho Theatre, Liverpool Everyman, Battersea Arts Centre, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham O2 Academy, and Nottingham Playhouse.
Pete has also designed, built and run immersive experiences for clients, including Merlin Entertainment and The Tussauds Group.
He has toured and worked with musicians and artists worldwide for many years, including: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Shit Theatre, B Team, Sikth, We are The Ocean and Mallory Knox.
Theatre credits for the Bush include: House of Ife.
Tania Nwachukwu is an Igbo performer, writer and educator, born and raised in London. She is the co-founder of Black in the Day, a member of Octavia Poetry Collective and a Barbican Young Poets alumna. She trained at Mountview where she received her MA in Performance (Acting). She is a visiting lecturer at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Mountview. Previous work includes: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives (Arcola); All The Places We Could Travel (Derby); The Irregulars (Netflix).
Tania Nwachukwu is an Igbo performer, writer and educator, born and raised in London. She is the co-founder of Black in the Day, a member of Octavia Poetry Collective and a Barbican Young Poets alumna. She trained at Mountview where she received her MA in Performance (Acting). She is a visiting lecturer at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Mountview. Previous work includes: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives (Arcola); All The Places We Could Travel (Derby); The Irregulars (Netflix).
