“You only know there’s a gap because you remember something used to be there”

My Heart is a Spark

a show about grief, love and bouncing back

Paul’s life was going great... then his mum died and so did his relationship. As both the world outside and inside are turned upside down, join this playful and honest journey through icky stuff (Grief! Death! Existential discombobulation!) towards finding hope and joy.

Making this show was the first time I have felt utterly compelled to tell a particular and personal story. I wanted to make lemonade of lemons. Going through a traumatic and life-changing period had me wondering if I would make theatre (or anything really) again.

In the end it was making this show that became the end of a story - one where the joy of sharing and creating with other people is the very proof to me of why life is worth the struggles we have to bear.

I was shitting it, but the audiences were wonderful. I feel so goddamn lucky the show has had such support, and to have found a collaborator like Laura who made it safe to step up and step into my voice. Hearing people who came to the show share how it spoke to their experiences of loss, grief and struggle made me feel like we’d made something useful.

My Heart is a Spark was staged at Brighton Fringe in 2022 and was supported by the Encore Insure Brighton Fringe Bursary and the Ironclad Creative New Writing Bursary.

"beautiful, brilliant, life-affirming theatre"
"...came out feeling like everyone in the audience was my new BFF. A genuinely special show"
"Everyone who has ever lost someone or has had their heart broken needs to see this"
"Heartbreaking and hilarious"
"I don't think I've ever been so moved by a show - I laughed, beamed, cried, danced in my seat and made trumpet noises. A very special thing"
"Go see My Heart is a Spark to feel your heart overspill with joy!"
"some of the meatiest meaty issues of today - grief, loss, depression, toxic masculinity, over-productivity ...it made me both laugh and cry"