Blog: Stefanie Reynolds talks Danesha
Friday, 20 September 2024
Danesha a brand-new play written by playwright Stefanie Reynolds which will tour the Northwest this autumn as a joyful celebration of coming of age.
Stefanie is a mixed raced, working class, neurodivergent, queer playwright and screenwriter from and living in Manchester. Ahead of the tour we caught up with her to find out more about her inspiration on writing Danesha and how her own background may have influenced her storytelling.

Danesha, the young protagonist of the piece is a mixed-race teenager living with her white Dad, Stefanie says, “When it came to writing the play I asked myself ‘What do you want to write about?’ ‘What story do you want to tell?’ I saw a tweet that described having a connection to your roots through a Caribbean takeaway, and how inauthentic it was. That tweet made me think about mixed race and black people who might not have a connection to their roots, heritage, or culture and how that would feel”.
“I wanted to write about being mixed race and living with your white parent alone. I wanted to explore the experience of having no connection to the other side of you, despite you looking and feeling this connection in your body, in your soul, in the way you act, the way you move. I wanted to talk about being Black in a small town where there is no one like you. How do you find yourself? How do you learn about a culture that is a part of you but you have no connection to? I wanted to write a play for black people that was joyful. Often in plays and tv, we are exposed to our trauma time and time again. I didn’t want to do race trauma porn, I wanted to celebrate blackness and laugh. I wanted to create something that was fun. That we could all be in a room and laugh together, cry together and most importantly dance together”
Family dynamics are also something Stefanie explores within the play, particularly those of single-parent families, and the challenges of raising a mixed-race child as a white parent in a majority-white community. Danesha has a great relationship with her Dad but finds herself struggling to talk with him about her Mum. That conversation makes him uncomfortable leaving Danesha yearning for more. Stefanie adds “ Through the script we’re also exploring the father-daughter dynamic, and how the traditional patriarchal structures of our society can make it so difficult for two people who love each other deeply to actually connect and communicate”
Like Danesha, Stefanie is half Jamaican and wanted to highlight same-sex relationships in West Indian culture. “Jamaica is such a wonderful, special place with a huge impact on the world – through fashion, dance, music and language. But we still face challenges within our community regarding being queer.
Through the eyes of Danesha, seventeen and naive, her sexuality isn’t something she ever thought about. Her friends had boyfriends, so she had one too. It isn’t until she meets ‘Her’ that she begins to feel feelings she didn’t know possible. So this is what it feels to feel love, lust, attraction!? Meanwhile ‘Her’, a year older, grew up with her Jamaican family, in a very closeknit community, and is trying everything she can to suppress her sexuality.
When writing Danesha Stefanie tells us “I took myself to London to stay with my best friend during a week off from work. And I stumbled across a reggae exhibition. It sounds cliche, but it’s true, that staring at those pictures and listening to the music, I saw my two characters. The dialogue poured out of me, I saw what they looked like, what they wanted from each other, their conflict. Most importantly, I saw the moment they first met. I wanted it to be romantic, awkward, messy but cute – like them two”
Stefanie has written for scratch nights and comedy nights in London and Manchester theatres, as well as touring her first play Scribbles at Edinburgh Fringe festival and Battersea Arts Centre. Her second play That Time We Got High was shortlisted for Channel 4stories, Kudos and Royal Court fellowship and longlisted for Women’s Playwriting award. She was part of the OFFIE AWARD winning series The Waves with her audio drama BABY MAMA produced by Tamasha Theatre/Holy Mountain Productions. In 2022 Stef completed Royal Exchange’s new six-month writing exchange programme in partnership with WarnerMedia and developed her first TV pilot script. Stefanie is currently developing her new one-person play UNHINGED.
Stefanie concludes that she is “ beyond thrilled and delighted that the world is finally getting to meet Danesha. I hope this play resonates with audiences, I hope people find the joy and magic that Danesha brings, and I also hope you’re able to see yourself and feel a little less alone. This is for all the young girls that were labelled as weird or different!”
Danesha is presented by Box of Tricks. The Manchester-based award-winning theatre company that champions playwrights empowering them to tell the stories they want to tell, offering a home for playwrights to find their voice. The play will premiere at The Lowry in Salford from 02 October before visiting Leeds Playhouse, The Arts Centre, Edge Hill University, Blackpool Grand, Chester Storyhouse and Unity Theatre, Liverpool. As part of the Autumn tour Danesha will also visit six schools to inform, educate and engage with youngsters in and around the Northwest.
Tickets are on sale now. Find out more at www.boxoftrickstheatre.co.uk On X @bottc and Facebook/Instagram @boxoftrickstheatre.
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