Chantelle Dusette
Chantelle Dusette enjoys a growing reputation as a writer for the stage, is alumni of the Criterion Theatre new writing and story development programmes, WildChild’s scheme for underrepresented writers, and John Yorke’s Screenwriting programme. Chantelle is driven to tell stories which elevate a diverse lived experience and reflect her social values, through storytelling that plays with stark reality & the fantastical.
Her piece EV(E)OLUTION, a dystopian ecology play, made the longlist for Alfred Fagon’s play of the year in 2020 and her short UTOPIA a surreal cautionary tale on racism has been included in a series of works, alongside pieces by Bernadine Evaristo and Zadie Smith in Onyekachi Wambu’s anthology – EMPIRE WINDRUSH.
Chantelle also made this year’s final ten for Spring Climate / Film London / BBC Writers – Hot House Development Lab with writer Julie Tsang and was a contributor to All the Rage, an artistic response to the release of the Epstein files, conceived by Rebecca Lenkiewicz.
Debbie Hannan
Debbie is a writer and director for stage and screen. They have been developing and directing new plays for 15 years, alongside their own writing and screen work, and are known for dynamic, politically urgent work focussing on LGBTQ+, disabled and working-class stories, with a love for dark, social satire.
They were previously Associate Director at National Theatre of Scotland and were formerly Interim Artistic Director and Showrunner at Stockroom, theatre’s first writers’ room. They trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and as Trainee Director at the Royal Court. They have recently joined the board of Theatre Uncut.
Debbie has directed at theatres including the Royal Court Theatre, the Young Vic, the Bush Theatre, Soho Theatre, the Unicorn, the Royal Exchange (Manchester), the Tron Theatre (Glasgow), the Citizens Theatre (Glasgow), the Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh) and with companies such as Complicité, Clean Break and Paines Plough. They received the Genesis New Director’s Award, an MGC Futures Bursary and won an Olivier as Associate Director for Best Revival of Constellations on the West End. As a writer, they have been commissioned by Cardboard Citizens for the More Than One Story project, who then produced their award-winning monologue Snakes and Landlords. Debbie was shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Playwriting Award, is writing a new musical developed by Northern Stage, and adapted popular children’s book, Beegu, for the Unicorn Theatre in March 2025.
Debbie has directed a short produced by Film4 and 104 Films, co-written with Matilda Ibini, which screened at London Film Festival 2023 and many festivals since. They were Shadow Director on Shetland Season 6 & 7, Screen Skills “Step Up to Features” training, and were part of two BFI Creative Challenge Labs to develop feature films, which included pitching at BFI Flare 2025. They have been co-commissioned by Fable Pictures and were a finalist in the Studio21 Pilot award. Debbie is currently redrafting their first feature, with research supported by the Miles Ketley Memorial Fund.
Hamish Pirie
