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It’s a remarkable achievement for a debut, but the real story is about how a single opportunity can transform a creative life. We spoke to the Glasgow-based playwright about writing from personal experience, the power of mentorship, and what comes next after an extraordinary first chapter.

Water Colour tackles mental health and suicide with real sensitivity. How did you approach writing about such heavy subject matter?

I think that the poetic nature of the piece helped it from becoming too graphic. It exists in a more metaphysical place, meaning the audience can emotionally resonate with the words being said without feeling too close for comfort.

I also think humour, “dark comedy” and finding lightness really helped balance out the heavier themes. The whole play is about that balance of light and dark, colour and grey, so once we found that perfect mix, the play really soared.

You’ve said that you drew on your own experience to create Water Colour. How much of yourself is in Esme and Harris?

It’s been interesting now, looking at the play nearly three years on from when I originally wrote it. There were elements of both of the characters that felt a lot more resonant with 20-year-old me, than 23-year-old me. I struggled a lot with my mental health when I was a teenager, and that recovery period bled a lot into my late-teens/early twenties. I’m finally at a point in my life where I feel quite detached from all that, but I have these characters, frozen in time. They are obviously both fictional people, but a lot of their thoughts were my thoughts.

Then there are the funny, little similarities. Harris is a kitchen porter and that was my first job. Esme goes to art school and I went to drama school. I’m guilty for peppering inside jokes into my plays too. References to things that I know my friends and family will smile at.

The play is rooted in Glasgow and its geography feels important. What does Glasgow mean to you as a setting, and do you think the city itself is almost a third character in the
play?

Glasgow definitely is a third character in the play. I’ve lived here my whole life - it’s all I’ve ever known and I’ve come to know it intimately. There are issues explored in the play that feel very specific to Glasgow - the class divide, the drinking culture, the suicides in the Clyde. However, Glasgow’s positive prospects are also given a chance to shine - the art school, the murals, the wee phrases and sayings passed down from generation to generation. Harris being Glaswegian definitely contributes to his willingness to help Esme in her time of need. They say people make Glasgow, and as overused as that saying is, I think it’s true.

How long did it take you to write Water Colour, and did it go through significant changes from first draft to the production we’re seeing now?

I must have written the first draft of Water Colour in a couple of weeks. I was a student, so I had more spare time, and I think the fact that there were no stakes and I could just write freely, helped it flow. I was also really passionate about the story and that gave me the motivation to finish it.

After Water Colour won the St Andrews Award, it underwent a year of development, and I had a meeting with Frances Poet, the dramaturg, every couple of months or so. The story was expanded, the ending altered, the characters developed. Lots of chops and changes were made during rehearsals too. The show audiences see on stage is very different from the first draft (definitely better and more polished) but the heart of the story has remained the samethroughout, and that’s something I’m really grateful for. It didn’t feel like anyone was trying to change the play or steer it in a direction I didn’t want.

The production is remarkably intimate, just two actors playing Esme, Harris, and then shifting to portray employers, family, and peers. How did you approach writing for this economy of casting, and what does that constraint force you to do creatively as a writer?

I remember watching a filmed production of Philip Ridley’s “Tarantula” shortly before writing Water Colour. This was a one-woman show, and I was impressed by how effective the multi-rolling was at aiding the story-telling. I was influenced a lot by the structure of the play, constantly flipping in and out of various characters and I wanted to try to pull off something similar.

Water Colour was always going to be a two-hander. However, I do find the economy of casting a bit disheartening as a writer. It feels as though if you want to have a play produced in Scotland, it can’t require more than four characters. As I grow as a writer, I want to expand on my practice and tell more ambitious stories which will inevitably require more actors, but I don’t see budgets permitting that! It feels a little like theatre is shrinking. I guess the plus side is that it forces us to get more creative with our concepts and theatrical conventions.

Winning the St Andrews Playwriting Award for your debut was transformative. How has the award changed your career trajectory in terms of representation, commissions, and opportunities? And how does it feel to now have three major awards on your CV within such a short timeframe?

It’s been a wild ride. I feel very, very lucky and thankful to past-Milly, who applied for the St Andrews Award on a whim. It has led to a lot of productive conversations with a lot of pretty influential people in Scottish theatre. Mainly, I think the awards have helped people take me seriously. As a young, female emerging writer, with no formal training in playwriting whatsoever, I was scared people wouldn’t take me seriously enough.

From your perspective as the inaugural success story, what makes the St Andrews Playwriting Award such an effective model for developing emerging Scottish playwrights? What did it provide that you might not have accessed otherwise?

What was good about the St Andrews Award was that you didn’t need to have any previous professional writing credits or an agent to apply. These are parameters I see often on “open calls” which fence out true emerging artists. With the St Andrews Award, anyone with a script could apply, and that is something I need to see more of. Thanks to the St Andrews Award, I have been able to build the foundations of a career in the performing arts for myself, and that is something that would have been otherwise very hard to crack.

Sally Reid, an award-winning director, directing your debut is significant. How important is having established industry figures champion new talent, and what has that mentorship meant for your confidence as a debut writer?

Sally Reid is incredible and I’ve loved learning and collaborating with her. I think she did a really good job of pushing me outside my comfort zone, whilst also maintaining an understanding that this was my first play and I was (as I said to her multiple times) pretty terrified! Something that I’ve loved to see stepping into this industry is that there are no “bad eggs.” Even the really established professionals I’ve had the pleasure of meeting still seem to be genuinely happy for Water Colour’s success, and have reached out to offer me support.

The Scottish theatre industry is small, and what makes it great is that instead of choosing to be in competition with each other, we all want our fellow Scottish artists to do well.

After this launch with productions across multiple Scottish theatres and critical success, what are you working on now, and how do you balance the pressure of
early success with creative freedom?

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the pressure. I think I’m still working on balancing other people’s expectations, and I’ve been trying really hard to care less about what people think of me and my work. I’m hoping this is something that will come as I grow. I’ve been trying to go on my phone less, which helps. I have a bad habit of comparing myself to others.

Right now, I am working on a one-person play “Almond” with Catherine Wheels, which I also perform in. It will be performed in high schools this September. I’m also developing a Christmas show for Strange Town Youth Theatre. But I think it’s important to point out that following Water Colour’s run at the Fringe, I’ll be back to working at the Kings and the Theatre Royal, ushering and behind the bar, as well as in my mother’s teeshirt shop. Such is the life of a freelancer.

Water Colour is at Traverse Theatre, Glasgow until 30 August.