How To Date
SE Fest 2025 is a two week festival across two wonderful fringe venues that are almost neighbours; Bridge House Theatre in Penge and Jack Studio in Crofton Park. Now in its second year, all shows play at both venues, so giving double the chance to catch them.
We continue our short run of interviews with Stephanie McNeil‘s How To Date, a dark comedy exploring naivety and vulnerabilities faced by young women in London. How To Date plays at Jack Studio on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 September, and then moves to Bridge House Theatre on Thursday 11 September.
We grabbed some time with Stephanie, along with director Isabel Steuble-Johnson to find out more about the show, and what brings them to South London for the festival.
What can audiences expect from the show?
How To Date is a hilarious and truthful piece of new writing that captures the realities of growing up as a woman in 21st century london.
Clarissa, an independent girl from North London meets Emily, a spoiled girl from Cheltenham, who dreams of being a film star. Searching for partners, they face the disastrous dating scene in London. Disappointed by dating apps, a spiral of events escalates in Clarissa’s life. There’s career pressures and viral videos to accompany her friendship with Emily. When secrets from the past arise, we learn of the importance of friendship and opening up to others.
Is this going to be the show’s first time on stage, or have you already performed elsewhere?
The play was picked to be one of four main house shows at Collective Theatre’s Fringe Festival in January 2025. After three sold out shows, I decided to do a writing course with Omnibus Theatre to further develop the script. I’ve now written a redraft, with new scenes, plot twists and character development. I was keen on doing SE Fest because I have previously worked with the artistic director at Bridge House Theatre and really likes the space! Doing SE Fest will also be useful to testing out the redraft of the script which has never been performed before.
After three sold out shows and three standing ovations, we are excited to be bringing back a newly improved and developed version of the play.
What was your inspiration behind the show?
I was inspired to write the show after many failed dating experiences last year. I went through a break up at the beginning of last year and was trying to get back into dating and was disappointed time and time again by men. When I started writing about my dating experiences events from my teen years came out, events I’d bottled up and never spoke about before. It then became an outlet for me, I added a lot of comedic relief to not make the show too dark and also to represent who I am as a person.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed drastically since you first put pen to paper?
It has changed a lot! It’s become a lot deeper and layered. I’ve continuously developed the characters and the story has evolved. Also the cast have all brought their on takes on the characters, so it’s allowed me to continue to adapt them.
What was it that drew you to this show and role?
Steph: I was drawn to the role as the writer because I’ve always enjoyed writing. I write as a creative outlet and have been inspired by lots of comedy shows also written by actors, such as ‘This Country’. I wanted the story to be personal to me, reflecting real events from my life and who I am as a person. It was very surreal sharing such personal stories with an audience the first time we did the show, but also very freeing.
I was also drawn to acting as the role of Emily in the play because I originally trained as an actor before I became a writer. I’ve always loved performing and wanted the opportunity to act. I started writing plays about three years ago to create acting opportunities for myself when I wasn’t getting work. Also, because both the lead parts Clarissa and Emily reflect different parts of myself, I felt it was right for me to play one of them.
What is it about your character that you most enjoy?
I love her lack of self awareness, it’s very funny. I also based parts of her character on the character of Lola Bunny in The Looney Tunes Show, who means well but isn’t the brightest.
How challenging has this role been for you?
It’s been very challenging juggling many things. Being the writer and an actor means that sometimes in rehearsals I’m trying to get into character but also trying not to criticize my writing at the same time.
What brought you all together?
Steph: I met Isabel and producer Emeka through a previous production called Phonekiller in 2024. The cast and crew of the play bonded a lot and we all stayed in touch afterwards. When I was writing this play and organising script reads I asked if they would be interested in being a part of it and thy said they’d love to! The remaining three roles were cast through open casting across many platforms. Everyone that applied had the chance to audition and the final cast were picked.
Being a fringe festival, we all know sets have to be bare minimum, how have you got around this with your set and props?
We have tried to keep our set as simple as possible, with just a few basic bits of set so that the audience can establish the setting of each scene.
What has been the biggest challenge in realising the writer’s vision for the show?
We’ve had to work hard on transitions and staging as the play has lots of scenes and locations. We originally had lot’s of props, but this time want to keep it simple and minimal.
How important is audience interaction to you?
Audience interaction is a big part of our play! There are several moments where characters break the fourth wall, or members of the audience become parts of the play, mostly for comedic affect and to bring the audience in and make them feel a part of the story.
Are there any plans for what comes next after the show has finished its run– for you or the show?
Yes we would love to either tour the production or have a 3-4 week run at a larger scale theatre.
If you had to describe your show as a colour what would it be, and why?
Pink and black, to represent female friendship and the dark parts of the story.
If you had to describe your show as a meal what would it be, and why?
Four seasons pizza, because of the multiple storylines and characters throughout the play.
What’s the weirdest or most unconventional prop used in your show, and how did it come to be part of the production?
A bar on wheels, it was needed to multi role as a bar, kitchen and storage unit for the show.
If budget or reality was not an issue, what’s the one piece of scenery/set you’d love to have in your show?
I’d love to have a real life kitchen with a tap and cooker that works, I think that would be so cool!
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
You can do whatever you put your mind to.
Thanks to Stephanie and Isabel for the chat. How To Date plays from Tuesday 9 to Thursday 11 September as part of SE Fest 2025
