The Artist At Work

Theatre Maker Workshop

The Artist at Work is a four-day immersion into performance-making, a space where new ideas can take their first breath. Guided by Dark Forest Theatre’s Artistic Director Nathan Martin, with the insight of Belfast playwright Heather Martin and the award-winning voice of Karis Kelly, this workshop invites theatre-makers to step into a creative environment built on curiosity, support, and artistic courage.

Across the four days, participants will work in small groups to shape a brand-new theatre vignette. Under the mentorship of Karis Kelly—winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting for Consumed—artists will benefit from her depth of craft, her instinct for story, and her generous approach to creative exploration.

Each day offers a different doorway into making: the grounding of stagecraft and movement, the practical magic of theatre production, the inspiration of a guided talk at the Ulster Museum, and the rigour of the playwriting process. Time will be given to rehearsal, development, performance technique, and conversation—culminating in a session with Heather Martin of Belfast Playwrights, whose experience supports emerging voices.

This journey concludes in a public sharing, where all newly created pieces will come to life as part of Belfast Playwrights’ celebrated 10-Minute Showcase. It is a chance for artists not only to learn, but to be seen.

The Artist at Work takes place at Accidental Theatre, Belfast, from January 22nd–25th, 10am–5pm.
The total cost is £60, and spaces are limited.
To register your interest, contact info@darkforesttheatre.com.

Facilitators

Karis Kelly

Karis Kelly is a Northern Irish playwright and screenwriter whose work blends dark humour, emotional depth, and incisive explorations of identity, family, and intergenerational memory. Winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting for their acclaimed play Consumed, Karis has developed work with leading theatre institutions and written for screen, including the BBC series Hope Street. With a background in Theatre Practice from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and an MA in Script Writing from Goldsmiths, she is recognised as a bold and compelling voice in contemporary theatre, dedicated to both creating new work and nurturing emerging writers across Northern Ireland.

Nathan Martin

Nathan David Martin is the Artistic Director of Dark Forest Theatre. Founded in 2023, the company was created by create theatre that was used to explore the complexities of the human psyche, often through a distinctly macabre lens. His writing and directing credits include A Filthy Dirty Rumour, MONSTER, I Heard a Dragon, and Marjorie’s Dead. His upcoming work, I, She, Medusa, will premiere at The MAC in February 2026, and he will also write and direct a new production of Alice in Wonderland for the Grand Opera House in the new year.

Nathan was selected by Theatre and Dance NI for their 24/25 fellowship, part of their emerging talent development programme, and has been shortlisted by the Ulster Tatler for Arts Personality of the Year 2025 in recognition of his ongoing commitment to supporting artists and charitable causes across Northern Ireland.

Heather Martin

Heather is a playwright, dramaturg and director from Australia, living in Belfast. As a playwright she has had seven plays produced across Australia, Ireland, England, and Switzerland. Her first play, The Book of David was produced in 2015 and went onto be shortlisted for Queensland Theatre's Young Playwright of the Year Award in 2016. In 2020, it was published by Australian Plays Transform.

Her professional theatre debut came in 2022 for her play The Initiation of Tommy Wilson which performed to a sold-out season at BackDock Arts in Brisbane. Her most recent work As We Drift, developed as part of Amadan Ensemble’s MANIFEST residency, was shortlisted for the Lyric/ Pleasance New Writing Award. She is 2025/2026 participant in Tinderbox Theatre’s ENGINE programme developing her new play Oscar & Henri. She is the founder of Belfast Playwrights and facilitates playwriting and dramaturgy courses at The Crescent Arts Centre.