Harriet is a writer, producer and performer for stage, screen and radio.

The Spectator said of her debut play THE LISTENING ROOM “You emerge with your consciousness altered, your conception of human beings elevated and amplified”. THE LISTENING ROOM transferred from the Old Red Lion to Stratford East and has since been performed at the National Theatre, The Lowry, Theatre Clwyd, Northern Stage and in prisons & psychiatric institutions across the UK. A radio adaptation was created with BBC Radio 4 and nominated for an ARIA in 2020.

Harriet’s most recent radio drama THE OTHER TCHAIKOVSKY was shortlisted for a BBC Audio Drama Award in 2021 & a 90 minute film adaptation is now in development with BBC2.

Harriet’s first solo show OUTPATIENT premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 2024 and won the Summerhall Lustrum Award for Unforgettable Theatre.

Harriet is currently developing a number of projects for stage and screen. She runs a theatre company, Crowded Room, with whom she was shortlisted for the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award at the Barbican.

(This bio courtesy of Independent Talent - https://www.independenttalent.com/writers/harriet-madeley/) 

Harriet and I discuss how theatre can be so profound and impactful by asking questions that many are scared or uncomfortable to ask. Such as, how does it feel when you’re hit by a life-threatening illness and how does it feel knowing you’re going to die?

Her recent show “Outpatient”, which I was lucky to see at the Park Theatre a few weeks ago, tackles these big questions. We meet character “Olive” an aspiring journalist who is struck down with PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) a terrible illness for which there is no cure and could end her life either in 10 years or in 10 days. Based on Harriet’s own battle with the same illness, the play is a semi-autobiographical commentary on what life is like living with a disease you don’t know about and what it’ll be like for your loved ones when you’re gone. 

Harriet is so open and honest, talking about her love for truthful theatre, her journey with the play through the festival circuit and in London as well as her own personal journey with PSC. 

Thank you so much again Harriet for being so open and being so generous with my questions and of course for your art! I hope you all have the opportunity to catch this play in the future. 

Oliver Gower

Spotlight Link: https://www.spotlight.com/9097-9058-5261

Instagram: @ollietheuncensoredcritic

For enquiries and requests: olliegower10@gmail.com

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Track Name. Early Morning