THE THREE FINALISTS

Andrew has been writing in earnest since 2012, alongside his day job in IT, first with British Airways and then the NHS.

In this time he’s had short plays performed in London at the Canal Cafe Theatre, the Union Theatre, Etcetera Theatre and The White Bear.

His plays Underground and The Ties that Bind were selected for and performed at the Chesil Theatre 10x10 Festival and the INK Festival, respectively.

His play Polite Conversation was performed during lockdown in an open-air theatre production at Lauderdale House in Waterlow Park in 2021. 

Celeste Engel studied Theatre and Drama at Australia’s La Trobe University. After emigrating to the UK, she obtained a Masters in Writing for the Media at Bournemouth University, her play SHINE BRIGHT was shortlisted for the the Kenneth Branagh Writing Prize in 2015 as was a project for the DOT award in 2018 as part of the New Media Writing Prize. 

Celeste Engel teaches filmmaking at the Arts University Bournemouth, short courses. Her play Sweet Dreams was performed by Theatre West as a rehearsed online reading 2021 and extracts were later performed by Beyond Face Theatre Company at the Exeter Phoenix Theatre for scratch nights in 2022 & 2023, with Star Light in a Jar performed for a scratch night March 2024.

My name is Niall McCarthy, I'm a writer/Stand up comedian from Derry currently living in London. My first full length run in London has been greenlit at Theatre503 for my play ‘Derry Boys’ for three weeks in May 2025. My first full length play script ‘Forbidden Fruit’ was optioned in 2023 and will be performed in June 2025 at the Cheltenham Playhouse. I've had short plays titled 'Parakeet', 'The Parting Glass', 'Glass Villas', 'Make Love Not Greenpeace' and 'Star Fish' performed in theatres in London, Newcastle and Bedford. In 2021 I was inducted onto the ‘Live Theatre Newcastle New Playwrights course’ and in 2023 I attended the ‘INK Festival Script Writing Course’ hosted by Greg Mosse. In April 2024 my play ‘Fatherland’ was performed at the INK festival. In March 2024 my short audio play ‘God Complex’ was selected for the UK International Radio Drama Festival.

Jack is a director, theatre maker and actor who trained in London before attending Cambridge University.

His production company Long Nights Productions had a recent sell out run of the show chaos, co-directed by Jack, and his debut short film ‘WILD ONE’ had been recognised in both national and international film festivals. 

You can find Jack on Instagram @jackmedlin00 and X@jackmedlin3 

Audrey is a London-based theatre director originally from Portland, Oregon. She recently completed an MA in Theatre Directing under Katie Mitchell at Royal Holloway University. Audrey's directing credits include a self-produced production of Stupid Fucking Bird, which was remounted at 21ten Theatre in Portland, and other works such as The Harvest, Tongue of a Bird, and Love and Information.

She has directed new plays like I'm a Slut, Sababba and devised the production The Ways We Cope. She has also assistant-directed at Portland's leading venue, Artist Repertory Theatre. Audrey earned her BA in Theatre from George Fox University, where she received a Meritorious Achievement Award for Directing and the departmental "Outstanding Student Award".

Her training includes Suzuki-Viewpoints with the Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, and acting at the British American Drama Academy (BADA). She participated in the Third Rail Repertory Theatre Mentorship program in 2018, assisting with literary management. 

Beyond directing, Audrey has self-produced works like The Harvest and Stupid Fucking Bird, earning a Regional Arts and Culture Grant (RAAC). She has taught Viewpoints Methodology at Bold Theatre and has technical experience in scenic construction, projection design, and stage management.

Hannah trained at LAMDA and is an award-winning director including five Scotsman Fringe First Awards at the Edinburgh Festival. Her work has toured throughout the UK and abroad. Credits include: 

Romeo and Juliet, Abrons Arts Centre, New York

Brits off-Broadway Season at 59E59 Theaters in New York

Love Them To Death by Max Dickins (Edinburgh Festival);

An Instinct for Kindness by Chris Larner (Fringe First Award; UK Tour; Trafalgar Studios; LitLive, the Mumbai LitFest;

Argus Angel Award; nominated for Best Solo Performance Whatsonstage Awards) 

Somewhere Beneath it All, A Small Fire Burns Still by Dave Florez, performed by Phil Nichol (Fringe First Award)

Lockerbie: Unfinished Business by David Benson (Fringe First Award; UK Tour)

What I Heard About Iraq (Fringe First Award; UK Tour & Arts Theatre, West End) 

Plays by Anthony Neilson, April de Angelis, Dave Florez, Lucy Kirkwood and Mike McShane in The Terror Season (Southwark Playhouse and Soho Theatre)

The Lady From The Sea, a new version by Frank McGuinness starring Lia Williams (Arcola, Sunday Times and Guardian Top Theatre Pick; BBC Radio 3 with Hugh Bonneville).

Lucy Anna Richardson (Instagram @lucyannarichardson) is delighted to be making her debut with the Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Drama Award, taking on the role of Stella in Star Light in a Jar by Celeste Engel. Lucy began her professional career at the age of 18 when she was cast in Bridgerton Series 1. But she has been treading the boards in various roles in musicals since she was eight years old. For the last three years Lucy has been a series regular in the ITV and CBS crime drama ‘Professor T’, where she plays a young Adelaide, a younger version of the part played by the actor Frances De La Tour

Daniel Keogh (Instagram @danielmkeogh) is an artist and performer from Clones, Co. Monaghan, now based in London. Holding a degree in Psychology from Queen’s as well as an MA in Acting from Mountview, Daniel creates work deeply rooted in the inner psyche of their characters. Daniel's work centres on chronic illness, queerness, body image, isolation and mortality and hope. Their writing includes "In Pursuit of Repair”, a performance art piece and meditation on one's relationship to their body through a lifetime of chronic illness. Recent credits include Bea P. Deigh by Arden Winant (5 Stars - London Pub Theatres), Magic by Hugo Lau (4 stars - A Youngish Perspective), and The Power Of My Positive Self Belief Is Transforming My Life by Finn Burge, on Spotify/Apple Music. Daniel is incredibly excited to be part of the Windsor Fringe and delighted to get to bring a brand-new pie

Matthew Blaney is an actor, originally from Belfast, and has enjoyed a varied career in theatre, film and audio performance. Plays include Not Now (Finborough Theatre, London) The Lieutenant of Inishmore (The Michael Grandage Company, Gielgud Theatre, London) HIR (Park Theatre, London) Blackout (The Lyric, Belfast) and Under the Black Rock (The Arcola Theatre, London). Film includes Belfast (Focus Features/Netflix) as well as narration for the book Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (Amazon Audible). Matthew is a Spotlight Award and Offie Award (Lead Performance) Nominated Actor, next appearing in The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde due out next year.

Eoin Sweeney (Instagram @eoinsweeney_) is a recent graduate of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He most recently appeared in an extract of the one man show “the limit” also written by Niall McCarthy. His recent TV and film credits include Mercy Falls (2023) and the most recent season of FBI: International

Paul Croft is an actor and comedian, originally from Manchester.  He has a background in live theatre, performing across the country in regional rep, and occasionally musical theatre. Recent appearances on film and TV include: Napoleon, The Sense of an Ending, Coronation Street’s 60th Anniversary, BBC Doctors; Commercials for Oatly, Lloyds Pharmacy, and ASDA’s Elf at Christmas. He has also performed for Secret Cinema in various immersive pieces across the world; Casino Royale, Empire Strikes Back, Dr Strangelove, Grand Budapest Hotel. A veteran of the long-running satirical sketch show, Newsrevue - he workshops online with Los Angeles Groundlings.

Sarah Huntley trained at Drama Centre London. Theatre includes: Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Stratford East, A Bride Too Far, Northampton, European Tour, The Importance of Being Earnest, Peter Pan West End, Phillip Pullman’s Frankenstein, Polka Theatre and The Snow Queen, Kent Rep, The Rivals, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, La Rond, Hayfever, The Norman Conquest, Newpalm Productions, Write me a Murder, Don't Dress for Dinner, Bedroom Farce. TV includes Midsomer Murders, Wycliff, Casualty, EastEnders, The Seaside. Radio includes Bristow.

Rachel Gaffin had a varied stage career before taking a longer than planned break to raise her two children. Recent work includes Second Temple at Riverside Studios, Pass Over Me (a monologue written for her for Elysium TC), a night of new short plays at The Gatehouse, various short films and the TV comedy Hapless. Rachel loves working on new writing, and is currently producing a night of short plays titled Joyfully Jewish for Tsitsit Fringe Festival in November, with a tour planned for next year – including, hopefully, Windsor Fringe, so look out for it! 

Will trained at Drama Studio London. He has performed in a variety of screen and theatre productions, including The Diplomat (Netflix), The War of the Worlds (The Pantaloons), Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers (Get Lost and Found), The Comedy of Errors (Petersfield Shakespeare Festival), The Millennials (Southwark Playhouse), and The Winter’s Tale (The Festival Players). He has also lent his voice to various audiobooks and video games. He is also a headshot and theatre photographer with Will Gillham Photography. Will is originally from East Sussex but is now based in Twickenham.