Natasha Cottriall ((God Save My) Northern Soul)

(God Save My) Northern Soul is a dark comedy about love, loss and Northern soul music. After her Mum’s sudden death, Nicole is shoved headfirst into the world of adulthood whilst still clinging on to the end of her teenage years. We took the opportunity to speak with writer and performer Natasha Cottriall to tell us more.

Q) Hello Natasha, thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions today. Before we begin, please could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background in theatre?

I come from an acting background, having trained in Musical Theatre at Mountview. Throughout my work as an actor, I have been stimulated and challenged by performing in new writing pieces of work, The Welkin (National Theatre), Family Tree (Docklands Festival) and I, Joan (The Globe), for example.

These experiences have impacted me as a writer because they have allowed me to see how vast theatre can be as an art form. You can bring huge battles to life one minute galvanising the audience, and the next be in an intimate conversation between two people. I would, however, say that my love of story and invention originates from my childhood exposure to TV comedies of the 90’s. Victoria Wood is my hero and I feel like her words, work and wit will forever impact who I am as a writer and the characters I create. As a playwright, my play HOME was recently shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon award, the Sheila Delaney New Writing Prize and Longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize.

Q) Can you give us a little insight into what (God Save My) Northern Soul is about?

(God Save My) Northern Soul is a dark comedy about love, loss and Northern Soul music. It’s set in Wigan and follows the story of mixed race teenager Nicole as she reels from the suddening passing of her mum. As an only child of a single parent, after losing her mum, she is left with a car, sandwich business and a house. We follow her as she is thrust into adulthood whilst still navigating the last of her teenage years.

Q) This is your debut solo play. What inspired you to write (God Save My) Northern Soul?

I felt compelled to write about my experience at first perhaps as a way of processing my personal experience of the narrative. I felt like I didn't have the space or the know-how to talk about my grief at the time. It felt too big. And there was that sense of needing to be “getting on with things”. But then I started making notes about what was happening around me, because even though it was obviously a tragic thing, there were elements that were/are funny and I think the two often run hand in hand. When I started writing for myself, I never imagined that those notes would become a play that I would be bringing to an audience but I am thrilled that they did!

Q) Why did you want to tell Nicole’s story specifically, and how much of her journey reflects your own experiences?

It’s a semi autobiographical piece, so a lot of what is in the show is from my real experience and a lot of the characters are based on real people or are an amalgamation of a few people. But of course this is drama! So some of the action is embellished to serve the story. I also felt like my experiences and background are underrepresented in theatre. Being mixed race in a predominantly white town, trying to find a sense of identity whilst being thrust into adulthood. At 19, you're technically an adult, but it's still such a young age when you're still trying to figure so many things out. It feels important to share stories that reflect varied experiences.

Q) The play blends dark comedy with themes of love, loss, and coming of age. How did you strike the balance between humour and poignancy?

Humour is so important to me. I think that was part of the inspiration for writing in the first place. I was fascinated by the fact that this huge trauma was happening in my life, yet around me things could still be hilarious. And in the play, there will often be a moment of real humour but followed by a more emotional moment. Because to me that's how life is. And it’s important to give space to those moments, not to gloss over them, but also not to over indulge. No one wants to see someone cry for 15 minutes. I suppose it’s timing and finding that grey area which can be both hard hitting and funny and I think to me that feels truthful.

Q) Northern Soul music is woven throughout the piece. What role does the music play in shaping the story and atmosphere?

Northern soul music is a huge part of not only my culture, but also Wigan culture still to this day. In the play, Nicole listens to records to stay connected with a huge part of her that has been lost through the passing of her mum. I’m sure we all have songs that remind us of certain people or of a time. The thing about Northern Soul music is, it’s mostly really upbeat, so often when Nicole chooses to play something, it’s to escape. To avoid leaning into those moments of realising the gravity of what has happened. And to keep a feeling of joy at a time of tragedy.

Q) You’ve worked extensively in theatre and on screen — how different has the process of creating and performing your own play been compared to stepping into other people’s scripts?

It’s a real mix actually. There's the wonderful thing of having the ability to change things with your own play. Creative autonomy. And keep developing it, but that can also be a curse because it’s hard to stop! At some point, I have to put the writer's hat to one side and focus solely on performance and digging into the character as if it were a script by someone else. It's also really exposing to put work out there, especially a personal story like this one. But at

the same time what an incredible opportunity. I'm excited by the challenge!

Q) Following on from this, has your experience as a performer shaped how you’ve approached writing?

Absolutely. Purely because I've had the opportunity to work on some incredible plays. All very different. But having the ability to rehearse and dig into dialogue like that, by playwrights like Lucy Kirkwood, continues to feed my understanding of storytelling and structure. One of my favourite things is workshopping new plays, so you get to see it still in a development phase and try things out and make offers as the actor. I always learn so much from those experiences both as a writer and an actor.

Q) What do you hope audiences take away from Nicole’s story?

I find this a difficult question because primarily I hope that people enjoy it and like watching a story about someone’s journey. I didn’t set out to make people feel a certain way, it's pure storytelling and it’s from my lived experience. But I suppose I'd like to encourage a dialogue around death and grief because I felt at the time like I didn't have the tools to do that and in turn internalised my grief which then cost me loads in therapy! Perhaps through the play people will see a world they recognise because ultimately everyone will experience some sort of loss and it makes us feel off kilter and alone but theatre brings us together.

(God Save My) Northern Soul plays at Park Theatre from the 09th September until 20th September 2025.

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