From pub job and PlayStation to writing an award-winning play

One time erstwhile Nathan Queeley-Dennis was expected to beryllium engaged lugging brew kegs successful the cellar of the pub wherever helium worked, helium was alternatively penning his archetypal publication connected his phone. It went connected to triumph Britain's biggest playwriting prize, is present connected tour, and is being turned into a TV show.

A greeting displacement astatine the Birmingham pub wherever Queeley-Dennis had worked since helium was 16 would often impact lifting and carrying that day's deliveries. For that task, his bosses allowed a mates of hours.

"You tin bash it successful 2 hours," helium says. "But I've ever been beauteous strong, truthful I knew I could bash it successful astir 15-20 minutes if I truly hustled.

"Then I could conscionable beryllium connected my telephone downstairs successful the cellar, person a drink, person my meal and, like, chill."

And successful 2018, helium utilized the downtime to bash retired the opening country of a publication connected his notes app.

Four years later, Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz won the prestigious Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. The twelvemonth aft that, it got glowing reviews astatine the Edinburgh Fringe.

Now, it's conscionable kicked disconnected a nationalist circuit successful Queeley-Dennis's location metropolis - which looms ample successful the communicative - and has been snapped up by a TV accumulation institution headed by Peaky Blinders mastermind Steven Knight.

After finishing play school, Queeley-Dennis was trying to marque it arsenic an histrion erstwhile helium started looking for a solo publication to execute successful a monologue competition.

But helium couldn't find thing that suited him arsenic a young, achromatic Brummie, helium says. Hence helium holed up successful the pub cellar to constitute his own.

His abbreviated monologue introduced a hugely likeable young antheral called Nathaniel, who is eternally optimistic astir uncovering emotion contempt nary of his galore dates ever moving out.

Queeley-Dennis received bully feedback but didn't triumph the competition. He went backmost to moving successful the pub, hanging retired with friends, and playing video games.

"One clip I was playing connected my PlayStation and I was like, I've been playing Fifa and Pro Evolution Soccer for astir 15 years, and I thought, I consciousness perfectly thing close now. So I conscionable enactment it down."

He opened his laptop, typed up the publication from his phone, and kept connected writing.

"In the abstraction of an hr and a half, I had 10 pages of dialogue, and I looked and I finished, and I'd ne'er felt truthful live successful my full full life.

"Looking backmost connected it, I deliberation I was conscionable yearning for immoderate benignant of originative release. I deliberation I had truthful overmuch originative energy, and I ne'er utilized it."

Queeley-Dennis yet expanded the communicative into a afloat show. We larn that the quality Nathaniel studied good creation and dreams of being "a hybrid, edgy, sexy benignant of Brum municipality Basquiat with a garnish of Banksy", but is successful information stuck moving successful a telephone centre.

The crippled isn't autobiographical, the 29-year-old says, but the themes are.

"I'm not bully astatine art. I've ne'er worked a time successful a telephone centre successful my life. But person I spent clip moving successful a occupation that I possibly felt was unfulfilling conscionable to effort and get by? Yes.

"Did it devour distant astatine my soul? Yes. And did I discarded my clip putting my vigor into things that weren't what I really wanted to do, due to the fact that I was mislaid successful a unreality of wherever I was headed successful life? One 100 per cent.

"So I ever accidental the affectional travel of the quality is precise truthful.

"But actually, a batch of radical astatine immoderate constituent successful their 20s person felt those feelings - that happening of, OK, you're retired successful the satellite now, and what americium I going to do?"

In 2023, Queeley-Dennis took Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz to Edinburgh, wherever The Stage's professional said shows "do not get overmuch much exuberant oregon entertaining than this", and WhatsOnStage said it "positively brims with bully humour and warmth".

The Guardian described it arsenic "a refreshingly steadfast representation of masculinity", which Queeley-Dennis "performs with specified light-footed charm, definite comic timing and saccharine consciousness of antheral romanticism that helium has the assemblage successful his hands".

It's premature to foretell that it volition travel Fleabag and Baby Reindeer arsenic a one-person Fringe comedy-drama that becomes a TV hit, but it could good extremity up connected that trajectory.

The surface rights were snapped up by the Kudos Knight accumulation stable, and a bid is being pitched to commissioners.

Knight is connected a ngo to physique connected the occurrence of Peaky Blinders by bringing done much Birmingham endowment and stories. Queeley-Dennis likewise believes the metropolis has been neglected connected signifier and screen.

"I conscionable consciousness similar radical shy distant oregon unreal Birmingham doesn't exist. We spot things acceptable successful Manchester, we spot things acceptable successful Yorkshire, we spot things acceptable successful London," helium says.

"I conscionable deliberation it's the champion metropolis successful the satellite and there's specified a circumstantial vigor and verve and humour that we have. Everyone present has a definite humour, a definite cognition and mindset and spot connected the enarthrosis we each share.

"Every metropolis has its ain antithetic nuances. I deliberation Birmingham does, and much stories request to honour that and amusement that."

Perhaps the metropolis is not arsenic guardant astir bigging itself up arsenic determination similar Manchester.

"I deliberation radical from Birmingham conscionable get connected with things to ourselves," Queeley-Dennis agrees.

"Over the past 2 years, I've had to get a batch amended astatine talking myself up. Yeah, we mightiness request to speech ourselves up more. Honestly, determination are truthful galore large artists successful the city."

He's much comfy talking with pridefulness astir the friends helium would bent retired with astatine originative events six oregon 7 years ago, and who are now, similar him, making their breakthroughs.

"There is simply a assemblage of us, and present we've each branched retired into antithetic mediums of work," helium says.

"There are actors connected Netflix shows, writers similar myself, creator directors of long-standing companies, and producers and worldly similar that. We were conscionable hanging retired backmost successful 2017-18 each together."

He namechecks actors including Corey Weekes and Keiren Hamilton-Amos, screenwriter Ameir Brown, and Women & Theatre creator manager Adaya Henry.

"There are truthful galore names. I bash deliberation determination is simply a mini originative renaissance wrong the city, and artists from the metropolis that radical possibly aren't alert of yet.

"But I deliberation successful a fewer years' time, we'll each beryllium each implicit the place, and I'm trying to conscionable beryllium a portion of that."

Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz is astatine Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday, 5 October, past connected circuit passim October and November.