Caroline Summerfield has been writing, directing and producing plays for over 10 years.

The daughter of the children’s author Eugenie Summerfield, Caroline has always had a keen interest in writing and performing, from a very early age.

“I remember creating my own toy theatre at the age of six and writing short plays, which I performed to our friends and neighbours,” she said.

“This led on to writing several school plays and I remember my English master being very disappointed when I told him that I would not be studying English at University, but Law.”

After qualifying as a solicitor she began working in her home city of London.

Despite the demanding career, Caroline still managed to find time to write plays, becoming a trustee of the New Playwrights’ Trust and winning a London playwrights’ competition, which led to her having her first play produced at the Finborough theatre in London.

She continued: “From that point onwards I never looked back and in 2005 my West End debut play ‘Chasing Ibsen’ was produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre.

“I became a full-time playwright in 2016, having just completed my Masters in Research in playwriting studies at the University of Birmingham, and been long-listed for the major playwrights’ award, the Bruntwood, for my contemporary political play ‘Prophecy’.”

Following her switch from courthouse to playhouse, Caroline moved to Gloucestershire and founded the Writers’ and Directors’ Workshop (WDW) and her own theatre company, Natura Contemporary.

“I was very conscious of the need to establish a forum where writers like myself could meet professional actors and directors to workshop plays,” she explained.

“We are based in North Gloucestershire and I wanted a theatre company which would support talent in this region and be dedicated to producing high quality contemporary theatre in town and country locations.

“We work with several actors on a regular basis as well as writers and provide workshops, showcases and productions.”

Since beginning in 2017, Natura Contemporary have performed original productions including ‘The Tree Charter Tapestry’ at the Everyman Theatre, and ‘An Honest Politician’ at last year’s Stroud Theatre Festival.

The company will be returning to the Festival this month, with Caroline’s latest play, ‘Jane Austen and The Cheltonians’.

“The whole idea for writing my latest play came about when I was approached in January this year by the Suffolk Anthology Bookshop to write a play with a literary theme,” said Caroline.

“They wanted a suitable play to round-off their Literary Festival Weekend in March. It proved overwhelmingly popular and sold out.

“However writing a full-length stage play in less than three months was quite a challenge, even though I have been writing for many years.”

The play tells the story of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ author Jane Austen’s visit to Cheltenham in 1816.

However, little is known of this visit, as Caroline explains.

“Due to her sister Cassandra burning Jane’s diary and notes, this led me to speculate with full dramatic-licence as to what really happened during the visit.

“As observant as ever of society’s ills and set in the year following (The Battle of) Waterloo, in ‘Jane Austen and the Cheltonians’, Emma Woodhouse is newly married and finds herself in Cheltenham.

“But with the arrival of her friend Eloisa Fairweather, the Jamaican born widow of a wealthy ship owner and that of an English army officer, the temptation proves too great for Emma, and it is not long before she starts to match-make with disastrous consequences.”

The play will be at the Stroud Theatre Festival on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September, at Museum in the Park.

It will star Abigail Halley and Lynn Thomas, and Caroline is excited to see her work brought to life once again.

She added: “I am blessed with a great cast for Jane Austen and The Cheltonians.

“Both Abi and Lynn are experienced actors, so despite our tight rehearsal schedule they have transformed themselves into Regency ladies for their main roles of Jane Austen and Eloisa Fairweather, plus performing a host of other characters.”

To view the trailer for ‘Jane Austen and the Cheltonians’, visit www.writersanddirectorsworkshop.com/natura-contemporary-theatre