Artist Spotlight with Sid Sagar
14 March 2025
Sid Sagar is an actor, playwright and screenwriter from Hertfordshire. Recent credits as a performer include BALLET SHOES (National Theatre), CABARET (West End) and SLOW HORSES (Apple TV+). As a writer, his work includes MIDDLE MEN (a play for BBC Radio 4) and BAKED BEANS (a short film produced by BFI NETWORK).
Getting a piece of site specific theatre from an idea in my brain to various car parks across the North East of England has involved a solid mix of emotions.
There’s the fiery passion of first putting pen to paper / fingers to a keyboard, and articulating the thing that has been bugging your mind for months. There’s the head-scratching frustration of writing and rewriting, “killing your darlings”, and all of the cliches that are annoyingly accurate when it comes to improving something with potential. There’s the terror of hearing early drafts read aloud by actors in a room full of strangers, the fun of absorbing their laughs and focus, the pain of flat jokes that were definitely never funny in the first place. And there’s joy, too: the pure loveliness of connecting with the right artists at the right time; the sweetness of realising a collective vision; the warmth of collaborating with a shared goal without ever sacrificing generosity and kindness in the process.
‘How do we address underlying resentments and help the disempowered feel like they belong somewhere, and are worth something?’
BITING POINT emerged from a conversation between me and Middle Child, a Hull-based theatre company which specialises in telling stories in unexpected places, and ultimately in creating work that makes for a great night out. Paul Smith (Artistic Director) and Matthew May (Literary Manager) responded to some earlier writing of mine and invited me to be an Associate at Middle Child in the middle of lockdown, when the outlook for many freelancers was fairly bleak.
This vote of confidence led to a full commission a couple of years ago, when we realised we liked working together and wanted to combine our skills and experiences to make something bold, unflinching and fundamentally entertaining. The idea was rooted in rage; my own, and the world’s. Why are people so angry? How do we address underlying resentments and help the disempowered feel like they belong somewhere, and are worth something? Can we dissect a moment of raw hate and find room for understanding and compassion? The combination of my lived experience as a British Indian man and challenging themes like race, class and privilege were an inspiring jumping off point. Several drafts later and this is what we’re offering: a unique piece of site specific theatre that kicks off with road rage at a roundabout in Hull. It’s about the literal and more complicated collision of two people: John, a grieving delivery driver in a rush; and Anita, a South Asian woman born and bred in the North East, struggling under the weight of everyday life.
The project has taken on various forms. Initially, it was quite conventional, written for a black box theatre space, the audience on one side, the actors up on a stage. Support from Without Walls, however, transformed my creative journey. It encouraged me to think outside the box and knock down some creatively-stifling walls in the process (sorry).
Most importantly, Without Walls nurtured an awareness of the project’s potential to connect with those who might not ordinarily engage with theatre. Without this support, Paul, Matt and I wouldn’t have had the chance to visit the Brighton Festival, where we relished Ground’s supper club experience led by the voices of Indigenous knowledge-holders. We wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the Greenwich & Docklands International Festival, where we danced like carefree kids at Patois’ performance in a playground, followed by a cuppa at World Kiosk on Green Street. Without Walls let us dream big, while supporting us to better understand what it means to make work in public space that is truly accessible for all.
‘Without Walls nurtured an awareness of the project’s potential to connect with those who might not ordinarily engage with theatre.’
And speaking of accessibility, BITING POINT’s car park setting, original music and detailed sound design will create a thrilling live event to challenge people’s perceptions of theatre. So if you’ve ever honked your horn in bumper-to-bumper traffic, or cursed that cheeky commuter who didn’t indicate in time, then join us in a car park near you to meet a couple of characters who know exactly how you feel.
BITING POINT is written by Sid Sagar and directed by Paul Smith. It was commissioned by Middle Child and will be produced in car parks in Hull, Yorkshire and the North East from May 2025. The production has been made possible thanks to generous support from Without Walls.
Banner Image and main image © Sid Sagar and Middle Child
