Making Theatre
for Sapphics, by Sapphics
HITHER, O MUSES!
~
HITHER, O MUSES! ~
We are Muddled Muse, a trans-inclusive sapphic-centred theatre company.
We are hungry for authentic, hopeful and joyful sapphic & FLINTA story-telling.
We want to see our lives reflected in the stories we hear and see, in a way that holds space for the mundane, for the playful, and the nuanced.
We aim to make theatre and host events that are
“by Sapphics, for Sapphics”
WHO ARE WE?
Bella Finlayson (she/ they) is a multidisciplinary artist, director and producer working at the intersection of performance and social justice. Their practice often centres on socially engaged projects with a particular focus on queerness, protest, and climate justice.
Bella holds a BA in Drama from the University of Exeter and has trained with National Youth Theatre and the Queer School of Live Art. They were part of Made In Bristol at the Bristol Old Vic, a theatre-making traineeship, and Elevate at acta Community Theatre, a scheme for theatre practitioners working in participatory and socially-engaged theatre.
Current projects include BOUND, a short film responding to Amnesty International’s report Under Protected and Over Restricted, to provide a feminist exploration of restricted bodies and protest through movement and dance. This was created in collaboration with the University of York and Arts Rights Truth and premiered in 2025 at Artivism Futures: Reimagining Human Rights Activism. Bella is also developing Swashbuckling through Muck with Shiverme Theatre, a family show exploring the transformative power of imagination and the importance of dreaming of alternative futures. This will be premiering at Fringe TheatreFest in June 2026.
They co-host the podcast Sappho Could’ve Yapped Here and host the monthly sell-out Sober Sapphic Pub Quiz at Cafe Kino.
Alongside their artistic practice, Bella works as a freelance Producerfor Super Culture, delivering festivals and large-scale public engagement projects including Whirligig, Arts and Health Festival, and Summer Circus Daze.
They also have worked as Drama Facilitator for 9 years, working with Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol Old Vic, Super Culture, Creative Youth Network, Unique Voices, Drama With Hannah Rose, Bristol Academy of Drama, Pauline Quirke Academy and Threefold Theatre.
Co-Artistic Director.
In house Director, Facilitator & Producer.
Nelly Weston (she/her) is a queer Playwright & Screenwriter based between Bristol and London, creating work that is introspective, textural, haunting and playful, with an aim to provide voice to the under-represented.
She has a First-Class Drama degree from the University of Exeter, graduated from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School with an MA in Drama Writing in 2024.
She was part of the BFI South West’s 2024 Queer Storytelling Cohort.
Her debut short film No Scrumping, produced alongside Welsh-based production company Uncut Films Wales, received 4 star reviews and was shortlisted for the Chapter Queer Film Prize (2026).
The film was also screened at Theatr Soar (May 2026), Horror Con UK (June 2026), The Actor’s Workshop - Rough Cut (June 2026), and Brecon Beacons Film Festival (June 2026).
Her play Dregs has had scratch performances at The Script’s The Thing, Dorchester (May 2025), The Lighthouse Poole’s Pipeline New Writing Festival (June 2025)
Her short radio play Don’t Leave Me This Way was aired on Arts & Culture Radio Station Reform Radio Manchester (June 2025).
She is the writer of Muddled Muse’s debut play Sappho Could’ve Bathed Here, which has had a staged-readthrough at Front Room WSM (November 2025) and is currently preparing to be R&D’d funded by Art’s Council England (September 2026)
Alongside Bella, she co-hosts the podcast Sappho Could’ve Yapped Here and the monthly sell-out Sober Sapphic Pub Quiz at Cafe Kino.
Co-Artistic Director.
In house Writer & Producer.