Previous Projects

Applied Stories is the brainchild of playwright and producer Fin Kennedy. The company pulls together 20 years' of Fin's experience across theatre, education, radio and digital media, and encapsulates his philosophy that stories can change the world.

Fin Kennedy started as an award-winning playwright of theatre and radio whose plays are regularly produced in the UK and abroad. Alongside writing, Fin teaches, blogs, campaigns, fundraises and dramaturgs and mentors other writers - with a particular focus on culturally diverse theatre artists, and  young people's projects in London's East End. 

From 2013-2021 Fin was Artistic Director of touring theatre company Tamasha.

Fin's first play Protection was produced at Soho Theatre in 2003, where he was also Pearson writer-in-residence. His second play How To Disappear Completely and Never Be Found won the 38th Arts Council John Whiting Award and has been produced around the world. 

Fin’s first play for teenagers, Locked In was produced by Half Moon Young People’s Theatre in 2006 and 2008 and toured nationally, the first in a long track record of writing for young people. More recently, Life Raft for Bristol Old Vic Young Company, has been translated into German and French for use in schools across Europe.

From 2006-2014 Fin was writer-in-residence at Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, where he co-founded Mulberry Theatre Company (MTC), for whom he has written seven plays which premiered in Edinburgh and London. MTC’s 2009 production of The Unravelling made history when it was awarded a Fringe First from the Scotsman – the first time a school has ever received this accolade. 

Fin’s plays for Mulberry are published in two volumes by Nick Hern Books and are regularly produced by other schools, contributing to a canon of diverse parts for the UK’s young people. Fin now lectures and trains other writers in working in this embedded way within inner city communities.

At Tamasha, Fin founded Tamasha Playwrights, a writer-led collective and agency of diverse playwrights-for-hire, which has launched numerous careers.

As Artistic Director he produced and dramaturged the 2013 national tours of My Name Is by Sudha Bhuchar, and 2015’s national tour of Blood by Emteaz Hussain, the award-winning Made In India by Satinder Chohan (Belgrade Coventry, 2017), Approaching Empty by Ishy Din (Kiln Theatre/Live Theatre Newcastle 2019), I Wanna Be Yours by Zia Ahmed (Paines Plough, 2019), and touring audio installation Under The Mask by Shaan Sahota (Oxford Playhouse, 2021).

Fin is creator or co-creator of various innovative Tamasha community projects including Taxi Tales (ARC Stockton, BBC 2), Hear Me Now (RichMix/Ovalhouse/RADA) and Leila & Justice, Inc. (Barbican Box 2018). Fin also set up emerging producers’ training scheme IGNITE, which saw four productions in its first year from first time producers based across seven regional venues.

While at Tamasha Fin founded Tamasha Digital, and piloted numerous innovative digital project formats. These included interactive smartphone adventure We Are Shadows: Brick Lane with Coney (2019), audio drama series Decolonising History for SOAS University of London (2019), a package of remote workshop resources for schools about internet safety, The Power of Persuasion (Bloomsbury’s Drama Online, 2021) and new podcast series Out Of The Woods: New Plays from the Balkans (2021).

Fin also writes for radio and has had eight Afternoon Plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4 including The Good Listener, a returning series set inside Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and On Kosovo Field, a collaboration with musician PJ Harvey.

Fin’s new venture, Applied Stories, uses site-specific audio drama in education and community settings, to foster positive social change. 

Get in touch: fin@appliedstories.co.uk