Sipping mulled wine on a park bench wasn’t how Naomi Westerman imagined spending her 40th birthday. But at the time, tier 4 restrictions had just been announced in London, so an alfresco, socially distant toast with a friend was all she could manage. “I assume I would have probably had some kind of big party with friends,” she says about what might have been. “But I still saw one of my best friends, and we managed to have a quiet little celebration. It would have been nice to have been able to go to the theatre though.”
Westerman is a playwright by trade – a graduate of the Criterion playwriting programme and Graeae’s Write to Play training scheme for disabled writers. And her past year has been nothing like she imagined it would be. She began writing five years ago, while she was studying for a PhD, researching female mental health, and working part-time at the Natural History Museum. A local theatre in Ipswich picked up her first play, and she later won acclaim at Vault Festival for her second, which The Stage called one of the hits of the festival. Before lockdown was called, she’d been shortlisted for an award and was in talks with a West End theatre.
“It’s been a slow but steady climb upwards,” Westerman says about her writing career. “I’ve not had my first major production yet, but I’ve consistently worked and I’ve not had any major setbacks [apart from Covid-19, of course]. Getting that call [from the West End] felt like a crazy dream.”
With UK theatres closed under lockdown, she explored other avenues, working as a tutor in English and poetry for secondary school children. She’s also working on her first TV show and is commissioning 12 working class, emerging playwrights from diverse backgrounds for a monologue series that she hopes will also make it to TV. In many ways, she thinks the pandemic has offered her new career opportunities that might not otherwise have come about.
“It’s meant TV people, for example, have had more time,” she says. “I met up (digitally) with a wonderful TV development executive who is very passionate about championing disabled talent and is now working with me to develop this TV show. I’m not sure whether they would have had the time to reach out to quite unknown playwrights if we weren’t in a pandemic. That’s definitely been a silver lining.”
Westerman has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disorder that affects the connective tissue and causes frequent joint dislocations, mobility issues, extreme fatigue, and migraines. One thing she has been looking forward to is throwing a belated 40th birthday party. She has a Hong Kong-style speakeasy in London’s Chinatown in mind, which serves flamboyant cocktails, and is aiming to save £400 to put some money behind the bar. “I just want to celebrate everything – that things are getting back to normal, that we have a vaccine, that the world didn’t end, that theatre didn’t end … just all get together and raise a glass,” she says. She’ll be ordering a dark and stormy at the bar – “that or an espresso martini”.
Westerman lost a lot of her income over the past year and has had some unforeseen expenses. Saving hasn’t been easy. But having something to aim for, that she’ll be able to make happen, is keeping her focused. “It has been much tougher than normal, but I am making a concerted effort. I’ve been trying to be a bit more careful about those small purchases – coffees and takeaways, that kind of thing. I’m about halfway there.”
Jill Waters, NS&I’s retail director says: “The interval curtain is about to be raised on Westerman’s exciting plans, not just to celebrate her 40th birthday in style, but to embrace her playwright and TV writing career. Holding back on those small incidental impulse purchases can quickly help save for Act Two and bring the house down.”
As well as her party, Westerman says she’s most looking forward to getting back to the theatre and seeing her gang of playwright friends, many of whom live in the Midlands. “We met on a disabled playwright programme and would usually meet up a few times in the year. No one in history has ever looked forward to getting on a train to Wolverhampton this much,” she laughs. “I can’t wait to see all of my friends’ cancelled shows. And eating in a restaurant. Eating food I didn’t cook myself or have delivered.”
There’s some apprehension about what life is going to look like post-pandemic. So far, she’s met up with more local friends for a picnic in the park and has been doing a lot of swimming – in a heated outdoor pool this time. She’s certainly realised the importance of friendship over the past year and hopes there will be a long-term shift in priorities for the future. “I’ve missed my friends much more than I’ve missed anything else,” she says. “Before Covid-19 everyone was always so busy, it was difficult to get people together. Are we going to go back to that? Or are we going to make time for each other? The thought of having all the people I love in a room together again has really kept me going.”
Having something joyful to save towards can make putting money aside easier. Start saving for a sunny day with the help of NS&I. Visit nsandi.com for more information
