Interview with 'Donut Drive'

In this interview, I had the great pleasure of doing an interview with one of the cast members, writer & director Finella Waddilove, about the upcoming production 'Doughnut Drive'. They have shared insights into what audiences can expect from this show, as well as the inspiration and hard work behind bringing this show to life.

How long was the development and rehearsal process, and how has it felt as the shows developed?

The development process has been since 2021 really, when Sarah asked me to write us a 2 min showreel scene! Then in 2023 I expanded it to 15 mins to submit to scratch nights. Then in April 2025 I started expanding it to a 1hr show!

It’s been so much fun to know these characters so well - it’s made that last part of the writing process, in terms of plot development, quite seamless - as I had a good idea on how Bex and Yaz would behave…As did Sarah!

Bex and Yaz have such a messy, loyal friendship. Were they inspired by anyone real?

Yes, I did draw on my own experiences … I was interested in how grief affects close friendships - how much responsibility do you have to show up for that person? I took inspiration from an event in my own life that surprised me - in terms of how I dealt with heavy conversations and how I thought I’d be better than I actually was. It created a really interesting inner conflict, and conflict between me and the other person.

You describe the show as Snatch meets Hot Fuzz, but through a female lens — what does that actually look like on stage?

Fast-paced mystery, FARCICAL mistakes, surprise, high stakes, crime and thrill.

There’s a real mix of tones in Doughnut Drive — comedy, crime, grief, and chaos. How do you keep all that balanced without losing the audience?

I guess by continually returning to the truth - what’s the core of the story? These two mates who love eachother but sometimes get it wrong. They have the best intentions but don’t always go about them in the best way. I just kept returning to those truths when the ‘genre’ overwhelmed me.

Bex runs a car dealership while being banned from driving — that’s such a funny detail. Where did that come from?

Well the first 2 min scene was Bex just telling Yaz she broke her driving ban and then figuring out what an earth to do … Then with 2025’s round of developing, I was wracking my brain thinking where Bex’s dad could have worked…Then it kind of all came together, the irony, the link with the cars, the ‘wheeler deeler’ Essexy feel of the job.

What first drew you to blending comedy, crime, and grief — three tones that

don’t often share the same stage space?

I always wanted it to be a crime - thriller. That was the stimulus I got from Sarah

initially for the showreel scene. And then as I was extending it, I wanted to delve into why she had a driving ban in the first place, and then why she decided to break it: which lead me on to asking, why do we do things we know we’ll regret? A lot of the time destructive behaviour is a by-product of struggle / pain… And the further I dived into that, the more the theme of grief came to the surface.

The friendship between Bex and Yaz feels both chaotic and deeply genuine. How did you go about capturing that kind of lived-in connection?

Again, they’re inspired by dynamics I’ve had in my own life. I’ve been dealt with

mental health issues both on the inside and outside, and both are really tricky to

navigate - especially with people who are the most close to you. Sarah is already my best friend so we’ve already got that chemistry together, but Bex and Yaz do feel different to us which is really satisfying.

Grief and mental health are central themes here, but so is the need to laugh

through disaster. How did you find that emotional balance in the writing and

performance?

Maybe that’s my coping mechanism? Exactly that - to laugh through disaster … My

dream is that people will be moved and find themselves cracking up - lump in

throat… There are plays I’ve seen that are for me just too intense emotionally (just

my taste) and I actually feel drained after. I guess I want people to just have a great time whilst being emotionally affected - so it’s about keeping that pace up, and to keep honouring the truth. Trying to steer away (pardon the pun) from ‘playing the laughs’.

The title is so distinctive — Doughnut Drive manages to sound both ridiculous and oddly poetic. How did you land on it?

Doughnuts feature frequently in the play - they’re YAZ’s favourite snack so she really tries to get one in her gob at every opportunity. Bex obviously breaks the driving ban. ‘Do not drive’ ‘doughnut drive’ ….. Kind of all came together ….

If there’s one takeaway you’d like the audience to leave with, what would it be?

 How much they’ve been missing female leads in this genre!!!

Doughnut Drive is playing at Drayton Arms Theatre from the 25th-29th November. Full information can be found via this link: https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/doughnut-drive