Gibraltarian playwright is ‘rising star’ with sell-out show in London

A sell-out play by Gibraltarian playwright Louis Emmitt-Stern closed in London last night as Time Out London, the definitive listings guide to culture and entertainment in the UK capital, described him as “a rising star” who is “worth a look”.

Mr Emmitt-Stern’s show formed part of the Vault Festival, one of the UK’s leading independent showcases, with four nights of performances of his original play held this week in the Cavern, a 100-seat theatre within the old train tunnels of Waterloo station.

Mr Emmitt-Stern started writing the play in 2020 in his home in Gibraltar during the pandemic.

A year and a half later, he picked up the idea again and provocatively titled his drama comedy ‘I F***ed You In My Spaceship’.

Over 400 actors applied to audition for the London show, with Mr Emmitt-Stern whittling this down to the final six.

The play ‘Spaceship’ sees two parallel love stories involving couples who invite a third person into their relationships, Mr Emmitt-Stern said.

The play deals with shifting relationship dynamics and feelings of alienation.

“It toys with the idea of invasion,” Mr Emmitt-Stern said.

“Abducting what’s there and blurring boundaries.”

He described the plot as dramatic but filled with laughter and comedy.

‘Spaceship’ has also been published by agents Nick Hern Books within an anthology of the five best plays from the Vault Festival.

He hopes people from Gibraltar who were unable to attend can read the play at home, and that the play will have a “life beyond the festival”.

Mr Emmitt-Stern has previously won the Soho Theatre Tony Craze Award (2021) for his play ‘Slippery’ and currently has other plays in the pipeline.