Seeta is a writer, stand-up comedian and voice actor originally from Bradford, now living in Leeds. She reached the semi-finals of BBC New Comedy Awards in 2021, and she has been selected for the BBC Comedy sponsored 2025 Female Pilot Club initiative for her sitcom script BD5 Girls. Her debut play, A Proper Merry Christmess – a Red Ladder Theatre production co-written with playwright Leon Fleming – opens in November.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and why you became a stand-up?

I did an English Lit degree and my plan was always to write after I finished uni. I had a highly romanticised idea of what this would be like and instead ended up doing marketing, which was the only place where I could do some writing and get paid. I worked in marketing for about 10 years and then in 2019 work was really busy and I thought ‘there needs to be more to life than just work’. I wanted to do something just for me and I thought about doing stand-up comedy. I had a friend who had done a stand-up course and thought maybe I should have a go too. The idea was to push myself out of my comfort zone and scare myself. So I did a stand-up comedy course in Leeds and started doing stand-up at the beginning of 2020. I did three gigs and then the whole world shut down. I did an online gig which was awful, it was a bit like me doing a monologue to my own face. All I could see was me and loads of disinterested people in their own living rooms with their microphones off, so you couldn’t even hear anyone laughing. But I did some more gigs and then I got through to the semi-finals of the BBC new comedy awards which were televised on BBC 1 and BBC Three. It was literally my 50^th gig and I was on the BBC. I never had a plan or a goal. I wanted to do a bit of stand-up and everything that’s happened since has been unexpected and wonderful.

How did you end up also being a playwright and screenwriter?

My motto is ‘give it a go and see what happens’ and I saw Red Ladder had posted about this writing course that Cheryl Martin [Red Ladder’s artistic director] was running. I’d never written a play before but I just went along to see what was involved and to understand it a bit. I was really nervous about sharing my work because I was very aware that I was the least experienced person in the room. I read out a monologue I’d written and it was really well received which surprised me. Afterwards Cheryl asked to meet up for a coffee and a week or so later we met up at Leeds Playhouse and she said ‘I’d like to commission you to be one of the writers for our next play.’ I couldn’t believe it. I said ‘you know I’ve never written a play before?’ and she said ‘I know, but you’re a really good writer and that’s the most important thing.’ This gave me a massive confidence boost and I then sent off my sitcom idea for BD5 Girls to the Female Pilot Club, made up of female writers who work in TV. But I would never have done that if it hadn’t been for Red Ladder.

Did you know about Red Ladder before you did the writing workshop?

I’d seen a couple of social media posts that friends had shared and they seemed like an interesting theatre company. I also helped facilitate stand-up comedy workshops for women at Theatre In The Mill in Bradford and through this I began hearing more about Red Ladder. I feel it’s opened a door into this whole theatre landscape that I was probably aware of but hadn’t been really engaged with before.

Do you come from a family that was really into arts and culture?

I’m from a working class family in Bradford and we didn’t have money for anything cultural. But we’re quite a dramatic family and me and my sisters would write our own little plays – the kind of things you force your parents to sit through! We were always acting out things or making up games. But I was probably the only one that really loved reading books when I was growing up. I think books helped focus me a bit and channel my energy, and writing came off the back of that.

What’s the biggest difference between writing for stand-up and writing a play?

A lot of my stand-up is influenced by my life, whereas the play is different. I have my marketing head on when I’m writing it and I’m thinking ‘how do I make this appeal to people in a way that feels really authentic and relatable?’ With my stand-up I talk about my background, being of mixed heritage and growing up in Bradford with no money, so I have to bring audiences on a journey with me and I’ve figured out how to do that. But with the theatre I’m thinking ‘who is this going to resonate with?’ and ‘what is the purpose of this story and how will it affect the audience?’

What’s it been like co-writing a play, and do you enjoy the collaboration process?

One of the things I always try to do, and this goes back to my marketing days when I led teams and worked with a lot of different stakeholders, is to figure out the best way of working with someone. And that’s what I’ve done here. I think me and Leon really complement each other.

What are you most looking forward to about working on A Proper Merry Christmess?

Lots of things, but I’m looking forward to the casting. I think the characters are really clear so I’m looking forward to the actors bringing them to life. I also get nervous thinking about the first night and being sat there with the audience, but I’m just really excited about seeing my words being brought to life.

A Proper Merry Christmess opens in November

Main image credit: Andy Hollingworth