KA Report | HYSTERIA at the Golden Goose
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Alexandra Hart (2023 MSt Creative Writing) writes:
Between 18 and 22 November 2025, HYSTERIA played at the Golden Goose Theatre in Camberwell, London. Thanks to a generous grant by the Keble Association (KA), HYSTERIA was able to become a fully-staged production with complete set and costume.
The Golden Goose is an 85-seat theatre in the heart of Camberwell. HYSTERIA is an absurdist play set in an asylum out of time, exploring women’s experiences of mental health through five historical figures sharing one hospital ward. Will the women work out that they are all from different time periods? Will they find the escape they so desperately crave? HYSTERIA weaves court cases with cabaret, medications with music. But insanity is forever changing its definition…
The KA grant was used to design six costumes and a full set. The primary set comprised five wheeled hospital beds, each with a headboard reflecting the character’s era, which could be reconfigured to create shifting locations, alongside a mobile bath tub and piano that anchored key visual motifs. High quality set and costume were the foundations of HYSTERIA’s production values. Visually impressive and immersive designs solidified our status with the Golden Goose Theatre, key to the believability of the performance. Thanks to the KA grant, we were able to create period-appropriate, well-fitting costumes that elevated the standard of the production.
The opportunity as writer to have a fully produced, fully staged production in a London venue has been invaluable. This experience is crucial when applying for future placements. Beyond this, the opportunity to invite industry creatives to see my work was monumental in creating relationships with other venues for future productions.
Most importantly, a literary agent offered representation after attending the preview, a step that will shape the next phase of a writing career. Thanks to the KA, HYSTERIA became my send-off from Oxford into an industry that I have, for so long, been working towards. It achieved everything I hoped it to: exposure, representation, and collaboration. My gratitude to the Association is endless: whatever successes my career next achieves, I will have the KA to thank.
