Polka Theatre has revealed the cast and creative team for Dweeb-A-Mania, winner of the inaugural Polka Playwriting Award.
Running in Polka’s Adventure Theatre from Saturday 4 October to Sunday 9 November 2025, Dweeb-A-Mania is a high-energy comedy for audiences aged 8–13.
Written by Sarah Middleton, the play follows best friends Kemi and Norah, self-proclaimed mega-nerds who are devastated when they’re snubbed from a wrestling-themed party. Determined to prove their coolness, they secretly train to become champion wrestlers and crash the party.
The cast includes Amy Blake (Brassic, Sky TV) and Chidera Ikechukwu (Waterloo Road, BBC) as Norah and Kemi. Grace Carroll and Wesley Ruthven make their professional stage debuts as Lily and Bentley.
The production is directed by Hannah Stone (Ruby’s Worry, Mishmash Theatre), with set and costume design by Katie Lias (Handbagged, National Theatre). Movement direction is by DK Fashola (Pig Heart Boy, Unicorn Theatre), and fight direction by Nora Iso-Kungas.
Composer and sound designer Ellie Isherwood joins the team alongside lighting designer Jane Lalljee (Tidy, Theatr Iolo).
Polka Artistic Director Helen Matravers said:
“I am so excited that Dweeb-A-Mania is coming to life at Polka, with this incredible cast and creative team. We are creating work for a pre-teen age group, so often overlooked in the sector, or so limited with their choice of theatre to explore. With this work we have genuinely included young people and their passions in the programming and telling of a totally new story. We enter a world of wrestling and nerdy joy and aren’t holding back in either, expect some high-octane wrestling moves and brain-tickling science to get stuck into. Dweeb-A-Mania is a play where every child is celebrated for their individuality and their creativity. Polka’s Playwriting judging panel laughed out loud – a lot – reading this play and it will entertain and empower in equal measure. I can’t wait for young audiences to sit ringside and find out who reigns champion of the wrestling ring in the end.”
The play was selected from over 80 submissions to the Polka Playwriting Award, funded by The Garek Trust and supported by Cockayne and the London Community Foundation. Methuen Drama, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, is the award’s publishing partner.
Sarah Middleton, a writer and actor from Derby, has previously written SHEWOLVES, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood, and Wilf Goes Wild. She is also the recipient of a Hosking Houses residency, Peggy Ramsay grant, and National Theatre Peter Shaffer commission.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
