The Making of a Monster

A grime-theatre mash-up

Too black for my white friends, but too white for my Black friends. Growing up mixed race in Newport, I fell into a cloud of grey.

Absent Black father, ducking the police, working out what it means to be a man. I was struggling to find my place in the world and in danger of spiraling out of

control. Then one moment changed my life.

Created from grime culture and inspired by Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Skepta and Kano, The Making of a Monster is Connor’s true story.

Connor is the newly appointed Children’s Laureate of Wales (2021-2023). Since graduating from Trinity Saint David as an Actor, he has worked with companies such as Sherman Theatre, Tin Shed Theatre and National Theatre Wales.

He is a member of National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and was also the winner of TriForce’s Cardiff MonologueSlam, representing Wales at the London winner’s edition. As a writer he was a member of the BBC Wales Welsh Voices and The Welsh Royal Court writing groups and has written for BBC Wales, BBC Radio 4, Sherman Theatre, Literature Wales and Dirty Protest.

Connor’s work is heavily inspired by elements of his own life such as grief, love, masculinity, identity, and ethnicity. Most recently he was longlisted for the 2020 Wales Writer in Residence, won the 2021 Rising Star Wales Award and was a Jerwood Live Work Fund recipient in 2021. He is associate artist of his hometown theatre The Riverfront in Newport.