Kwakzalver
An 18th Century black comedy about sex, resurrection and knowing what to believe in when everything is fake
Written for the HighTide /Jerwood Writer’s Group 2025
MENTOR | Kelly Jones
1774. An ambitious Dutch physician arrives in East Anglia to spread the word about resuscitation, but his mission is hijacked by a captivating Fenwoman who has some astonishing claims of her own.
A black comedy about what we put our faith in now truth no longer exists…
EXTRACT SHOWCASE | 20 Feb 2026 Soho Theatre, 21 Feb 2026 The New Wolsey Theatre
MOODBOARD
WRITER
JULIE MAYHEW is a journalist turned actress who started writing scripts to take to the Edinburgh Fringe when she couldn’t find enough brilliant (or funny) roles for women.
She was part of the inaugural Headlong Writers Group, wrote KWAKSALVER on the 2025 HighTide/Jerwood Writers Group and wrote THE FLETTON RAILWAY CHILDREN for Eastern Angles, which opened The Undercroft performance space in her hometown Peterborough.
Beyond theatre, her Radio 4 plays have been twice nominated for best drama at the BBC Audio Drama Awards, and as a novelist, she’s written four Carnegie-nominated books for young adults and two literary thrillers published internationally by Bloomsbury.
In features, she has BFI Network backing for her comedy biopic SKATING FOR LADIES and is developing her directorial debut TEMPLE VEIL with Torino Film Labs.
Reviews of Julie's previous workPraise for RECRUITMENT STARS
“Bursting with ideas, energy and a healthy dose of sass” - The List
“Recruitment Stars shouldn’t work but it does – brilliantly… An infectious, savvy and very funny show” - Culture Wars
Praise for THE FLETTON RAILWAY CHILDREN
“Utterly charming and compelling” - Evening Telegraph
“The themes brought out in Julie Mayhew’s adaptation… gently reposition the original’s cheerful didacticism as an examination of a time of change, both for people and for their communities” **** 4 stars - The Stage
Listen to Julie’s Radio 4 play THE ELECTRICAL VENUS, which was nominated for Best Drama at the BBC Audio Drama Awards. This immersive coming-of-age story also had an 18th Century backdrop…
Click on the image to listen…“The story was sweet and simple; the wit, language and atmosphere flipped it up into a higher space, twirling like a trapeze artist through sparkling air. And the mental pictures! Just amazing… Also interesting was the decision to cast actors with the same characteristics as the people they were playing: a mixed-race actor playing the mixed-race Mim, a one-armed actor playing the one-armed Alex, and so on. I like the idea of all that effort, that authenticity, for something we don’t see. We sense it instead”
- Miranda Sawyer, The Observer (The New Review)
Read a short extract of KWAKZALVER…
Click on the arrow to expand in the top right corner to expand…