Always on
This project successfully funded on 1st June 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
'Something Wicked' Short Film
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
A frustrated young actor has his pride and sanity challenged as he understudies an old classmate in a West End production of Macbeth.
"Everytime a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies..." - Norman Mailer
We are delighted to be working with the brilliant Peter Davison (Good Omens, The Gold, Doctor Who, The Last Detective), whose experience and quality will elevate our whole production.
A legend of british theatre, Hamish has since retired and made of himself a shrewd businessman. As chair of the play's production company, he wields significant power, and threatens to expose any vulnerabilities in the cast, or crew.
Jem was a performance prodigy in his school days. Now a jaded actor nearing thirty, he finally gets a role in a West End production - as the understudy to Macbeth.
However, Jem quickly realises that playing second string to the play’s charming but incompetent celebrity lead, Robin, won’t be easy - especially after Robin introduces himself as a former classmate.
Pride becomes jealousy, and jealousy becomes madness. The whispers of the mad Scottish king grow louder in Jem’s mind, spurring him to manipulate, betray, and force his way back to where he belongs... back into the light.
During the rehearsal period, Jem is pushed to the edge of the frame, obscured by others, insignificant in the shadow of Robin’s celebrity. But as we enter the theatre, we become increasingly immersed in his perspective.
In the vein of Inarritu's Birdman, we follow Jem tightly from his stuffy box of a dressing room, through busy, winding corridors, into the grand darkness and quiet of the backstage. Opening night looms. Robin proves himself vulnerable, Jem descends deeper into jealousy and frustration, and the tone shifts from darkly comic, to outright horrific.
The production itself is an avant-garde, expressionist interpretation of Macbeth - dark, abstract shapes, and stripped-back traditionalist costumes - much like Laurence Olivier’s unfinished 1950’s film, and most recently Joel Coen’s The Tragedy Of Macbeth (2021). This will give an other-worldly quality to the set design on stage, whilst the status indicators of traditional costuming will express power dynamics between our characters off-stage, as well as on.
Something Wicked is a story inspired by an ambition and envy symptomatic of a generation and society; constantly viewing and comparing one another’s achievements can foster a resentment for our peers, driven by pride and jealousy. Through Jem’s perspective, through his ultimate conceding to these feelings, and the wickedness it can drive us to, we as an audience can gain a twisted catharsis. The story’s backdrop of Macbeth emphasises these themes, reinforcing their relevance and the timeless nature of Shakespeare’s stories. It’s a tale as old as Icarus: it's what happens when we chase the light.
We want to tell this story in all its cynicism and satire of the modern theatre industry, but it also exists as a celebration of theatre. We want to provide our audience a window into the wonderful, electric chaos of theatre-making. Our director Charlie’s experience performing at the Hampton Hill Theatre has provided us a location to tell our story - the theatre has carved out a space for the local creative community to grow and collaborate. We are so excited for our production to become part of the Hampton Hill Theatre’s long history of storytelling, making a project that will stand as evidence of what can come out of our communities when they are provided with the chance to grow and create. This will be a product of amateur theatre and will not have been possible without it - therefore its members, stage managers and technicians, will be involved both in front of and behind the camera. Their work will live on screen - reflective of their experience at the theatre, now available to a whole new audience.
‘Something Wicked’ is an entirely independent production - indicative of the spirit of amateur theatre that fuels our film, as well as the crafts people bringing it to life - and as such, we are looking to raise our entire production budget here on crowdfunder.
Our budget carefully considers the importance of a range of disciplines, from set design to lighting, ensuring that all departments can contribute meaningfully to our film’s production of Macbeth. At the heart of this is our location: the Hampton Hill Theatre. We are thrilled to be collaborating with the theatre and its resident Teddington Theatre Club to realise our film, showcasing the incredible theatre and the work of its members while providing a fully immersive setting for our story to unfold within. Part of our budget will directly support the theatre, without whom this film would not be possible.
The theatrical nature of ‘Something Wicked’ demands a level of production that cannot be achieved without your support; any donation will be greatly appreciated and will go a long way to help us create something ambitious and exciting for audiences to discover. By supporting our film, you will also be directly supporting the development of a group of young filmmakers, providing an invaluable opportunity to hone our crafts and showcase our talents.
Charlie Lacey-Harrison
Writer / Director
Bournemouth Film School graduate Charlie Lacey-Harrison is an actor, camera assistant and director with credits in theatre, shorts and feature films. He most recently performed as part of Teddington Theatre Company's 'Boys', and worked as Camera Assistant on an upcoming feature film for Curzon Cinemas. His passion for and experience of both sides of the camera has inspired the creation of, and contiunes to provide him with invaluable insight for, 'Something Wicked'.
Ted Dracott
Producer
Ted Dracott is a short film and music video Producer who graduated from the Bournemouth Film School in 2024. Ted is a storyteller at heart with a broad interest in all genres and narrative forms, a quality reflected in his filmography. Ted's producer credits include the upcoming horror short 'Eve', currently in post-production, the award-winning ‘2240543592' and his graduation film 'Brumdog', which played at festivals around the world, including the BAFTA-qualifying British Urban Film Festival. Ted also works as a Production Assistant and Script Reader in Film & HETV.
Bee McLean
Producer
Bee is a young creative, producer working in and around London. Since graduating in 2024, their final university project, queer short film 'You Free Tonight' has been published to YouTube and has since amassed over 500,000 views. While expanding their knowledge on the arts, their current goal is making media accessible to all people, whether that be new material or pre-existing that benefits from extra accessibility aids, such as closed captioning and audio descriptions.
Casper Griffin
Director of Photography
Casper has worked across a wide range of film and television projects as part of the lighting and camera departments - including commercials for world-renowned rapper Central Cee, Andor Season 2, and a short film from the producers of Boiling Point. Amongst DOP’ing shorts, music videos and commercials, Casper's keen sense for lighting has earned him a retainership scheme for his work as a Gaffer.
Maya Mansfield
Costume Designer
Maya’s intricate, bold and inspired designs have lit up both stage and screen. Her work with period, modern and theatrical design, as well as her experience on set and backstage make her a perfect fit for the project. Another AUB graduate, Maya joins a team of frequent collaborators, having worked alongside both Ted and Charlie on several projects.
Josh Leech
Editor
After graduating Bournemouth Film School, Josh has continued to pursue his passion of editing and currently works as a technician in Post-Production Equipment Hire. His co-edit of graduation film, Requiem, premiered at the BFI Southbank as part of the Futures Film Festival earlier this year, as well as being nominated for BIFA-qualifying Sunrise Film Festival.
Chloe Hunkin
Events & Marketing
Chloe is an experienced events coordinator with a passion for bringing independent and emerging artists into the public sphere. After studying Law at the University of Bristol, she worked on the PR and events team for the arts and culture publication "Pen Licence". With a focus on increasing the visibility of great art, Chloe is excited to be part of the Something Wicked team. Alongside her marketing experience, she has acted alongside director Charlie Harrison in Teddington Theatre Company's production of "Boys."
Thank you for taking the time to check out our project! Please consider donating, follow our instagram linked below for fundraiser events, filming updates and insights into our production's process. Lots of love, the Something Wicked crew xx
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made