Do you ever dream about being in a house that isn’t yours? I do, and often. The one that returns most, and has for decades, is set in a large, empty apartment where I’m completely alone. It’s full of shadowy corners and strange, Escher-like staircases and lifts that lead nowhere or arrive at unexpected floors.
Last night, in that unfamiliar space, I painted the walls. I chose bold colours, added artwork, layered in luxurious details. I made it mine. When I woke up, I felt quite smug, before remembering it hadn’t been real.
But also remembering that it kinda is. I am living my dream.
That dream, you see, is closely tied to my waking life now. Last autumn I bought a slightly neglected one-bedroom flat in Baron’s Court, a lovely part of West London/ North Fulham, and I’ve been slowly handing it back its mojo (and saving it from the ignominy of renters magnolia and lino). It’s a blank canvas for me, somewhere I can pour all my creative energy. I don’t have much money, so the work happens gradually, piece by piece—but it’s becoming mine, and the satisfaction of that is immense. I feel I want to exhibit it.
That same creative momentum has begun to spill into other parts of my life too—my writing, my painting, even the way I organise my days.
So here are some Before pics and some, if not quite After pics, some ‘getting there’ images.
BEFORE
AND NOW the Getting Theres:
There’s still a great amount of work to do, and I have workmen coming over the next few months to deal with that which baffles me – plumbing, tiling, electrical stuff and carpentry, but the vibe is nailed down now.
Don’t mind the mess…
Painting my kitchen yellow, ceiling and all (and me, apparently).
So, expect more of these as i go on this renovation journey. I might even do a video!
From Ireland, Sue Healy is Literary Manager at the Finborough Theatre, London, a full-time Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Creative Writing at the University of Lincoln. "70 Years At The Court" is her upcoming book, due to be published in 2026 by Methuen Drama, which she is co-writing with Prof. Harriet Devine. Her previous book "The Literary Manager's Toolkit" is on theatre literary management is published by Routledge (2023).
Sue is an award-winning writer for stage, TV, and prose writer.
TV
Her current project, a 6x60minute TV series, is under option. She is under commission with Lone Wolf Media, producers behind PBS’ “Mercy Street”, to co-write the pilot and treatment for a six-part TV series.
Stage
Her most recent stage-play, Imaginationship (2018), enjoyed a sold out, extended run at the Finborough and later showed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Her previous stage productions include Cow (Etcetera Theatre, 2017) and Brazen (King’s Head Theatre, 2016), funded by Arts Council England. Sue’s short plays have been performed at the Criterion (Criterion New Writing Showcase), Arcola (The Miniaturists) and Hackney Attic (Fizzy Sherbet Shorts).
Radio
Her radio work includes nine plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (Opening Lines winner), WLRfm and KCLR96fm.
Prose
Sue has won The Molly Keane Award, HISSAC Prize, Escalator Award, Meridian Prize and has been published in nine literary journals and anthologies including: The Moth, Flight, Tainted Innocence, New Writer, Duality, HISSAC, New European Writers. She has been writer-in-residence on Inis Oírr, Aran Islands, and at the Heinrich Boll Cottage on Achill Island. She has also benefitted from annual artist residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, and at Ginestrelle, Assisi in Italy.
An academic with a PhD in modern theatre history, specifically the Royal Court Theatre, Sue has presented her research internationally. She spent eleven years in Budapest, editing Hungary A.M. She has a PhD in modern theatre history (Royal Court Theatre) and is a UEA Creative Writing MA alumna.
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