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Roots was created by local lifestyle TikToker Sophie Ashcroft, an aspiring actor and television presenter, while studying drama in Manchester.
After the game’s Salford debut in April 2026, Miss Ashcroft said she “had to” bring it with her when she returned to her native Middlesbrough.
She said she took inspiration from her own life, weaving in stories from friends and family in the area.
Ashcroft’s characters are based on her own family and friends in the area who support her recent theatrical endeavours. (Image: Sophie Ashcroft)
Roots was originally designed as a television pitch, but after seeing the number of plays in Manchester, Miss Ashcroft adapted his script for the theatre, creating her first stage play alongside her classmates.
After workshopping alongside more experienced playwrights and stage actors, the play debuted at the Kings Arms in Salford.
Miss Ashcroft said she had no theater experience but was determined to showcase her North East heritage on stage:
“I thought, ‘let’s just go for it, wing it and see what happens.’
It was awesome, and most of the audience on the second night was my family and they all loved it.
The play mainly follows siblings Mia and Daniel as they are influenced by their environment, she said, with Daniel’s story involving a descent into crime and violence.
Miss Ashcroft said the characters’ stories were inspired by people she knows and experiences who are common in Middlesbrough.
She added: “You’re really taken on a journey with them, but around them you have the family, and all these different, brilliant, wacky characters who are just crazy and so chaotic.”
The Teesside influencer said the play explores the “real, tough” side of life in Middlesbrough while showing how the community rallies in difficult times.
“There is a problem, and I think Middlesbrough is neglected, and it’s so easy to be negative,” Miss Ashcroft said, adding: “I’m going to touch on a lot of traumatic and upsetting things that have happened and kind of the bigger side of what’s happening in family life.
“But I also want to show the warm side, and the heartfelt side of how families come together.”
Miss Ashcroft said the comedy runs alongside themes of family drama and youth violence, showing two sides of her hometown.
The Teesside Tiktoker compared the production to Shameless or Top Boy.
Roots made its theater debut in Salford, Greater Manchester in April, with creator Sophie Ashcroft bringing it to Middlesbrough following her return to the North East. (Image: @sophie.ashcroftxx instagram)
She said almost everything in the play is based on true stories, with some details adapted for the stage.
Miss Ashcroft said: “I’d be sitting with my mum and her roommates, and the stories they were telling, they were just such characters, and they were just so funny. And I thought, ‘I’ve got to write about you’.”
“I think I’ve definitely taken inspiration from them and been inspired by what it’s like growing up on Teesside.
“Everybody is just a person. It’s everybody’s first time life.
“Life is crazy sometimes. I think I really want to show that everyone is normal and we’re all the same.”
Roots will have its first North East run early next year, with Ashcroft hoping to stage it at Middlesbrough’s Little Theater Club.
Miss Ashcroft hopes to tour the production around Middlesbrough venues and has changed the play for Teesside, adding 20 minutes to its running time.
Ashcroft said casting for Roots is still ongoing, but she has been “overwhelmed” with interest and support following an appeal for actors. (Image: Sophie Ashcroft)
They held auditions in the summer but attracted little interest.
Since publishing a new appeal for local stakeholders in early October, she said she has been “overwhelmed” by the interest and support, and has received over 60 applications.
She said: “Everyone has just been so lovely and so supportive, all ages have reached out to me.
“Definitely through this group of people we will find our cast.
“I think these things just take time, and I want it to be authentic, real, relatable.”
The Middlesbrough production will be directed by Jessica Robson, founder of North East talent agency Tidal Talent, as casting continues.
Updates on Roots are available on social media from Sophie Ashcroft.
She said she “can’t wait” to thank the public for supporting the project.
