Key details
Stephen Saleh
Postgraduate Researcher
Stephen Saleh is a writer, playwright and filmmaker whose work explores the intersections of history, myth and the metaphysical. A former IT professional, he began his creative career in 2019 with the publication of Dark Lines of London. Since then, he has written and directed various stage productions, including the award winning A Plague on Both Their Houses, and produced his first short film, E11ven. He holds an MA in Creative Writing and is completing a PhD on the use of alchemical elements in historical-fiction screenwriting. His latest book, Stagg’ring Verse was published in November 2025.
Awards
Outstanding Achievement and Best Creative Project BA Creative Writing 2022 University of Greenwich
Research / Scholarly interests
My research explores how the screenplay can function as a symbolic and philosophical artefact within a Practice-Based Research (PBR) framework. Drawing on alchemical theory, I am investigating how screenwriting can embody processes of transformation, liminality, and individuation, with the project centred on an original screenplay, The Alchemical Supper, which engages historical figures such as John Dee and William Shakespeare in ritualised dialogue across non-linear time and symbolic space. My work will contribute to debates around screenwriting as research, the metaphysical potential of the narrative form, and the screenplay not merely as a blueprint but as a site of epistemological activity. My research has already resulted in the publication of the hybrid novel/script Stagg'ring Verse, which is now being adapted as a radio drama, and future outcomes may include both creative and critical publications, presentations, and potentially a practice-led model of screenwriting that draws on esoteric and psycho-spiritual frameworks. My research provides a space for interdisciplinary dialogue between creative writing, philosophy and historical fiction, while also developing new ways of understanding the screenplay as a dynamic, self-reflexive form capable of generating knowledge through artistic process.