(Image: Sophie Ashcroft)
A new stage play based on the creator's "gritty" upbringing is coming to a North East stage next year.
Roots was created by local lifestyle TikToker Sophie Ashcroft, an aspiring actor and television presenter, while she was studying drama in Manchester.
After the play's Salford debut in April 2026, Miss Ashcroft said she "had to" bring it with her upon returning to her native Middlesbrough.
She said she took inspiration from her own life, weaving in stories from friends and relatives in the area.
Ashcroft's characters are based on her own family and friends in the region, who are supportive of her recent theatre endeavours. (Image: Sophie Ashcroft)
Roots was originally devised as a television pitch, but after seeing the number of plays being shown in Manchester, Miss Ashcroft adapted her script for 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 theatre 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 brilliant, and most of the audience's 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 featuring a descent into crime and violence.
Miss Ashcroft said the characters’ stories were inspired by people she knows and experiences common in Middlesbrough.
She added: "You're really taken on a journey with them, but around them you've got the family, and all these different, brilliant, wacky characters that are just crazy and so chaotic."
The Teesside influencer said the play explores the “real, harsh” side of life in Middlesbrough while showing how the community rallies in hard times.
“There is a problem, and I think Middlesbrough does get neglected, and it's so easy to be negative,” Miss Ashcroft said, adding: "I am going to touch on a lot of traumatic and upsetting things that have happened, and sort of show that grittier side of what happens in families' lives.
"But I also want to show that warm side, and heartfelt side of how families do come together."
Mis Ashcroft said comedy runs alongside themes of family drama and youth violence, showing both sides of her hometown.
The Teesside Tiktoker has likened the production to Shameless or Top Boy.
Roots made its theatre debut in Salford, Greater Manchester in April, with creator Sophie Ashcroft bringing it to Middlesbrough upon 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 sat with my mum and her mates, and the stories that they'd tell, they were just such characters, and they were just so funny. And I thought, 'I need to write about you'.
"I think I've definitely taken inspiration from them, and took inspiration from what it is like growing up in Teesside.
"Everyone is just a person. It's everyone's first time living.
"Life is crazy sometimes. I think I do just really want to show that everyone is normal and we are all the same."
Roots will have its first North East run early next year, with Ashcroft hoping to stage it at Middlesbrough’s Little Theatre 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 the casting for Roots is still ongoing, but she has been "overwhelmed" with interest and support following an appeal for actors. (Image: Sophie Ashcroft)
She held auditions in the summer but attracted little interest.
Since releasing a new appeal for local actors in early October, she said she has been "overwhelmed" by the interest and support, receiving over 60 applications.
She said: "Everyone has just been so lovely and so supportive, all ages reaching out to me.
"Definitely through that group of people, we are going to 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 about Roots are available on Sophie Ashcroft’s social media.
She said she “can't wait” to thank audiences for supporting the project.