Jen Bites
@jenbitespeople.bsky.social
In Edinburgh. Director, playwright, librettist, acting coach & dramaturg. Possible revenant. Prone to biting. Site: www.jenmcgregor.com.
Pinned
Jen Bites
@jenbitespeople.bsky.social
· Oct 18
#ScottishTheatre starter pack! If you're a theatre professional in Scotland, comment to be added to it.
Bluesky doesn't have a centralised algorithm like Twitter, so if we want to find each other we have to repost/talk to each other. Likes alone won't cut it, so please share.
go.bsky.app/8WJHga9
Bluesky doesn't have a centralised algorithm like Twitter, so if we want to find each other we have to repost/talk to each other. Likes alone won't cut it, so please share.
go.bsky.app/8WJHga9
Day 1 of being on a job in England means Worcestershire Sauce crisps at lunchtime. Walkers has one good flavour per county and for England that's the one.
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Day 1 of being on a job in England means Worcestershire Sauce crisps at lunchtime. Walkers has one good flavour per county and for England that's the one.
We're watching the del Toro Frankenstein and about 30 minutes in I can say with confidence that this was not worth closing the streets for. Overwrought yet underwritten, cartoonishly silly without being fun. What a waste of an abundance of resources.
November 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
We're watching the del Toro Frankenstein and about 30 minutes in I can say with confidence that this was not worth closing the streets for. Overwrought yet underwritten, cartoonishly silly without being fun. What a waste of an abundance of resources.
Having drained Shudder dry, we're now revisiting Heretic. I enjoyed the hell out of Hugh Grant's performance when we saw it in the cinema, and it's holding up on rewatch.
an older man wearing glasses and a striped shirt
Alt: Hugh Grant in Heretic
media.tenor.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Having drained Shudder dry, we're now revisiting Heretic. I enjoyed the hell out of Hugh Grant's performance when we saw it in the cinema, and it's holding up on rewatch.
Reposted by Jen Bites
Pumpkins 2025.
with @jenbitespeople.bsky.social. ...
HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone. ...
#Halloween #Pumpkins
with @jenbitespeople.bsky.social. ...
HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone. ...
#Halloween #Pumpkins
October 30, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Pumpkins 2025.
with @jenbitespeople.bsky.social. ...
HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone. ...
#Halloween #Pumpkins
with @jenbitespeople.bsky.social. ...
HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone. ...
#Halloween #Pumpkins
I'm a monster. This is me.
October 28, 2025 at 10:53 PM
I'm a monster. This is me.
Ever since I saw Sinners back in the summer I've been looking forward to re-watching it in the run-up to Hallowe'en. We're watching it tonight and it's SO GOOD. Brilliantly made, instant classic, one that I know I'll revisit again and again. 2025 has been a banger of a year for vampires.
two men standing in front of a cloudy sky
Alt: The Smokestack Twins, their backs to the camera, watching the sun set under a moody sky.
media.tenor.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Ever since I saw Sinners back in the summer I've been looking forward to re-watching it in the run-up to Hallowe'en. We're watching it tonight and it's SO GOOD. Brilliantly made, instant classic, one that I know I'll revisit again and again. 2025 has been a banger of a year for vampires.
Reposted by Jen Bites
My friend’s neighbor’s house fell off its foundation (old steel structure collapsed), and they just did the funniest thing.
October 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM
My friend’s neighbor’s house fell off its foundation (old steel structure collapsed), and they just did the funniest thing.
Theatrical equivalent: In the 15th year of my directing career, on my way to the final touring venue for my fourth sell-out show this year, I'd like to say a massive LOL You Were Wrong to the tutor on my undergrad who told me there's no point training women as directors as they just have babies.
books should have an anti-acknowledgements section where the author talks shit about all the people who fucked them over while they were trying to write the thing. not bc I personally want to write one but bc I love gossip
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
October 14, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Theatrical equivalent: In the 15th year of my directing career, on my way to the final touring venue for my fourth sell-out show this year, I'd like to say a massive LOL You Were Wrong to the tutor on my undergrad who told me there's no point training women as directors as they just have babies.
I picked up some extra work to cover the covid booster, went to book it and found out that the one that's available is one my immune system doesn't respond to. As in, not a bad response, just no response. The one I need is £200, not £100, and nobody knows when it'll be in stock, so I'm just fucked.
This is such a good point. I can't afford £100 for a covid booster. I could and would cheerfully pay £15 for one as I do flu. I also don't understand why so many aren't eligible for an NHS booster this year considering it didn't miraculously stop being covid over the summer
This makes me want to break things. If it's such a no-big (it actually is a big that fucking disabled me), and you're equating it to flu (again, not remotely like), then why aren't the prices comparable?
(They should be free but given that's not going to happen, well)
(They should be free but given that's not going to happen, well)
October 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I picked up some extra work to cover the covid booster, went to book it and found out that the one that's available is one my immune system doesn't respond to. As in, not a bad response, just no response. The one I need is £200, not £100, and nobody knows when it'll be in stock, so I'm just fucked.
I truly hate the way Scotrail handles Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central. If I ask for trains to Central I only want to see trains to Central, not to "Queen Street but we'll call it Central because you can walk/bus to Central from there". I'm disabled. It's not that simple. Just be accurate.
October 10, 2025 at 6:44 AM
I truly hate the way Scotrail handles Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central. If I ask for trains to Central I only want to see trains to Central, not to "Queen Street but we'll call it Central because you can walk/bus to Central from there". I'm disabled. It's not that simple. Just be accurate.
I keep seeing thinkpieces about why people don't post so much on social media any more and yes, some of it is toxicity and fear and greater awareness of our digital footprints - but it's also being over-busy, under-leisured, and subject to constant time pressure on everything. /1
October 7, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I keep seeing thinkpieces about why people don't post so much on social media any more and yes, some of it is toxicity and fear and greater awareness of our digital footprints - but it's also being over-busy, under-leisured, and subject to constant time pressure on everything. /1
It's 13c, not warm but not actually cold either. I have thermal leggings, 2 pairs of socks, thick jumper, compression gloves and scarf on, and I'm sandwiched between a hot water bottle and a heated blanket with another blanket on top. Yet my hands are icy cold. Thermodynamics is not the boss of me.
October 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
It's 13c, not warm but not actually cold either. I have thermal leggings, 2 pairs of socks, thick jumper, compression gloves and scarf on, and I'm sandwiched between a hot water bottle and a heated blanket with another blanket on top. Yet my hands are icy cold. Thermodynamics is not the boss of me.
Amidst all the enshittification, there are still the wonderful people who have been diligently uploading otherwise unobtainable episodes of 1970s TV horror onto YouTube and for these intrepid souls I will always be grateful.
October 4, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Amidst all the enshittification, there are still the wonderful people who have been diligently uploading otherwise unobtainable episodes of 1970s TV horror onto YouTube and for these intrepid souls I will always be grateful.
While we're on the subject please stop asking for 1 page CVs, particularly if you want to know about more than one aspect of my practice. I'm busy and multifaceted, I defy single-page explanation.
FFS arts organisations, if you want ambitious pitches give me a word count that allows for ambition. I can pitch you complex things that will blow your minds OR I can pitch you things you can easily grasp in 500 words, but not both.
September 29, 2025 at 11:09 AM
While we're on the subject please stop asking for 1 page CVs, particularly if you want to know about more than one aspect of my practice. I'm busy and multifaceted, I defy single-page explanation.
FFS arts organisations, if you want ambitious pitches give me a word count that allows for ambition. I can pitch you complex things that will blow your minds OR I can pitch you things you can easily grasp in 500 words, but not both.
September 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
FFS arts organisations, if you want ambitious pitches give me a word count that allows for ambition. I can pitch you complex things that will blow your minds OR I can pitch you things you can easily grasp in 500 words, but not both.
Thanks for coming Allan! Glad you liked it.
I really enjoyed 'The Glasgow Poisoner', this week's @playpiepint.bsky.social presentation at Oran Mor yesterday. Tom Cooper and @jenbitespeople.bsky.social's musical cleverly explores the story of Madeleine Smith, whose 19th Century murder trial ended with a Not Proven verdict.
September 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Thanks for coming Allan! Glad you liked it.
A few Edinburgh pals have told me they plan to catch the show at the Trav - but we're not doing the Trav, so it's Glasgow, Paisley or Ayr! So either catch it in one of those places, or pin your hopes on it coming back and finding an Edinburgh home in the future.
★★★★ Review: The Glasgow Poisoner – Witty, revisionist take on a Victorian murder case 👇
The Glasgow Poisoner review at Òran Mór, Glasgow
Read our review of The Glasgow Poisoner at Òran Mór, Glasgow: Witty, revisionist take on a Victorian murder case
www.thestage.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 9:46 PM
A few Edinburgh pals have told me they plan to catch the show at the Trav - but we're not doing the Trav, so it's Glasgow, Paisley or Ayr! So either catch it in one of those places, or pin your hopes on it coming back and finding an Edinburgh home in the future.
My Herald review of The Glasgow Poisoner, Tom Cooper & Jen McGregor’s musical
Oran Mor Glasgow until Sep 26 playpiepint.com/the-glasgow-...
Paisley Town Hall Oct 7 www.paisleytownhall.org/whats-on/a-p...
Ayr Gaiety Oct 15-16 thegaiety.co.uk/events/a-pla...
www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
Oran Mor Glasgow until Sep 26 playpiepint.com/the-glasgow-...
Paisley Town Hall Oct 7 www.paisleytownhall.org/whats-on/a-p...
Ayr Gaiety Oct 15-16 thegaiety.co.uk/events/a-pla...
www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
'A gothic confection with fabulous showtunes'
Theatre, The Glasgow Poisoner: A New Musical, Òran Mór, Glasgow. How to get away with murder? One answer to this age old driving force of pulp…
www.heraldscotland.com
September 24, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Jen Bites
It would be easy to post "beds are high-key slept on". It might even gain some traction, it's got the right words in the right order. But no, it would lessen us both - It would be as if we were chewing at the cud in the field, contented only by the thoughtless motion.
September 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM
It would be easy to post "beds are high-key slept on". It might even gain some traction, it's got the right words in the right order. But no, it would lessen us both - It would be as if we were chewing at the cud in the field, contented only by the thoughtless motion.
I see so many posters I don't much care for, but I really like the tag line on @scottishopera.bsky.social's Boheme poster. It's a fantastic cast (I would listen to Hye-Youn Lee sing anything) and I'm quietly devastated that I just signed a contract on a job that means I won't be in Scotland for it.
September 20, 2025 at 12:28 PM
I see so many posters I don't much care for, but I really like the tag line on @scottishopera.bsky.social's Boheme poster. It's a fantastic cast (I would listen to Hye-Youn Lee sing anything) and I'm quietly devastated that I just signed a contract on a job that means I won't be in Scotland for it.
Reposted by Jen Bites
www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/2547819... our musical, with book and lyrics by @jenbitespeople.bsky.social and music and lyrics by me, opens next week at Oran Mor, then tours.
Crime which scandalised Glasgow turned into new musical for city theatre
It was a court case which scandalised Glasgow and more than 160 years later, it still fascinates people today.Wealthy Victorian socialite Madeleine…
www.glasgowtimes.co.uk
September 19, 2025 at 12:05 PM
www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/2547819... our musical, with book and lyrics by @jenbitespeople.bsky.social and music and lyrics by me, opens next week at Oran Mor, then tours.
We're in the final stages of rehearsal and this is a truly stunning cast.
Sneak peek into a new musical based on a scandalous true crime from 19th century Glasgow 💀
Join us next week for The Glasgow Poisoner, as we try to work out once and for all - was the infamous Glaswegian socialite Madeleine Smith, innocent or guilty?
On at Òran Mór from 22-27 Sep. Don't miss out!
Join us next week for The Glasgow Poisoner, as we try to work out once and for all - was the infamous Glaswegian socialite Madeleine Smith, innocent or guilty?
On at Òran Mór from 22-27 Sep. Don't miss out!
September 19, 2025 at 9:57 PM
We're in the final stages of rehearsal and this is a truly stunning cast.
Hi @fedscottheatre.bsky.social and @scotsocplaywrights.bsky.social, I've added you both to the Scottish Theatre Starter Pack! Links pinned at the top of my page, the pack you're in is here: go.bsky.app/MeeNqsN
August 22, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Hi @fedscottheatre.bsky.social and @scotsocplaywrights.bsky.social, I've added you both to the Scottish Theatre Starter Pack! Links pinned at the top of my page, the pack you're in is here: go.bsky.app/MeeNqsN
If you'd like to give your unpaid labour on top of the registration fees & transaction fees you've already given, here's your opportunity to spare the Fringe the hassle of collating the abundant feedback people have been giving freely ever since this awful iteration of the site launched months ago.
We’re hosting some website feedback sessions to help develop the next iteration of edfringe.com, due for launch in time for #edfringe 2027.
Do you have any thoughts about the current website? Any features you’d like to see in the future? Let us know – more info 👇
www.edfringe.com/about-us/new...
Do you have any thoughts about the current website? Any features you’d like to see in the future? Let us know – more info 👇
www.edfringe.com/about-us/new...
August 20, 2025 at 10:53 AM
If you'd like to give your unpaid labour on top of the registration fees & transaction fees you've already given, here's your opportunity to spare the Fringe the hassle of collating the abundant feedback people have been giving freely ever since this awful iteration of the site launched months ago.
#EdFringe folk, were any of you at the AGM today and if you were can you tell me whether the motion threatening Keep It Fringe and Made In Scotland was defeated? I couldn't be there as I'm struggling physically today.
August 19, 2025 at 2:07 PM
#EdFringe folk, were any of you at the AGM today and if you were can you tell me whether the motion threatening Keep It Fringe and Made In Scotland was defeated? I couldn't be there as I'm struggling physically today.