Plays: Volumes 1 to 5 plus new work.
Theatre plays 1983 - 1985
The Waiting Room - 1983 in a deserted railway station waiting room. A stranger waits, but is he waiting for a train or is there some other, more mysterious reason? Performed March 1983 in UK. Cast: 3m, 1F. One act. Running time approx: 60 minutes. (Look at the poster, yes it's true!)
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The Bond - Kick-started by certain scenes in Harold Pinter’s 'The Homecoming' on British television around 1984 and by regular trips to Manchester on the train to see my girlfriend in student accommodation, 'The Bond' sees the return from Australia of a man to a family of small-time crooks in England, claiming to be their long-lost brother. Neither we the audience nor they the family are quite sure if the man is who he says he is. When it comes to family, blood is always thicker than water, but must we take those family oaths to our graves? Cast: 3m, 1f. Two Acts. Running time approx 90 minutes.
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The Conformist - Growing up in Italy in the mid-1920’s, lonely and largely ignored by his wealthy parents, 13 year-old Marcello Clerici lives in a fantasy world. After accidentally shooting a chauffeur, Marcello determines to live as 'normal' a life as possible by adhering to the demands of Mussolini’s Fascism. Twenty years later, as Italy surrenders, he bumps into the chauffeur who hadn't died at all and realises how his entire life was built on a lie.The play was adapted from 'The Conformist' by Alberto Moravia and performed in 1985. Cast: 5m, 2f; Running time approx: 60 minutes. One act.
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London Cousins - It is the late 1980's and three young men, migrants to London, all from different parts of the UK - Scotland, North East England and Brighton – are brought together by fate, choice, coincidence and economic reality, their lives brushing almost imperceptibly against each other as they seek to redefine their identities in a rapidly-changing world. Barely conscious of who they are or what they seek, they surrender to the life-altering forces of the sprawling metropolis known as London. "London Cousins", based on real events, started life as an audition speech for the actor Steve Payne in 1988. Performed London 1990. Cast: 3m. One act; Running time: 60 minutes.
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1979 - 1979 was written in 1984-5 and concerns young school-leaver Graham as he tries to adjust to adulthood at the age of 16. With his working class background, limited education and narrow world view, he vows to reinvent himself and make some sense of the contradictory world he inhabits: the economic wasteland of the North East of England in Thatcher's Britain in the early 1980's. Unable to adjust quickly enough, he is 'sectioned' in a psychiatric hospital where he meets Emily and together they escape the unit and go off and build their own world. Featuring political rap songs and despite being written for a large cast, it can be performed with a stock group of 6-7 actors. It was work-shopped with Bruvvers Theatre Company in Newcastle in the spring of 1985. Cast: 7m, 4f. Running time 90 minutes. Two Acts.
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The Crossroads - is about a young man seeking a new direction in his life but temporarily trapped in a run-down hotel, with symbolic individuals permanently trapped in prisons of their own making. Cast: 6m, 2f. Two acts. Approx running time: 90 minutes.
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The Bond - Kick-started by certain scenes in Harold Pinter’s 'The Homecoming' on British television around 1984 and by regular trips to Manchester on the train to see my girlfriend in student accommodation, 'The Bond' sees the return from Australia of a man to a family of small-time crooks in England, claiming to be their long-lost brother. Neither we the audience nor they the family are quite sure if the man is who he says he is. When it comes to family, blood is always thicker than water, but must we take those family oaths to our graves? Cast: 3m, 1f. Two Acts. Running time approx 90 minutes.
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The Conformist - Growing up in Italy in the mid-1920’s, lonely and largely ignored by his wealthy parents, 13 year-old Marcello Clerici lives in a fantasy world. After accidentally shooting a chauffeur, Marcello determines to live as 'normal' a life as possible by adhering to the demands of Mussolini’s Fascism. Twenty years later, as Italy surrenders, he bumps into the chauffeur who hadn't died at all and realises how his entire life was built on a lie.The play was adapted from 'The Conformist' by Alberto Moravia and performed in 1985. Cast: 5m, 2f; Running time approx: 60 minutes. One act.
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London Cousins - It is the late 1980's and three young men, migrants to London, all from different parts of the UK - Scotland, North East England and Brighton – are brought together by fate, choice, coincidence and economic reality, their lives brushing almost imperceptibly against each other as they seek to redefine their identities in a rapidly-changing world. Barely conscious of who they are or what they seek, they surrender to the life-altering forces of the sprawling metropolis known as London. "London Cousins", based on real events, started life as an audition speech for the actor Steve Payne in 1988. Performed London 1990. Cast: 3m. One act; Running time: 60 minutes.
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1979 - 1979 was written in 1984-5 and concerns young school-leaver Graham as he tries to adjust to adulthood at the age of 16. With his working class background, limited education and narrow world view, he vows to reinvent himself and make some sense of the contradictory world he inhabits: the economic wasteland of the North East of England in Thatcher's Britain in the early 1980's. Unable to adjust quickly enough, he is 'sectioned' in a psychiatric hospital where he meets Emily and together they escape the unit and go off and build their own world. Featuring political rap songs and despite being written for a large cast, it can be performed with a stock group of 6-7 actors. It was work-shopped with Bruvvers Theatre Company in Newcastle in the spring of 1985. Cast: 7m, 4f. Running time 90 minutes. Two Acts.
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The Crossroads - is about a young man seeking a new direction in his life but temporarily trapped in a run-down hotel, with symbolic individuals permanently trapped in prisons of their own making. Cast: 6m, 2f. Two acts. Approx running time: 90 minutes.
Theatre plays 1997 - 2001
Harry's Dream - For Schools: Set in an imagined school playground, Harry’s Dream tells the story of a young bright boy whose healthy growth and schooling is upset by bullying classmate 'Killer'. Unsure what to do or who to tell and not wanting to resort to violence himself, Harry is on the point of despair when an alien spaceship crash-lands behind the bike sheds and out jumps a Green Girl. She hears about Harry’s predicament and, after repairing her engine, shows Harry how to fight bullies non-aggressively. First performed February 1997, it played 163 times. Cast: 2m, 1f. One act. Approx running time 50 minutes.
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My Brother Jake - For Schools: Mark, 13, worships his brother Jake, 17. Together the boys and their widowed Mum grow up in frugal conditions and battle for sense and identity against a background of social deprivation. But Jake is running before he has learnt to walk and when arrested for dealing, his secrets unravel in a series of events that incarcerate him and almost ruin the lives of those he loves most. 'My Brother Jake' was first performed in October 1997 at Durham. Researched with the help of Middlesbrough police’s Sgt. Brian Wilde and using thinking of that time to inform and educate young people to the consequences of their actions, the show was performed 35 times over two years to secondary school students aged 12 – 15. Cast: 2m, 1f. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act. Performed September 1997.
'Excellent. Very professional.' - Sergeant Brian Wilde, Middlesbrough Police
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Scars - For Schools: The end of another school day and the kids are being ferried home on the school bus. Suddenly there is an explosion of glass and a woman screams, clutching her face - somebody has thrown a bottle from the bus window. Three suspects are gradually filtered out in scenes and monologues exploring vandalism and small town life. Finally the culprit acts. 'Scars' was commissioned by Durham County Council to complement an awareness campaign following a number of dangerous incidents involving pupils on school buses. The storyline grew out of a number of true events. 'Scars' touches on complex issues such as young people’s attitudes, their relationships with adults and vandalism. It played 13 times. Cast: 3m, 1f. Approx running time 50 minutes. One act. Performed January 1998.
“Brilliant!” – Wolsingham School and Community College
“Excellent!” – Durham City Arts
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Eddie - For schools: Eddie, an 80-something ex-north eastern English miner and now widower, slowly packs his belongings with his adolescent grandson as he prepares to leave the council flat he has lived in for most of his life for a retirement home. Each object holds a memory. Through songs and stories it is an age that at first seems alien to our own and yet slowly becomes more tangible as we come to terms with the connected-ness of life. An affectionate look at the twentieth century based in part of the working life of the author's grandfather. Cast: 2m. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
Cyrano - For schools and families: A comedy based on 'Cyrano de Bergerac' by Edmond Rostand and 'Roxanne' by Steve Martin and updated to a contemporary north east English pub where a shy but renowned poet tries to guard his anonymity in order to fit in to his environment - until one day a new bar maid starts working in his favourite watering hole. Performed in UK September 2000. Cast: 3m, 1f, Two acts. Approx running time 90 minutes.
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The Key - Written entirely in verse, 'The Key' helps primary age children become aware of the dangers of bad decision-making in the world of household and legal drugs. It played 13 times. Cast: 2f, 1m. Approx runnign time 45 minutes. One act. Performed April 1999.
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Colours - 'Colours' 1999 is a reaction to racism and was inspired by the 1998 Stephen Lawrence Enquiry. It tells the fictional history of two races of people - one blue and one red - and their evolution, drawing parallels from human history. It played 35 times in 1998-1999.. Cast: 1m, 1f. Approx running time 40 minutes. One act.
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My Brother Jake - For Schools: Mark, 13, worships his brother Jake, 17. Together the boys and their widowed Mum grow up in frugal conditions and battle for sense and identity against a background of social deprivation. But Jake is running before he has learnt to walk and when arrested for dealing, his secrets unravel in a series of events that incarcerate him and almost ruin the lives of those he loves most. 'My Brother Jake' was first performed in October 1997 at Durham. Researched with the help of Middlesbrough police’s Sgt. Brian Wilde and using thinking of that time to inform and educate young people to the consequences of their actions, the show was performed 35 times over two years to secondary school students aged 12 – 15. Cast: 2m, 1f. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act. Performed September 1997.
'Excellent. Very professional.' - Sergeant Brian Wilde, Middlesbrough Police
. . .
Scars - For Schools: The end of another school day and the kids are being ferried home on the school bus. Suddenly there is an explosion of glass and a woman screams, clutching her face - somebody has thrown a bottle from the bus window. Three suspects are gradually filtered out in scenes and monologues exploring vandalism and small town life. Finally the culprit acts. 'Scars' was commissioned by Durham County Council to complement an awareness campaign following a number of dangerous incidents involving pupils on school buses. The storyline grew out of a number of true events. 'Scars' touches on complex issues such as young people’s attitudes, their relationships with adults and vandalism. It played 13 times. Cast: 3m, 1f. Approx running time 50 minutes. One act. Performed January 1998.
“Brilliant!” – Wolsingham School and Community College
“Excellent!” – Durham City Arts
. . .
Eddie - For schools: Eddie, an 80-something ex-north eastern English miner and now widower, slowly packs his belongings with his adolescent grandson as he prepares to leave the council flat he has lived in for most of his life for a retirement home. Each object holds a memory. Through songs and stories it is an age that at first seems alien to our own and yet slowly becomes more tangible as we come to terms with the connected-ness of life. An affectionate look at the twentieth century based in part of the working life of the author's grandfather. Cast: 2m. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
Cyrano - For schools and families: A comedy based on 'Cyrano de Bergerac' by Edmond Rostand and 'Roxanne' by Steve Martin and updated to a contemporary north east English pub where a shy but renowned poet tries to guard his anonymity in order to fit in to his environment - until one day a new bar maid starts working in his favourite watering hole. Performed in UK September 2000. Cast: 3m, 1f, Two acts. Approx running time 90 minutes.
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The Key - Written entirely in verse, 'The Key' helps primary age children become aware of the dangers of bad decision-making in the world of household and legal drugs. It played 13 times. Cast: 2f, 1m. Approx runnign time 45 minutes. One act. Performed April 1999.
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Colours - 'Colours' 1999 is a reaction to racism and was inspired by the 1998 Stephen Lawrence Enquiry. It tells the fictional history of two races of people - one blue and one red - and their evolution, drawing parallels from human history. It played 35 times in 1998-1999.. Cast: 1m, 1f. Approx running time 40 minutes. One act.
Theatre plays 2001 - 2004
Somebody Up There Likes Us - In a country of much water but little fertile land and the other of abundant crops but limited water, two border guards diligently guard the frontier between them. With no common language, they maintain a fragile peace punctuated by aggressive gestures and threats until one day an unidentified aircraft drops a small wooden box by parachute. Inside is a bottle that contains a very strange liquid. Somebody Up There was prophetically improvised with the author and a professional French theatre company between 10th - 12th September 2001 with the aim of bridging cultural gaps. Cast: 2m or 1m, 1f or 2f. Approx running time 50 minutes. One act.
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Le Petoman - Based loosely on the biography 'Le Petomane' by Frank Caradec and Jean Nohain, this is a two-act serious play with lots of comedic bits, rather than a comedy with serious bits. Le Petomane was aka Joseph Pujol, a real-life French baker who at the end of 19th century – as the British began displaying the Elephant Man in London - hit upon the idea of turning passing wind into an art form or a very ribald entertainment if nothing else, packing the Moulin Rouge out for years, proof positive that sophistication and crudity make strange bed-fellows! Performed in French May 2023. Cast: 3 f, 4m. Approx running time 90 minutes. Two acts.
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Pressure - For Schools: Released after ten months for good behaviour on a two-year sentence for drug dealing, 'Pressure' is a study of Jake after his release and a look at how pressure from former friends and negative contacts continue to tempt him back to the same path that caused his downfall. Intended as a follow-up to 'My Brother Jake' in Plays 2 it carries through certain references to the original but stands alone. It relies on an inner world of action rather than speech and silences in which outside interruptions create a menacing mood. The pressure to cope with that menace is also challenge for the audience. It is designed for teenage audiences or schools exploring drugs issues. Cast: 1m. Approx running time 45 minutes. One act.
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Space Station - On a dark and lonely hill outside of town two strangers meet for very different reasons: one has gone to set up a telescope to try and spot re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere of a decommissioned Russian space station and the other has gone to distract the former for as long as possible while his fellow villain burgles his house. Chance plays a part when the sole surviving bolt from the disintegrating space station lands nearby. First public reading: October 2010, Paris. First public performance: February, 2012, Inverness, Scotland, by The Florians. Cast: 2m. Approx running time 55 minutes. One act.
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Like Riding A Bike (a feature-length screenplay) - Set in the North East of England, a fatherless boy of 9, David Lovatt, disturbed by deja-vu and dreams by night of screeching seagulls, bright but bullied at school (and unable to ride a bike) lives in a matchbox-size council house on a run-down estate near Durham City, with Mum, Lisa, who struggles with low-paid jobs whilst hiding a secret: a hit-and-run accident years before in which Lisa’s unpunished ex, Scotty, killed a female pedestrian. Lisa and her son have been running away from Scotty ever since. But why? Submitted to the Children's Film and Television Foundation in 2004, it made number four of a list of films up for production but sadly they had enough budget for only the first three so it never got made.
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Le Petoman - Based loosely on the biography 'Le Petomane' by Frank Caradec and Jean Nohain, this is a two-act serious play with lots of comedic bits, rather than a comedy with serious bits. Le Petomane was aka Joseph Pujol, a real-life French baker who at the end of 19th century – as the British began displaying the Elephant Man in London - hit upon the idea of turning passing wind into an art form or a very ribald entertainment if nothing else, packing the Moulin Rouge out for years, proof positive that sophistication and crudity make strange bed-fellows! Performed in French May 2023. Cast: 3 f, 4m. Approx running time 90 minutes. Two acts.
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Pressure - For Schools: Released after ten months for good behaviour on a two-year sentence for drug dealing, 'Pressure' is a study of Jake after his release and a look at how pressure from former friends and negative contacts continue to tempt him back to the same path that caused his downfall. Intended as a follow-up to 'My Brother Jake' in Plays 2 it carries through certain references to the original but stands alone. It relies on an inner world of action rather than speech and silences in which outside interruptions create a menacing mood. The pressure to cope with that menace is also challenge for the audience. It is designed for teenage audiences or schools exploring drugs issues. Cast: 1m. Approx running time 45 minutes. One act.
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Space Station - On a dark and lonely hill outside of town two strangers meet for very different reasons: one has gone to set up a telescope to try and spot re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere of a decommissioned Russian space station and the other has gone to distract the former for as long as possible while his fellow villain burgles his house. Chance plays a part when the sole surviving bolt from the disintegrating space station lands nearby. First public reading: October 2010, Paris. First public performance: February, 2012, Inverness, Scotland, by The Florians. Cast: 2m. Approx running time 55 minutes. One act.
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Like Riding A Bike (a feature-length screenplay) - Set in the North East of England, a fatherless boy of 9, David Lovatt, disturbed by deja-vu and dreams by night of screeching seagulls, bright but bullied at school (and unable to ride a bike) lives in a matchbox-size council house on a run-down estate near Durham City, with Mum, Lisa, who struggles with low-paid jobs whilst hiding a secret: a hit-and-run accident years before in which Lisa’s unpunished ex, Scotty, killed a female pedestrian. Lisa and her son have been running away from Scotty ever since. But why? Submitted to the Children's Film and Television Foundation in 2004, it made number four of a list of films up for production but sadly they had enough budget for only the first three so it never got made.
Theatre plays 2004 - 2015
The Dishwasher - A worker in a nameless, faceless, basement kitchen begins his work as a dishwasher and relishes informing us of every fine detail of his job - a disturbing, nightmare-ish study of the uneducated, unqualified and oppressed workers of the world. Cast: 1m. Approx running time 40 minutes. One act.
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Confessions Of A Rock 'n' Roll Star - The world has rock n roll stars, for that we must be thankful. Sadly, we’re not all going to get to be one. Nonetheless, millions of us can pose in front of our mirrors with tennis racquets and sweeping brushes slung between our legs and dream and that’s better than nothing. Performed in French 2014. Featuring classic rock tracks, wallow indulgently in a one-man fantasy guitar solo as homage to a wasted youth.Cast: 1m. Approx running time 45 minutes. One act.
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Gauguin's Ghost - 'Gauguin’s Ghost' is an informal study of the life of the artist Paul Gauguin. A well-researched piece, it explores the idea that Gauguin, on his deathbed, sold his soul to a witch doctor in exchange for immortality in spirit form. We meet those who shaped his art and hear tell of how he pursued his own singular vision at all costs. Cast: 5m, 3f. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
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Tommy Greaves - Is an alternative take on 'Billy Elliot'. Older than Billy, Tommy tells his own, maturer story of the grittier realities of what it meant to be young and unemployed during the Miner's Strike of 1984. This work was given a public reading in English in Paris in February 2015. Cast: 6m, 3f. Approx running time 90 minutes. Two acts.
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Unspoken - Was first written in 2015 as 'Two Gendarmes' and then updated in 2019. It is a story of an older, more seasoned French policeman instructing a younger female recruit to the obvious and the not-so-obvious elements of the job. Performed in French June 2023. Cast 2m or 1f and 1m. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
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Confessions Of A Rock 'n' Roll Star - The world has rock n roll stars, for that we must be thankful. Sadly, we’re not all going to get to be one. Nonetheless, millions of us can pose in front of our mirrors with tennis racquets and sweeping brushes slung between our legs and dream and that’s better than nothing. Performed in French 2014. Featuring classic rock tracks, wallow indulgently in a one-man fantasy guitar solo as homage to a wasted youth.Cast: 1m. Approx running time 45 minutes. One act.
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Gauguin's Ghost - 'Gauguin’s Ghost' is an informal study of the life of the artist Paul Gauguin. A well-researched piece, it explores the idea that Gauguin, on his deathbed, sold his soul to a witch doctor in exchange for immortality in spirit form. We meet those who shaped his art and hear tell of how he pursued his own singular vision at all costs. Cast: 5m, 3f. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
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Tommy Greaves - Is an alternative take on 'Billy Elliot'. Older than Billy, Tommy tells his own, maturer story of the grittier realities of what it meant to be young and unemployed during the Miner's Strike of 1984. This work was given a public reading in English in Paris in February 2015. Cast: 6m, 3f. Approx running time 90 minutes. Two acts.
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Unspoken - Was first written in 2015 as 'Two Gendarmes' and then updated in 2019. It is a story of an older, more seasoned French policeman instructing a younger female recruit to the obvious and the not-so-obvious elements of the job. Performed in French June 2023. Cast 2m or 1f and 1m. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
Theatre plays 2003 - 2006 (dark themes)
A Horse With No Name - Iraq, the spring of 2003. The Battle of Baghdad rages. One retired Iraqi soldier - Ali - and and one active American soldier - Rick are trapped by rubble in a secret basement bar. Rick and Ali somehow make it through the two acts without killing each other but getting to know each other instead, finally ending up on the roof where they play a real-time game of Classic pool - not a staged game - which, depending on who wins the game - offers alternate endings to the play. Cast 2m. Two acts. Approx 80 minutes.
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One Of The Lads - As NATO forces enter Iraq the media feeds a constant river of images of war into the daily lives of millions of people in Britain through television sets. One such home is that of a young waster who has just died injecting heroin with two other lowlifes and one ambitious young woman determined to alter her destiny whatever the cost. Violence overseas or violence at home – what’s the difference? Performed UK June 2003. Cast 2M, 1f. One act. Approx: 60 minutes.
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The Next Life - Blended as a hybrid theatre play/film from the book 'All this is mine' by Tony Stowers, this is the story of a young northern drug dealer drifting through London’s post-Thatcherist underbelly in the early 90’s. Based on people the author knew in Camden Town at that time, Rob Barlow is the key antagonist whose imagination and paranoia conflict in a seedy London of hustlers and thieves, pimps and backstabbers, corrupt journalists and nouveaux riche wasters, as he drifts inexorably to a disaster that offers a slim strand of redemption. Cast: 5m, 5f. Approx: 80 minutes. One act.
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X - Saturday night beneath the plastic palm tree and two pairs of dissatisfied male friends who’ve never met before (one gay couple, the other straight) hit town. By Sunday, one will have been re-born, one will have won insight, one will have lost everything and one will still be bad at playing Dominoes. Originally entitled 'A Town Called X' and in part inspired by the title of the American film 'American History X' and the murder of Matthew Shepherd by homophobes in the late 90’s in mid-west America, 'X' is performed over 60 minutes, promenade style in untypical spaces and with the music of David Bowie. 'X' is a challenging but important piece of work . It was translated into Czech and performed at Prague Pride in August 2015 and then toured in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. Cast 2m. Approx 45 minutes. One act.
“Six years in the making, X is a powerful piece of promenade theatre that playwright Tony Stowers describes as his “labour of love”; it’s a passion that’s evident throughout the play. A modern-day tale of love, loss, sex and identity, the cast consist of just two actors: the equally impressive Terry Betts and David Hannah, who portray four well-crafted characters you genuinely care about. The opening scene – in which straight friends Dave and Mark discuss their dubious sex lives and opinions on homosexuality, while intermittently shouting lewd comments to passing women – could have been a cliché-ridden disaster. Instead, the dialogue is painfully accurate, as it remains throughout. Despite very little verbal interaction, the crucial scene, in which Dave allows himself to be seduced by the charismatic Stewart during a game of chess, is passionate and makes for slightly uncomfortable viewing, while the close of the play, which sees live-in lovers John and Stewart part ways, is genuinely moving. Staging X at The End (one of Newcastle’s best-known gay bars) will undoubtedly bring theatre to audiences who may not otherwise access it. Unfortunately, however, it’s also unlikely to attract the audience it so widely deserves. - Amy Rudd, The Tyne & Wear Metro Magazine, March 2006.
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One Of The Lads - As NATO forces enter Iraq the media feeds a constant river of images of war into the daily lives of millions of people in Britain through television sets. One such home is that of a young waster who has just died injecting heroin with two other lowlifes and one ambitious young woman determined to alter her destiny whatever the cost. Violence overseas or violence at home – what’s the difference? Performed UK June 2003. Cast 2M, 1f. One act. Approx: 60 minutes.
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The Next Life - Blended as a hybrid theatre play/film from the book 'All this is mine' by Tony Stowers, this is the story of a young northern drug dealer drifting through London’s post-Thatcherist underbelly in the early 90’s. Based on people the author knew in Camden Town at that time, Rob Barlow is the key antagonist whose imagination and paranoia conflict in a seedy London of hustlers and thieves, pimps and backstabbers, corrupt journalists and nouveaux riche wasters, as he drifts inexorably to a disaster that offers a slim strand of redemption. Cast: 5m, 5f. Approx: 80 minutes. One act.
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X - Saturday night beneath the plastic palm tree and two pairs of dissatisfied male friends who’ve never met before (one gay couple, the other straight) hit town. By Sunday, one will have been re-born, one will have won insight, one will have lost everything and one will still be bad at playing Dominoes. Originally entitled 'A Town Called X' and in part inspired by the title of the American film 'American History X' and the murder of Matthew Shepherd by homophobes in the late 90’s in mid-west America, 'X' is performed over 60 minutes, promenade style in untypical spaces and with the music of David Bowie. 'X' is a challenging but important piece of work . It was translated into Czech and performed at Prague Pride in August 2015 and then toured in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. Cast 2m. Approx 45 minutes. One act.
“Six years in the making, X is a powerful piece of promenade theatre that playwright Tony Stowers describes as his “labour of love”; it’s a passion that’s evident throughout the play. A modern-day tale of love, loss, sex and identity, the cast consist of just two actors: the equally impressive Terry Betts and David Hannah, who portray four well-crafted characters you genuinely care about. The opening scene – in which straight friends Dave and Mark discuss their dubious sex lives and opinions on homosexuality, while intermittently shouting lewd comments to passing women – could have been a cliché-ridden disaster. Instead, the dialogue is painfully accurate, as it remains throughout. Despite very little verbal interaction, the crucial scene, in which Dave allows himself to be seduced by the charismatic Stewart during a game of chess, is passionate and makes for slightly uncomfortable viewing, while the close of the play, which sees live-in lovers John and Stewart part ways, is genuinely moving. Staging X at The End (one of Newcastle’s best-known gay bars) will undoubtedly bring theatre to audiences who may not otherwise access it. Unfortunately, however, it’s also unlikely to attract the audience it so widely deserves. - Amy Rudd, The Tyne & Wear Metro Magazine, March 2006.
New work - 2023 + .
The Loser - a comedy loosely based on 'Le Diner de Cons' by Francis Veber, the big French theatrical hit of the 90's, Peter Bird, an out-and-out English snob, decides to invite Barry Pigeon to his home purely for the purpose of mocking him but in the process of doing so discovers that Barry, a northern trainspotter with an accent as thick as Yorkshire pudding, is far from a gull and soon it is Peter Bird who falls prey to his own prejudice. Cast 5m, 2f, Approx running time 90 minutes. Two acts.
A fabulous power - on 4th June 1944, an aging but obscure Impressionist painter with an Impressive pedigree who lives and works quietly in a small village on the south bank ot the Loire river in France, is approached by Lt Schroder of the Gestapo to lead an exhibition of stolen Nazi art in Nantes in September of that year. Realising this is an offer he dare not refuse, the artist - Panache Gonflé - looks for a way out but fate plays a role when D-Day starts two days later. In August, with the Allies in possession of the northern riverbank and the German army evacuating east, Gonflé is visited once agin by a fleeing Schroder who has just been ambushed by partisans. Cast 2m. One act. Running time 60 minutes.
French Frankenstein - disappointed with his first effort, French Dr Frankenstein goes back to the drawing board to create his pièce de resistance - the perfect Frenchman, buying illegal body parts from his contact at the Paris Morgue. But, being in the realm of the shady, the body parts are not all he thinks. The Doctor finds that he has given life to a creature with an English brain and limbs from different European countries, each of which have their own distinct characteristics. Tricked into changing places with the creature on the operating table, the Doctor's worst nightmare soon comes true. Both a comedy and a parody. Cast 2m. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
A fabulous power - on 4th June 1944, an aging but obscure Impressionist painter with an Impressive pedigree who lives and works quietly in a small village on the south bank ot the Loire river in France, is approached by Lt Schroder of the Gestapo to lead an exhibition of stolen Nazi art in Nantes in September of that year. Realising this is an offer he dare not refuse, the artist - Panache Gonflé - looks for a way out but fate plays a role when D-Day starts two days later. In August, with the Allies in possession of the northern riverbank and the German army evacuating east, Gonflé is visited once agin by a fleeing Schroder who has just been ambushed by partisans. Cast 2m. One act. Running time 60 minutes.
French Frankenstein - disappointed with his first effort, French Dr Frankenstein goes back to the drawing board to create his pièce de resistance - the perfect Frenchman, buying illegal body parts from his contact at the Paris Morgue. But, being in the realm of the shady, the body parts are not all he thinks. The Doctor finds that he has given life to a creature with an English brain and limbs from different European countries, each of which have their own distinct characteristics. Tricked into changing places with the creature on the operating table, the Doctor's worst nightmare soon comes true. Both a comedy and a parody. Cast 2m. Approx running time 60 minutes. One act.
French: huit pièces de théâtre par l'écrivain anglais Antony J (Tony) Stowers: 'Les Couleurs', 'Le Reve d'Harry', 'Le Petomane', 'Confessions d'une star de rock 'n' roll', 'Le Fantôme de Gauguin', 'Le Plongeur', 'Lété à Pleurigat' et 'Le choix de Jeanne'.
English: eight theatre plays translated to French: 'Colours', 'Harry's Dream', 'Le Petoman', 'Confessions of a rock n roll star', 'The Dishwasher', 'Summer in Pleurigat' and 'Jean's Choice'.
English: eight theatre plays translated to French: 'Colours', 'Harry's Dream', 'Le Petoman', 'Confessions of a rock n roll star', 'The Dishwasher', 'Summer in Pleurigat' and 'Jean's Choice'.
The one that got away - A Sense of Insecurity 1983
This play was my follow-up to my first play 'The Waiting Room' which was performed in March 1983 also in Darlington Arts Centre. Unfortunately all copies of 'A Sense of Insecurity' were lost as everything was paper in those days - nothing digital. The story was about the relationship of two young men and a more mature woman. I mention it here because I think it's a good example of what happens when young people live in a society where all they need to create is given to them free of charge - the tools to do the job as it were - and thus their creativity is nurtured. Darlington Arts Centre (and Drama Centre) were later demolished and sold off for luxury flats, a tragedy for creativity in Darlington and probably reflective of what has happened in hundreds of other British towns over the last 30 years. Dozens of my peers as good as lived in Darlington Arts Centre because it was the one place where we could explore and develop our skills as actors, writers and musicians without worrying about how to pay for it. 'The cost of everything but the value of nothing' as Oscar Wilde wrote in 'Lady Windermere's Fan' should be the warning slogan when it comes to how to evaluate creativity. Darlington Arts Centre provided dozens of great talents to the world of acting and writing in later years, some of whom now grace our screens.
Below:
Tony Stowers writer/actor/director, Les Williamson actor and Sarah Dalkin actor in rehearsal for 'A Sense of Insecurity' in Darlington Arts Centre June 1983.
Photos are by Paul Dillon and subject to copyright and not to be re-used without express permission.
Below:
Tony Stowers writer/actor/director, Les Williamson actor and Sarah Dalkin actor in rehearsal for 'A Sense of Insecurity' in Darlington Arts Centre June 1983.
Photos are by Paul Dillon and subject to copyright and not to be re-used without express permission.
Pierre Gaston - French Shopkeeper Extraordinaire!
This idea started back in 2003 when I was looking for a simple vehicle (easy to transport, not too expensive or logistically difficult to stage) in which to educate English kids to other cultures through language because I was travelling and working a lot in France, though living in the north east of England. I came up with this friendly French shopkeeper character called Mr Gaston, based on the popular French cartoon hero 'Gaston Le Gaff'. I spoke English in the show but with a strong French accent (which I started doing from the moment I drove through the school gates - much to the bemusement of many receptionists and teachers as well as their charges!) and then performed to groups of primary school children. The show had set grammar objectives such as numbers, colours, greetings and simple vocabulary but was always improvised. It fitted neatly into the 50 minutes of an average class period. I played to 101 schools (about 5000 kids in all) over a two-year period, took it to France in English (Mr Jones - English Shopkeeper!) then developed a new show by having Mr Gaston cook French crèpes.
'My only problem will be to make the lessons as stimulating!' – Whitley Memorial, Bedlington.
'Well paced, fun and very educational' – Harraton Primary, Gateshead.
'Lots of body language, repetition and facial expressions' – Springhead School, Scarborough.
'Absolutely brilliant!' - Warwick Road School, Bishop Auckland.
'Excellent in every way!' – Hawthorn Primary, Newcastle.
'Children and staff were convinced you were French!' – St Godric’s, Thornley.
'My only problem will be to make the lessons as stimulating!' – Whitley Memorial, Bedlington.
'Well paced, fun and very educational' – Harraton Primary, Gateshead.
'Lots of body language, repetition and facial expressions' – Springhead School, Scarborough.
'Absolutely brilliant!' - Warwick Road School, Bishop Auckland.
'Excellent in every way!' – Hawthorn Primary, Newcastle.
'Children and staff were convinced you were French!' – St Godric’s, Thornley.