Theatre
Mortem Post
An actor friend called Matthew Scurfield was a member of the repertory theatre company in Barrow-in-Furness. At one...
Dash – Slap
A post that deals with some concerns evident in ‘Dash Dash Dash’, a series of shows I wrote and directed in 2010 There...
The Appeal
In 1983 Lumiere & Son Theatre Company was commissioned to make a short film for the flagship Channel 4 arts...
Lumiere & Son
Lumiere & Son Theatre Company was founded in 1973 by Hilary Westlake and David Gale. It was based in London....
Dash Dash Dash: The Credits
These are the credits for the whole series.Actors: Gareth Brierley, Chris Newland, Bernadette Russell, Jude...
Dash Dash Dash: The Series
The Dash Dash Dash series of short plays was prefigured by the making, over the years, of a number of playlets inhouse...
A Clip of Roy
In this clip we see a number of the protagonists from 'In the Bosom of Roy' (Show #1 in the Dash Dash Dash series)...
Dash #6: Gush
The characters:Roy - Chris NewlandDean - Gareth BrierleyGina - Jude Barrington-SmutsNina - Abigail Davis GINA I was...
Dash #5: Sleet
The characters:BobbinTimmyGretchenTrinaSECTION 1: OPENING DIALOGIN THE COURSE OF THE SHOW FOUR LONG SPEECHES ROTATE A...
Dash #4: Gulch
The set designed for this playlet was exceptional. It was dominated by a high window through which shone a blue light....
Dash #3: The Fastness
The characters:Ann - a cricketerPat - a policewomanTod - an actorDan - a documentary film maker THE ACTORS ARE IN...
Dash #2: The Flutters
A group of volatile people with poor impulse control spend time together in a room. Some of them leave the room in...
Dash #1: In the Bosom of Roy
Completists are advised that this version of the playlet features extensions to the 2008 original, in order that it...
The Tics
This playlet was directly inspired by Martin Arnold's remarkable 12 minute film Passage a L'acte (1993). The film uses...
Just the Desserts
The play references the 'Hamlet' play-within-a-play but it is not clear, in this version, which is the outer and which...
Leo You Nutter Parts I & II
A response to A Winter's Tale, in particular to the mad jealousy of Leontes, King of Sicily, who believes wrongly that...
The One in the Theatre
THIS RESPONSE TO ELEMENTS OF 'TWELFTH NIGHT' IS BASED ON AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT FOR THE TV SHOW 'FRIENDS'.A SIX-HANDER FOR...
Ophelia Soiled
A response to 'Hamlet'. Cast:Hamlet - Christopher NewlandClaudius - Ben MartinOphelia - Jude Smuts HAMLET BEGINS TO...
Throwing Shapes in the Workplace – Intro to In the Bosom of Roy
I have to say I really love 'In the Bosom of Roy'. It marked a change of gear in my writing and I loved watching it...
Studio Tour
A response to Webster's 'The White Devil', in which themes of infidelity, plotting and revenge are transposed to a...
The Role of Triumphant Post-Industrial Capitalism in the Formation of the Early Twenty-First Century Personality
The script, written in 2004, demonstrates how very quickly certain cultural references become as dated as black and...
The Mood Lounge
The playlet was derived from themes in 'The Tempest'. Allusions may also be detected to the classic science fiction...
Romeo, Juliet the Vermette Lift
There must be something we can do with these gadgets, we thought. If we don't use them we've got to find a place to...
Dash: Gore
A post about 'Dash Dash Dash', a series of shows I wrote and directed in 2010 urther to the...
Dash: Babble
A post about 'Dash Dash Dash', a series of shows I wrote and directed in 2010 The eight month Dash Dash Dash project...
Dash: Sleet: Bit
A speech from 'Sleet', the fifth show in the 'Dash Dash Dash' series (March 2010) To get where I am today, Gretchen...
Dash Dash Dash
Underway: the early stages of a seven month long programme of short plays to be written, produced and presented at the...
In the Bosom of Roy
Prior to writing the script hereunder, performed at Wimbledon College of Art in January 2008, I ventilated here my...
Tip Top Condition
In late 1973 Hilary Westlake and I were commissioned to supply in-foyer diversions for a Henry Cow concert at London's...
Popeye
This playlet is an adaptation of certain aspects of King Lear, written in 2003 for theatre design students at...
Carpet Wear House – Intro to Elsinore Hotel
When I came across the bit in 'Hamlet' where Claudius asks Hamlet the name of the play he has prepared and Hamlet says...
Elsinore Hotel
(See introduction to the playlet here) CLAUDIUS What do you call the play?HAMLET The Mousetrap.'Hamlet': Act III Sc 2...
Romeo & Juliet in the Round
(See an introduction to this playlet here ) Leonardo DiCaprio plays Paris, Friar Laurence and Lady Capulet.CYCLE...
R&J: the Up Version – Intro to Romeo &Juliet
(Find the playlet here) How nice it would be, I thought, to tweak 'Romeo & Juliet' so that the depressing bits...
Leery of Lifelike – Intro to Popeye
When I began writing for performance in 1972 I was keen to avoid the rhythms and cadences of so-called 'naturalistic...
All About My Dandy – more background
a programme note for 'I Am Dandy' (1999) Back in the days when gentlemen's style magazines were attempting a balance...
Dandyism – some background
'Dandyism', for these purposes, is the quality of being 'Dandy' rather than being 'a Dandy'. In 1999 I wrote and...
I Am Dandy – the First Section
The show was written in separate sections. At the time of writing I had no firm sense of the proper order of the...
Bexhill Bummer – Intro to ‘What Did De La Warr?’
It sounded good on the phone. My partner from the days of Lumiere & Son, Hilary Westlake, asked me if I fancied...
What Did De La Warr?
an unfinished monologue commissioned for a celebration to mark the completed refurbishment and re-opening of the De la...
Jokes
A 'lecture' commissioned by Forced Entertainment for 'Marathon Lexicon' (2003) I like a laugh, me. I'd do anything for...
I Must Be Joking – Intro to Jokes
I got a call from Tim Etchells of Forced Entertainment. The company had been touring a show called 'Marathon Lexicon'...
Red Devils (2006)
The playlet is the result of subtracting everything apart from the blood from the text of Webster's 'The White Devil'....
Bleed Out at Blood Street – Introduction to ‘Red Devils’
(find the playlet script here) I had done the Wimbledon gig for three years and was pleased, towards the end of 2005,...
Delicious Playlets – a Note
Once a year, since 2002, I have been asked to participate in what is called the Renaissance Project in the Theatre...
Learish – Intro to Natural Born Lear
In 2002 I was asked if I would like to direct an excerpt from a Shakespeare play for some theatre design students at...
Natural Born Lear
a playlet written for theatre design students at Wimbledon College of Art...
Jack…the Flames!
Hilary Westlake and I enjoyed a long and remarkable artistic partnership. For at least ten years, starting in 1972, we...
Tip Top Condition
In late 1973 Hilary Westlake and I were commissioned to supply in-foyer diversions for a Henry Cow concert at London's...