Ambrose Pierce

Monday March 3rd brings us the pilot for a 60-minute, post-watershed
supernatural drama series entitled Ambrose Pierce by P-P debutant Richard Cosgrove. Let Richard explain:

"In 1899 Lord Ambrose Pierce's search for an otherworldly seducer who ruined a young gentlewoman, becomes a fight for his life, and then his sister's soul.

In 2012 Doctor Anna Mirza's life is saved by a man she knows is comatose in the psychiatric unit she runs. A man who calls himself 'Lord Ambrose Pierce".

Not to be confused with this gentleman, then. This is fiction. 7.45 at the Phoenix.

And to my Daughter

February 27th brings us And to my Daughter by Jan Harris, who won P-P Writer of the Year some while back, and whose play Dear Diva is soon to be published by Samuel French following its successful production at last year's Camden Fringe.
Let Jan explain: "This is an account of the marriage and the scandal that surrounded the last months of William Shakespeare's life. The story belongs to Judith Shakespeare, and her fight for recognition from her wealthy, famous Father.
The dates, characters and events are all fact. However, I have taken dramatic license with the cause of the Bard's death, and that of his son's Hamnet".
7.45 at the Phoenix on Monday. Be there.

The London Spring

Last May Francis Beckett had a reading of his one act play American Go Home. It's now been rewritten, retitled ( a much better one, IMNSHO ) and is being produced at the Etcetera in Camden, in March, from 6th to 25th. Francis, very helpfully, has written his own articles explaining all here and here.

Nice caricature, no?

The Whore's Asylum

We don't just do dialogue here at P-P. Some of us have even mastered the art of writing prose. One, in particular, being Katy Darby: she was our writer of the year in 2010, She's also been known to tread the boards, and sing. And now she's got her first novel out, and it's been getting great reviews, so many in fact, that I can't list them here. Go to Katy's own website, where she's been busy keeping up to date with them. Even better, go buy the book.

A Russian Play - the production

Many will remember the reading of A Russian Play by new P-P member John Thompson on 14th November last year. It's now being produced at the Lion and Unicorn. Further it's also been nominated for two Off West End Awardw as best new play and best set. It opened a week ago and runs until Sunday 4 March.

Read all about it here.

Either Way

February 20th brings us a 40 minute comedy by Carolyn Eden, who last graced us with a pair of radio plays just over a year ago. This one, according to Carrie, is about Susie, a young actress and her father. It is called "Either Way" in reference to the lie that would-be employers often say "we'll let you know either way," As Susie waits for the birth of her child she tells her midwife a bit about her family and her life as a mostly out of work actress.

I wonder if it's based on real life, perchance. Find out on Monday at 7.45, I guess.

Anyway, Susie will be played by Fiona McGee, Dad by Silas Hawkins, Mum by Toni Brooks, Muriel - Dad's friend - by Anthea Courtney and the nurse, Jules by Denise O'Leary.

Now that's what I call a cast.

The Lodger

Many of the world's greatest artists end up calling one of their works "The Lodger". One thinks of glam rock superstar David Bowie, who named one of his albums thusly.



Then there was cockney film-maker Alfred Hitchcock, who made a brief appearance in his early talkie:



Following in their footsteps is poet-turned-dramatist Jethro Dykes, whose first play gets a reading at the Phoenix on Feb 13th. It concerns:

'Elizabeth lives with her husband, Nigel, who is rather dull. She invites a lodger to live with them. He is also her lover. The lodger is a short romantic thriller, hitchcockian and slightly sinister. However, it will not offend as it is rather gentle.'

So, perhaps the title is a homage to the East End cineaste. A sultry blonde? A McGuffin? A couple of murders, with an innocent man the suspect? Come along on Monday at 7.45 to find out. The reading even stars Mr. Dykes, and it's also getting a couple of performances in April, on 18th and 19th at the Lord Stanley pub in Camden. So if you want to get a preview, be there on Monday.

Love and Other Games 2

Sequels do not on the whole have a good track record. For every Die Hard 2 there are a dozen Jaws 2s, Police Academy 2s, and Neverending Story 2s ( well they said it was neverending ). Undettered, Lisa Fulthorpe brings us Love and Other Games 2 ( "Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the bedroom" ) a sequel to last year's Fringe smash which first opened at P-P before becoming part of both the London Fringe and the Camden Fringe. Word on the street has it that it's one piece, logner than last year's playlets, but it's still two characters, in or out of love, chewing the fat, and coming to some sort of realisation that Things Can't Go On As They Are.

The first series was funny and pithy and truthful. Will the sequel live up to its original? Come along to the Phoenix, Monday at 7.45, and find out.