Go West, Young Man

A message comes through from our Presidents:

"Today we were reunited with Don West. We hadn't seen him in twenty years and thought that if we don't hurry along to see him (he is 93) then we probably won't ever see him again. After all, it was Don who approached a very young Laurence and Maurice and said, "I really think you two should try writing together." Prophetic words.

I attach a photograph taken this afternoon, some 38 years after we met Don on our first visit to Player Playwrights. We have all grown older and wiser, and we are all still writing. Don has just completed a new play that we said we would discuss having put on at P-P".

Peter Thompson continues:

Don West joined Player-Playwrights in 1948 and has been writing stage plays ever since. He was the man who, in 1974, persuaded new boys Laurence and Maurice to try their hand at sit-com and told them how to do it. Yesterday they called on him in his country retreat to say thank you and to see if he needed help changing a ribbon on his typewriter. All three went down to the pub, as one does, and reminisced. Those who don't remember Don's early years as chairman and 18 years as secretary may need reminding that, of all our members past and present, he has had the most stage plays published and produced [starting with a P-P production of THIS PASSING NIGHT in 1954] and has won the most prizes and awards. His thrillers, such as VACANT POSSESSION, NO EXIT, THE LAST TEA BREAK and DON'T CALL FIONA are still to be seen on the Am Dram circuit.

We'll see if we can't arrange a reading of your latest play next term, Don: so don't stop writing!