Led Astray & Witness for the Defence

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last time we had Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran come along with one of their readings it was two homesteads ago at the Horse and Groom with a tryout for their musical version of Goodnight Sweetheart. But now they're back, with Led Astray, a thirty minute tv sitcom. Before this, there's a thirty minute piece by their mentor Don West, still alive, kicking and writing, with Witness for the Defence. Should be a cracker.

Tristan Bates Speakers

There's no reading for Monday September 24th. Instead, the evening will be filled by this term's speakers, Ben Monks and Will Young, from the Tristan Bates Theatre.P-P stalwarts will be familiar with the theatre, as last week we read in one of their rooms, and the double bill of Is Anything Broken? and Final Score played there this summer as part of the Camden Fringe.

Ben and Will are the creative producers, and you can read more about them here. So get reading, and get ready with those all important questions so that you can find out more about how exactly you can get your play put on there.

Monday, 7.45.

Theatre of Absolution

Monday 17th brings us a brand new 90 minute stage play by a brand new writer, John Rowe which got a big thumbs up from its mentor. According to Jethro Dykes ( for it is he ):

"a very challenging and exciting work".

But what's it about, Jethro?

"A broken young man arrives at the theatre and a director takes him under his wing. The healing power of drama?"

Never happened to me but I'll take his word for it.  The question is will you?

Come along at 7.45, Monday.

Aberfan & You Can't Kiss Me

New term begins on September 10th with a double bill of scripts developed from the Collaborative Writing process. Both are 25 minutes long. First, by Debbie Maya, is Aberfan, a staged dramatised documentation of the events that occurred early on the morning of Friday 21 October 1966.

"It contains poetry, prose, actual quotes, dramatic scenes and music to remind us of this terrible tragedy which effectively wiped out a generation of children."

After a brief, liquid refreshment, we then have a comedy film treatment by Peter Vincent which he enticingly describes as "a study in masochism". I wonder if any of our lady members can say, after a summer spent lying on sun-loungers reading Fifty Shades of Grey, whether he has caught the tone right. As the great man himself says, he "desperately needs the wise and humorous input of PP to support a habit he is ashamed of... (writing things…)"

Here's a song with the same title. No doubt entirely unrelated.