Bottle

A mere two weeks after Debbie Nagioff presented Showdown, she's back with Bottle, a one hour tv drama, co-written this time with the living legend himself, Peter Vincent.As Debbie explains:

"The idea of a mysterious manuscript found in a bottle has teased us ever since Edgar Allan Poe sent his hero to a horrifying death, allowing him only time to finish his story and hurl a bottle (and his story) in the general direction of posterity.

"But what if the bottle is found in The River Thames - and the manuscript is in a foreign language? Two kids from Essex, Beth and Ethan, cared for, As you might expect, by a nasty aunt, have to overcome the aunt and her slimy husband, school kids who don't like them, a total lack of money and a sneering parrot to solve the mystery of who sent the bottle and why. Are they seeking some imprisoned Princess? Or is it really their missing Mum they long for? A knowledge of the railways of Bulgaria might help you find The Princess before they do. A small cash prize for the best solution has been considered and rejected. You're not in this for the money, are you? By the way, no parrots were harmed in the making of this story but only because we couldn't catch the so and so."

7.30, at the Three Stags.

Babylicious

Monday 23rd brings us a piece by Carmen Harris, who is surely one of the more prestigious writers to have graced our doorstep. She is a published children’s author, and as well as writing 13 episodes of her own primetime BBC1 sitcom ‘Us Girls,’ she has written for numerous TV soaps, including 10 years as a team writer on EastEnders. Over recent years she has written several episodes of ‘Rastamouse,’ and has been employed as a Voice/Dialogue coach by the BBC, Disney, and the Bond franchise.

Babylicious is her new comedy series, and, as Carmen explains: "BFFL teens Kandia and Sherelle are out to prove to themselves, the world, and Miss Prinsley, that they are life’s winners. Most of all, they’re going to show those two absent women who had the temerity to render them motherless, just what they gave up".

Yes. I also had to google BFFL. 7.30, at the Three Stags.

Cutting the Ties that Bind & Showdown

Monday 16th Jan brings us a double bill. First up is Nicola Hollinshead's One Woman Show, Cutting the Ties that Bind, which had to be postponed from last term. In June, Nicola gave the log-line:

"In an attempt to move on from her past, Anna goes on a New Age retreat."

Nicola shall be performing it herself.

Then, after the intermission, comes a play by competition regular, Debbie Nagioff.

"Show Down is a story about fear of commitment. It will ring bells with many couples, and not wedding bells. It is Leap Year and Marion has brought Charles (her partner of many years) to their favourite restaurant in order to propose marriage. What we hear is not only the proposal, but the inner dialogue between their heads and hearts. What will happen in the end?"

Come along to The Three Stags on Monday 16 September and find out.