Creative Reading

I was particularly, especially, thrilled to be invited to read some of my work at the December 2023 ‘Wintertide’ festival arranged by the Mandy Apple Collective – imaginative, enthusiastic, talented creatives in Scarborough. Thanks to Nell Williams for the invite and the other writers who performed on the night. Honestly, they were such an inspiration of funny, thought provoking, poignant. A lovely night.

 I was ‘especially’ happy about the invitation because I certainly needed energy and vision of other writers. My writing was/is going through a dry period. I have no trouble finding words, or indeed stories, but stories with a satisfying arc alluded me. (Thanks to Matt Cooper for the photo).

As Christmas came and went I tried to ignore the growing anxiety and even resentfulness of feeling writing as a nagging chore. Partly because my partner bought me an all-course pass for BBC Maestro and I do like a course to busy myself with. I typically got a stack of books (of course). Also, it was Christmas – a break right? Maybe it was just time to give up writing? But then my fabulous friend Fin McMorran who makes amazing art and animations reminded me that we do what we do because of the joy in it. Not for audience, or reward or some external thing but for the fun and somewhere along the way, I’d lost the thrill of finding just exactly the right word and the surprise when a story takes an unexpected turn. Writing is fabulous fun –playing with imaginary friends in games I make up in my imaginary playground is the best! (Thanks for the reminder Fin).

Reading inspires me and once again the Guardian had a ‘Books to look out for in 2024’ feature. Way back in 2019 I decided to review their review of ‘books to look forward to’ for the forthcoming year. I chose their suggested books for every month across the year and though the list was ‘partial’ to say the least (see my analysis of the data drawn from their suggested list) it was actually a reading adventure. I read a great many books I would just not have picked up at Waterstones. The new 2024 Guardian list was as good a place as any to look for inspiration.

The Guardian recommendations for January included The Vulnerables. By Sigrid Nunez (Virago) and I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children and the Adverts That Helped Them Escape the Holocaust by Julian Borger (John Murray).

The Vulnerables has been richly reviewed by Sam Byers in the Guardian and, for the most part, any words I might write about it would echo theirs but I will add that I enjoyed it. It is written in an unusual style. A writer, talking about changes to their way of life in the context of lockdown, wonders if any kind of literature still serves us in uncertain times.

It was a good one to start the year with and kick started a reading binge. So far this month I have read six books and discarded a seventh quarter of the way through. (I haven’t yet started the Borger book – it is next on my list).

Books read in January

  • The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez (Virago)
  • 61 Hours by Lee Child (Random House)
  • The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson (Boldwood Books)
  • Spare by Prince Harry (Penguin Random House)
  • After That Night by Karen Slaughter (Harper Collins)
  • The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz (advance copy) (Thomas and Mercer)
  • Meditation by Marcus Aurelius (Penguin Random House)

The one I gave up was the Karen Slaughter. My tolerance for violence against women and misogyny in crime novels is thoroughly exhausted. I listened to ’61 Hours’ as an audio book. I have not, in the past, taken to audio books but gave this title a go specifically to listen to the way the story is written, for the techniques, for the craft. It was a useful exercise listening rather than reading it, but also, I had forgotten what ripping yarns Lee Child writes and what an amazing character Jack Reacher is.

Stephen King and Lee Child (amongst many others) say that good writers must be committed readers. Each encourage an eclectic approach to the reading choices we make. I think my list would count as eclectic! For the record, mock if you will, I really enjoyed ‘Spare’ and have completely changed my opinion of HRH Harry – in a positive direction.

I am never sure how inspiration actually works but I started writing a story – it is a ploddy mess but woke up one morning with a flash of ‘this is what it needs’ and am enjoying re-writing it. I also committed to doing two new (paid) pieces of writing to an April deadline and there is nothing like a deadline to motivate.

I wouldn’t say my writing mojo is fully back (though I am writing a blog post for the first time in *ahem* a while) but I am thoroughly enjoying curating an abundant reading list which is a fabulous place to re-find fun in the written word.

Queer Spaces Live! Its back!!!

Note: In March 2022 Roots Touring company gave me the opportunity to write and perform my own work as part of their ‘Queer Spaces Live!’ show. It was such a wonderful experience. I wrote about it here

‘Queer Spaces Live!’ is back this year at both the Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough on 22nd February  and York Theatre Royal on 3rd March.

I know it will be absolutely fabulous. Book tickets before they all go!

ADHD The Musical. Can I have your attention please?

I went to see ADHD The Musical at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. What an incredible piece of theatre this is. If you get the chance to see it, do! Tour dates and tickets can be found here

Dora Colquhoun wrote the musical, supported by funding from the Arts Council. It arose out of a research and development project during which the artist consulted with people living with ADHD, neuroscience experts and other theatre creatives.

This resulted in a musical comedy about a late ADHD diagnosis and the issues in navigating a world designed for a neurotypical brain. Dora has created a show which is lively, funny, colourful, poignant and, hugely educative but in a non-teachery way. We laugh when she tells us about being so drunk she was asked to leave a job interview, and of packing jobs in without really understanding herself. She powerfully draws on a bear character (which growls fiercely) to represent her pain and shame – its every appearance caused anxiety for the audience, so this was particularly well crafted.

Dora Colquhoun has astounding energy throughout this very physical and fast-moving show. It is awesome but exhausting to watch, but here lies the magic of the writing because it gives the audience an experience of how tiring ADHD may be for people who live with it. 

One particular highlight of the show was a guest appearance by Dora’s inner warrior, Cher. Wow! Is all I can say about her appearance.

The supporting cast members and BSL interpreter all brought their own special magic to this innovative, quirky show. I heartily recommend it.

What a whirlwind!

I hardly know where to start. Life has been a magnificent whirlwind! 

You know you yawn at other people’s holiday snaps so I will get that out of the way first.

My wife and I took a five-week odyssey round the NC500 in a camper van. The Scottish Highlands are too beautiful to be captured in a photo, and my phone pictures don’t do them justice. Spectacular white sand beaches, mountains, harbours, and lochs so beautiful they took my breath away. We had one very scary night thanks to Storm Betty, involving a tree blown down and serious risk of injury and I never saw a single eagle, osprey, red squirrel, or deer. Unfortunately, MS means I cannot do walks, climbs and such, which is a great loss, but nevertheless, it was a completely magical trip.

Just before leaving for Scotland, I had the wonderful privilege of being one of the team which made ‘Love Stories’ with Arcade. Love Stories is a mapped digital audio trail to be found in Scarborough’s lovely South Cliff Gardens. One of my stories ‘Between the Esplanade and Seashore’ is in the audio trail and it is a piece of work I am immensely proud of. Contributors worked alongside Arcade who just rock at community art events. We also had the joy of working with composer Jackie Walduck, voice and choir genius Rebecca Denniff and incredible musicians from the Scarborough Spa Orchestra and Sinfonia Viva. It was very exciting to record with such a talented lot. Matthew from MSC Photography took a whole stack of wonderful photos of the event.

I had also committed to writing a theatre monologue. The marvellous Barrel Organ Theatre had offered me the opportunity to be one of the participants in their Scarborough Live! evening at the Stephen Joseph Theatre once I was back. It meant I would be writing or thinking about writing (especially when I was failing at osprey spotting and not erm, actually writing) which is not ideal on a much longed for extended adventure. However, Barrel organ are such a special company, empowering underrepresented groups and individuals to tell new and fresh stories, I would have been mad not to take part.

The evening was utterly magnificent. Michelle Dee performed her ‘Don’t kiss me’ – a performance piece about regaining autonomy through acts of resistance, drawing on the work of Claude Cahun/Lucy Schwob to tell her story. JJ Cruickshank wrote an evocative, poetic script which they performed alongside their extraordinarily beautiful film, to tell the story ‘Where the skin meets the land’ of a trans selkie, stepping onto the land shedding her girlish seal skin, and standing for the first time as a man. It was a glorious fresh folklore story. Lowercase Theatre performed an excerpt from a work in progress ‘is it dead out?’ which centred on young people getting ready for a night out between Grimsby and ‘Clee’ (Cleethorpes to the uninitiated). It was super bouncy with energy and very very funny. I can’t wait to see the final script performed.

The evening was really special. My personal thanks must go to Ali Pidsley  and Frazer Flintham for all their help and because it is hard to imagine there are any nicer human than them on the planet.

Shortly before I came home, I had an unexpected and lovely email from Alexandra Mathie who had performed one of my scripts in Manchester at the Lowry. She was in rehearsal in Alan Ayckborn’s ‘Constant Companions’ – his 89th play (!) at the SJT and wondered if I fancied meeting up for coffee. Did I! She was compelling and magnificent when playing ‘Chris’ in Kray to Crone at the Lowry and I was so overcome with it that I barely had a chance to properly thank her for turning my script into something so special. I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to put that right. So, we met up and I felt as if I had known her for years. Such a lovely, friendly, interesting woman and I was chuffed to bits to be able to say a proper thank you. I had expected her to have a northern accent – as she did on stage at the Lowry, but she doesn’t!

The photo is Alexandra and Georgia Burnell in reahearsal – courtesy of SJT.

The cast of Constant Companions came over to wish the Barrel Organ cast luck when we were all backstage in the green room before we all went on. Constant Companions was on at the same time but we each had different stages. All of the Barrel Organ team were struck by the generosity and kindness (and if truth be told, a little star struck).

Obviously I have booked to go and see Constant Companions at the SJT – reviews have been cracking. I can’t wait!

I have also had the wonderful opportunity to be one of the community team putting on ‘Always Been Here’, a show at the Scarborough Art Gallery which pieces together the voices and artefacts of Scarborough’s queer heritage. Local people who identify as queer were invited to collaborate in the show. We were involved in the design of the exhibition, the choice of Gallery owned art works and encouraged to bring in our own artifacts. It is a really special show and I encourage you all to go and see it if you can.

Phot courtesy of Scarborough Museums and Gallery Trust.

One of the items my wife and I loaned to the exhibition.

Quick Edit: Also go and see Garth Gratrix’s ‘Cheeky Felicia’ a multi-media installation responding to William Etty’s ‘Man Lying Face Down’. It is fabulous.

It has been a very busy time and my energy ‘spoons’ are exceptionally depleted. I need to take time to recover after which … I need to get on with my next book: ‘A work in progress’ but in all honesty, hasn’t progressed that much at all….

Freeing our work

I am chuffed to bits Alexandra Mathie has been cast as ‘Chris’, the lead character in my play ‘Kray to Crone’ to be performed at the Lowry Theatre, Manchester on 14th and 15th July.

Alexandra trained at LAMDA and has an impressive CV (I am not sure if that’s what actors call their experience list) which includes theatre, radio and TV.

Some time ago I was in a zoom scriptwriting workshop with writer, director and actor Charlie Josephine. Charlie mentioned having seen one of their scripts performed and being surprised by where the actor took their words. They also wisely reminded participants that once our work was ‘out there’ we had to let it go, not be precious about it, that our words would be interpreted and shaped in ways we as writers hadn’t imagined in our telling of the story.

It was such helpful advice because creative work is such a personal thing. ‘Kray to Crone’ although fictionalised, is shaped from my experience as a member of the Queer community. Sending it out into the universe creates a sense of vulnerability.

True, I have ideas about the pace of my script, where emphasis should be, how some of the words should be delivered, but now, that is really none of my business. The team at Hive North  are fabulously experienced at presenting LGBTQ focussed work. I trust the process. Alexandra is so experienced and talented. It is such an honour having her play ‘Chris’. I am really excited to see what she makes of the role.

#scriptwriting #LowryTheatre #Hive_North #AlexandraMathie #lettinggo #CharlieJosephine

Being a writer (2)

A while ago I wrote a post about identity and ‘coming out’ as a writer – of confidently owning the label. I think the universe is telling me it is OK to feel confident because, as a writer, things are going really well. I am thrilled to have several exciting projects on the go at the moment with more in the pipeline.

Hive North

I am honoured and grateful to announce that my play ‘Kray to Crone’, after a short-listing process involving over 150 scripts, has been chosen to be in the final 10 scripts to be showcased by Hive North Theatre Company.

A professional cast will perform the ten plays chosen at the Lowry Theatre Salford Quays, Manchester 14th and 15th July 2023. Tickets are available at this link.

The showcase is an important platform for LGBTQ+ voices and the selection ‘covers a multifaceted portrayal of the LGBTQ+ experience’. My play is in absolutely astounding company – Rav Bansal, KT Miles, Mitesh Soni, Izzy Campbell, Saskia Pay, Connor Cooper, Roo Pilkington , Rian Craske , and Luke Elliot. I feel thrilled to be among such an awesomely talented group. I can’t wait to see the production.

Scarborough Love Stories

Arcade Arts, a charitable community producing company, was commissioned by Scarborough Borough Council to create a piece of work celebrating the beautiful South Cliff Gardens. Arcade has worked with local communities gathering true love stories inspired by the gardens. They had over 100 submissions. The production draws together the stories into five chapters told by storytellers and an ensemble cast, accompanied by orchestral music created by Orchestras Live and Sinfonia Viva. I am one of the story writers and tellers. Rehearsals are going strong at the time of writing this blog and it is clear the digital audio trail is going to be utterly magical. The final recording will be available as a digital stream to experience in the Gardens from 24th July and will run to the end of August.

Book Launch for ‘Everyday Wendy’

Are we still blaming the pandemic for stuff? I think we are. The book launch for my novel ‘Everyday Wendy’ didn’t happen because the pandemic threw everything into chaos for such a long time that book launches, in all honesty, were not a priority. My book is selling well despite that but Pen to Print recently contacted me and suggested we go ahead with an official launch. Why not!  So, it will be an online event and if anyone wants to be sent a link, please get in touch. I would love for you to be there! Jacqueline Gabbitas, wonderful author and poet will chair the event that Pen to Print will host. The on-line launch for “Everyday Wendy’ will be on 13th July 2023.

Finally.. for now at least…

I am being interviewed by the rather marvellous, multi-talented Wolfy O’Hare for radio in a few days, which will be fun. I will post the date for that to be broadcast as soon as I have it. 

Author Interviews – a transactional process

I’ve recently been interviewed twice. The first was by Oaky for her ‘tell me about your book‘ podcast. The second was for Write On!

For written interviews such as the one I did for Write On! I was given the questions in written form. Write On! Magazine, first published in June 2019, is a quarterly magazine published by Pen to Print, encouraging writers to contribute and share skills so it should be no surprise that the questions were well thought out with a mix allowing for promotion of my work, something about inspiration and, space for discussion of process (isn’t it funny how as writers are all interested in each other’s writing process!).

For the telephone interview with Oaky (which you can hear at the highlighted link). I was just given a general invitation to ‘chat about’ my most recent novel Everyday Wendy. Oaky is in Texas and I am in the UK, so our first challenge was finding a good time to talk and I am afraid Oaky got the poor end of the bargain, having to start the interview very early in her day. She was so friendly and fortunately gave no indication that she minded her early start. I think we could have talked for hours. I am really happy with the interview.

A lot to think about….

It is a funny thing being interviewed and there is a lot to think about: Privacy for example—are we comfortable with personal disclosures relating to content, story drivers, or our even our location etc. Authenticity—are we presenting ourselves or some image of our authorly-self our friends would not recognise? Personally, I am finely tuned to spot inauthenticity, and it is guaranteed to put me off, so aiming for presenting authentically is important to me. What is the message or point—do I want to just sell my book or say something about why I think the story will have resonance for the reader? Of course, ‘making a great impression’ is important too. I guess most of us have pondered on these things for job interviews but author interviews are not so much about selling oneself as a great fit for a job role, as in selling a product—specifically ones’ book or books but it is critical to remember that is not all it is. Bear in mind the interviewer’s ‘job’ too—they might generously present the opportunity for authors to promote our work, but they have their own reasons to be interviewing in the first place — selling their product. Being interviewed is mutually transactional. If they are giving their time to help us, preparation to facilitate their interview process is just as important.

I’ve reflected on all these points since each interview—did I sufficiently think each through enough? Did I get the balance right? I think I probably wasn’t as concise as I could have been in the recorded interview. I might have given more attention to ‘sound bites’—short pithy potential headline take-aways to hook both reader or listener. Mostly though, what I learned is that interviews are fun. I hope enjoyment of the process came across in both these interviews and by the way, Write on! and ‘Tell me about your book’—thanks so much for the opportunity to be interviewed. I am grateful.

Hunting a story down

The downside of pneumonia is neglecting the blog and indeed, most other things. It was a dreadful illness I don’t want to even revisit in memory, so let that be enough of an explanation for the ridiculous amount of time since I last posted.

If I was forced to admit to any ‘upside’ to being ill, apart from entitlement to wear my PJs all day and not bother with anything much, it is that it gave me more time than usual to just ponder on the story of my next novel.

I have had elements of what I think is a potential book-length story floating around for a while. Potentially, I think it may be a good story of the sort I want to tell.

However, I am missing the ‘quest’ of the story. It isn’t an adventure type of story and doesn’t easily fit into the usual tropes of a quest. If I was pushed into a corner, I might say it follows the ‘odyssey’ type story in that there is a beginning and an end, adventures and challenges along the way and a satisfying conclusion. The protagonist is on a journey, though only in the sense that we all are to some extent. I cannot find the key element of the story and I am floundering trying to write my outline.

Thanks to Eileen Pan for the use of the image from Unsplash

As I pondered upon this, I wondered if it meant perhaps that the story should be let go of and I should move on to one of the hundreds of story ideas I have in my notebook instead, but it won’t disappear. It is nagging me to be told.

I guess I hoped the Muse might turn up and provide the answer. Indeed, she provided some. Thanks to the enforced time away from actual writing, I have well-formed characters in my head and some scenes only need transferring from my head to the page. Thinking time certainly helped flesh some of my ideas out, but I am still missing my ‘that’s it!’ key.

However, as Stephen King said in On Writing, we have to ‘go to work’—I understood this to mean show up and hunt the story down. So, rather than waiting for some ephemeral wordy alchemy, and using a pen and notebook rather than a keyboard (weird, yikes), I started to free write and I think I realised that my issue has not been about ‘finding the element’ so much as getting back into productive, creative thinking. The point is, I haven’t been ‘going to work’—I’ve been on a sickie and now I am not. I need to show up, go back to work and hunt that missing element down.

Royalties: Writing success?

At the end of the day, everything comes back to ‘why do I write?’

I got my first royalty payment from my publisher this week. Royalties covered the five-month period from June to October. It is always very lovely receiving unexpected money but it didn’t seem … very much. 

Thanks to Sarah Agnew via Unsplash for use of the image.

The total number of my books distributed over five months is 129 copies.  To be honest, it is a bit demoralising. I suppose I thought because it is a great story, well told it would gain traction and be noticed. I have neither the skills or, frankly, the physical energy or interest in becoming a marketing whiz. I thought the book could go off into the ether and do its thing. I guess I imagined the quality of the story and its telling would equate to spread which was probably naïve.

One colleague writer told me I shouldn’t discuss book numbers – that for reputational reasons I should big up success and maintain a mystique about book distribution. A university colleague told me those were the kinds of numbers some academic book writers aspire to. Many academic texts are written in the hope of being listed as essential course books but if they don’t get that holy grail, sales numbers may never rise above the double digits.

I don’t feel any great concern about what others might or won’t make of the numbers but it did make me reflect, a little dolefully perhaps, on the huge effort I had put into the book and whether it was worth it.  Writer ‘success’ is so beguiling and its siren call can easily sway attention away from what matters. I have never written for success.  Yes, I love it when my writing is well received but I write for the fun of it, for the moment I find just the right word, for the joy of a script that is as true and complete as I can make it. I write because it is part of who I am, part of my well-being, and an important part of every breath I take. A five-star review certainly warms the heart and I hope I have many more of them. Sales are very lovely indeed and I am grateful to everyone who chooses to spend their hard-earned cash on one of my books but numbers on a spreadsheet are not the important parts of my story.

I have started my next book and am also doing NaNoWriMo again this year – just for the fun of the challenge because writing is my story.

Thanks to John Jennings via Unsplash for use of the image

*I have subsequently had feedback that the manuscript needed further proof editing and it does – so that is currently being attended to and the book will be revised for its second edition.

Postscript

‘Success’ revisited: I was out with friends and a reader recognised me from having seen me at a book reading event. He came over to tell me how much he loved my book.  It was honestly a lovely, lovely thing to have happened to me and I was thrilled. Just for a moment, I felt like a ‘proper author’ and starry. That little moment was worth a zillion book sales 🙂

Thanks to Towfiqu Barbhuly via Unsplash for the use of the image

#amwriting #authorlife #authors #bookblogger #books #creativewriting #greatreads #novelist #published #writing #writingcommunity #EverydayWendy #writingcraft

My novel is published. It is a work of love

My novel Everyday Wendy is now published. It is available online and some bookshops and libraries are stocking it. It is already a prize-winning book in that it made the shortlist for the Pen to Print prize 2022.  I find out in a week whether it is the prize winner of the shortlist.

This week I received a stock of complimentary copies from my publisher. It was ridiculously exciting to open the boxes. A friend who is also a published author offered the opinion that I should not give copies away. She said people who care about me or my work will buy the book (which is important for sales data and book chart ranking etc) whilst those who don’t buy it probably won’t be much bothered by receiving a free copy. It was too late. I had already posted at least half of my comp copies out to family and friends far and wide. The rest are being kept for my book launch event. Her advice certainly made me think though and it will definitely inform my future approach because I trust her and it makes sense. I see the wisdom, generosity, and experience in her words.

However, for this book, I was happy to send it out into the universe with love. I wrote the book because it was a story I wanted to tell. Almost all authors imagine the film star who will eventually fill the lead role, and I am no different, (Emma Thompson as Wendy, Peter Mullan as Andy for the record), in all honesty though I never really thought much past writing it.

The book is a work of love. Love of writing, love of my family and love of my sister Andrea who in the most challenging of times for her, nudged me away from the dark of crime writing and tedium of academic writing into lightness and positivity.  Love of my wife Cath who went above and beyond in believing in the story and supported me tirelessly to get it down on paper. Lots of love came my way when I was trying to turn this story into a publishable book. It is, at its root a story about love and family and community. It feels entirely right to me to keep the love flowing. So, I have sent it out in the hope that it is enjoyed and that it gathers some momentum and it either will or it won’t.  Either way, I am proud of it. It is a good story.  I am proud of myself for writing it. If that is where this story halts it’s OK but I believe it will get where it needs to be.

I have no idea what I’m doing post-publishing. Book launch?  How do I do one of those? Media and press releases? Social media drench? I will work it out of course because I have to give my book the best shot at becoming visible in a hugely crowded space but rather ridiculously (when I think about it now), I hadn’t thought this far or ‘what next’. I guess this is the post publishing admin required. I am on a learning curve.

In the meantime, according to Amazon sales data combined with my giveaways, at least 100 people this very week are reading my book. I hope they feel the love.

Everyday Wendy is available in both paperback and ebook. There is a direct link to my amazon page on the separate tab up top or click here

Full English

The Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough has a reputation for showcasing innovative work. I had the joy of seeing ‘Full English’ this week and the storytelling blew me away.

Full English, by Bent Architect and Natalie Davies is a remarkable production.  The story is based upon the personal history of Natalie Davies whose Nan, in the late fifties fell in love with one of the first migrants from Pakistan. Their family experienced racism and their mixed race* children struggled with their identity as they tried to work out where they belonged.

The story is both beautiful and challenging: Beautiful in that it draws upon and glories in the strength of women who banded together, and challenging in the language and attitudes of the times in which it was set. An experience of a holiday in Blackpool which began as joyous turned into a terrifying experience and was so raw, it must have been drawn from a lived experience.

The play spotlights a moment in history from a unique perspective. It reminds the viewer, intensely, of the hideousness of racism, and invites the suggestion, perhaps, that we have grown and moved forward. But before we are too self-congratulatory about how liberal we have become the production also reminds us of how rarely we see such narratives on our stages.

(Image shows Lucy Hird, Kamal Kaan, Faye Weerasinghe)

This blog post is an unashamed fan piece – I loved this production. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and spent time in the Bradford/Manningham areas in which it was set. There were queer pubs in the Manningham area – marginalised people of different tribes find peculiar safety in their marginalisation, if not their differences. I remember the riots (the queer pub I went to burned down). I remember the tensions and the hate of the NF bigots and thugs. I felt a connection to the history but the stories in this piece took me on such a journey of perspective. Despite my Anti-Nazi League badges and attendance at demos, my memories had little rooted understanding of what black and brown communities were experiencing. I felt awestruck when I left the theatre. The play was funny, sad, uplifting, thought-provoking and so beautifully crafted. The writing of this piece is extraordinary – the flow of movement between generations and memory is done so well and the stage direction of how it is delivered is a lesson in which less is so much more.

The play ‘Full English’ is honestly fabulous, amazing and wonderful. If you get a chance to see it, you should. Listing of dates is at this link. I really hope this is picked up for film or TV – it should be.

Shout out to the cast who oozed talent. Faye Weerasinghe (Natalie); Lucy Hird (Cath/Nan); Kamal Kaan (Sohail/various).

*I am aware the term ‘mixed race’ is contested. It is used both in the play and on the information sheet provided by the production team and so the terminology used in and by the production team is used in this blog.

Thanks to @BentArchitectCo for images. Apologies I do not have info to credit the photographer.