Plays
Written and directed for premiere performances by Greenfields Theatre Company, with casts invariably 70+ strong.
Directing Macbeth (adaptation of Shakespeare) 1995
This was the first play breaking the mould of traditional theatre at Greenfields School, and performed in a marquee, the open multi-level stage set sideways on with the audience on three sides. We created a meld of three styles – traditional, modern and experimental – performed simultaneously, which included discussions by the actors involved in an attempt to demonstrate the multi-layered language of Shakespeare and the endless possibilities of interpretation. For the first time, we introduced stage fighting with numerous wooden swords and other weapons.
The Scarlet Pimpernel (adaptation of Baroness Orkzy) 1996
Again performed in a marquee, this time with a wide stage straight across the centre, with the audience on two sides. This time the style was quite different. We used ‘lackeys’, who ran on with pieces of scenery or message boards. If a character needed to go through a door, the lackeys produced a doorframe for them; the cartframe was picked up and those ‘inside’ it ran onto the stage; a coach was made up of four pieces of wood which were held together to enclose the characters inside; and so on. This time we introduced historical dance to add to the sword fights which were now conducted with proper foils.
Great Expectations (adaptation of Dickens) 1997
This production was performed in the round, and once again we tried for a different stylistic approach, drawing unashamedly on the work of the Shared Experience theatre company. A set of stools placed around the perimeter of the stage formed the basis for every scene. Characters seized the stools and moved them to create an imaginary dining table, coach or boat. Strips of material were used to create a moving river or a misty sky, or draped over the actors who became gravestones or the echoing voice of Miss Havisham. Still others brought on machines with which they created the necessary sound effects.
Hugo Spiffing and the Case of the Dying Swan (original spoof country house murder mystery, set in twenties) 1998
A highly stylized piece of theatre, again in the marquee – in the corner this time - comprised of utterly over the top performances with the actors freezing in character and turning to address the audience with a series of one-line gags. There were eleven murders, escalating madly during the second half, and some wild performances of the Charleston.
Arabian Fantasy (original musical loosely based on tales from the Arabian Nights) 1999
This time we took the students outside to the local theatre, with its massive stage and full-blown theatrical equipment. The story meandered through a world of genies, sultans, caliphs, sheikhs and bandits, with a princess or two thrown in for good measure. Smoke machines and exploding fireworks vied with flashing scimitars and a show-stopping belly dance.
Egypt 2000BC: Revelation Two, The Doom of a Dynasty
Egypt 2000BC: Revelation Three, Playground of the Gods (one-act plays based on ancient Egyptian history) 2000These two plays were part of a trilogy written to celebrate the millennium. Revelation One was written by David Bailey and performed by the Junior Greenfields Theatre Company earlier the same year. Back in the marquee, the plays were performed across the centre, with two stages and a divide between. The first was a Romeo and Juliet style love story performed by the younger seniors. The lovers, having died, reappear (with different actors) among the gods, where we discover a battle between good and evil is being played out. The second play, performed by the older seniors, was notable for its opening: as the audience entered the marquee, the entire cast remained frozen motionless – as if they were a set of statues - for a three minute musical sequence.
Magazine Articles
Singles
June 1986 – ‘The Vexing Question of Sex or Not’
August 1986 – ‘Unanswered Letters: The communication gap’Two pieces exploring the difficulties in building a relationship when meeting someone via advertisement.
Freelance Informer
February 1987 – ‘The Demise of Mr Pinstripe’
April 1987 – ‘And God Created a Human Resource’The first of these pieces was a tongue-in-cheek look at modern office behaviour where everyone addresses even their boss by their first name. The second was a sheer rant about the absurdity of jargon.
Busy Bees’ News
1987 – ‘My Unusual Pet’Quartos
1993 – ‘Writing Historical Romance’
Fiction
Club 199 - 1993
Silence of a Stranger, by MacGregor Publications, contemporary novel
Non-Fiction
Self-published 1994
Fiction Writing Techniques: A Step by Step Guide