I’m delighted to share with you the performance pictures of an extremely funny production of my new play ALAN HAS LEFT THE CHAT, staged as one of the winners of the TakeTen New Writing Festival (“Snakes and Ladders”) by Chesil Theatre in Winchester in February.
Director Duncan Ley helmed a magnificent production of this short piece - a mini masterpiece with which I couldn’t have been more pleased. The on-stage comedy “business” drew so many laughs, and the lines were delivered with expert comic timing thanks to the perfect casting and shining talents of Danny Olsson as Stuart, Peter Andrews as Alan, and Emily Monsell-Holden as Helen. Incredibly, Danny was apparently a late stand-in due to cast absence. You simply would never have known…
Chesil Theatre is a proudly amateur enterprise, but my play’s staging, from direction and acting to lighting, was unarguably professional standard and - as I overheard from audience members and directly from several theatergoers - a highlight of the evening. This is Chesil’s eighth Festival of New Writing, which sprang into life in 2008 thanks to playwright Jonathan Edgington. It is now regarded as one of the anchors of the Chesil Theatre annual programme, and a prestigious national writing competition that attracts emerging and established writers alike.
The mayor of Winchester Angela Clear kindly held a reception for the winning writers at her official residence, and the whole Chesil Theatre team made us feel hugely welcome and, indeed, very special. My thanks especially to Flavia Bateson, Producer of the Festival, and Chairman Stephanie Danby for their help and hospitality, and for creating a wonderful sense of occasion.
Congratulations to all the winners, and to Chesil Theatre for another triumphant TakeTen New Writing Festival!
All images appear courtesy of Chesil Theatre and photographer Geoff Sharman.