The Curious Incident of the Man and the Pram

This tells the remarkable true story that occurred during the composer Gustav Holst's early life.

The King’s Message

This tells the story about an unusual incident which occurred during King George III’s visit to Cheltenham in 1788. Why did the king send a personal message to a spa pumper and why is the latter so unwilling to divulge its contents?

The Man in the Grey Coat

This is a 27-minutes-long audio play.

It’s 1933. Charlie is bored doing low-level police work in sleepy Cheltenham. But then he’s given the opportunity to work on a secret surveillance mission, monitoring the poet Cecil Day-Lewis, who’s suspected of being an active member of the Communist Party. Will this be the big career breakthrough Charlie’s been looking for? And will Cecil be tempted to start some sort of revolutionary activity in the town?

Face the Music

This is a 16-minutes-long audio play.

It’s early 1908. The composer Gustav Holst has just received the results of a prestigious music competition. Will this be the major break-through he’s been looking for? And what will it mean for his wife and new-born baby?

Big Blue Things

This is a 14-minutes-long audio play.

In the aftermath of the devastating Gloucestershire floods of 2007 two Cheltenham residents, Pete and Sima, try to cope with the new normal, making daily trips to collect water from those ‘big blue things’ that have suddenly appeared on the town’s streets. However, while carrying on with their new routines, a terrible hate crime suddenly rears its ugly head. Pete thinks it should be easy to tackle head on, or will it?

The Making of Miss Brown

This is a one-person play based on a true story.

Cirencester 1883: Like so many dutiful Victorian women, 52-year old Miss Elizabeth Brown lives a mundane life, caring for her sick father. But suddenly her life changes, and she needs to decide whether to pursue a life of comfortable mediocrity or chase her dream.

The film version is available here.

An audio version may be accessed below.

Love Lost

Selected scenes of this play were first performed in May 2016 as part of the Cheltenham Poetry Festival.

All seems well for the poet Alfred Tennyson.  The London literati are beginning to take note of his burgeoning talent and, after inheriting a substantial family fortune, he becomes betrothed to marry Emily, his beloved sweetheart.  But that’s when his problems begin.  Still pining the loss of his Cambridge friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, Tennyson struggles to break free from the twin demons of depression and hypochondria that have tormented his mind since childhood, fuelled in part by his fear that he’s inherited the ‘black blood’ of his family.  To make matters worse, a foolish financial decision throws him closer to the edge and, suddenly, his whole world threatens to cave in around him.  In desperation, he flees to Prestbury to try the Water Cure.  Largely based on true events from Tennyson’s life, this psychological drama explores the poet’s struggle to achieve success in the face of fear and adversity, and to find enduring love despite suffering deep personal loss.  What will Emily think when Tennyson suddenly breaks off their engagement?  How will he tell her his reasons? And why does he decide to bribe a station official in Cheltenham to acquire a highly educated parrot?