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I am delighted to announce that my new play, “The Empty Charcoal Box” will open the new season at Oran Mor on Monday August 28th.
“It all started with the empty Charcoal Box. But that’s not where it started for Eddie. For Eddie, it started with Sonja Kristina……”
“The Empty Charcoal Box” is the tragi-comic story of how a long-hidden event of extreme violence 45 years ago has haunted the lives of three Ayrshire Schoolboys ever since. A contemporary crisis mean that Billy, Eddie and Deansy are finally forced to confront that age old question which determines our path to wisdom: Should we look backwards to try undo our mistakes, or forwards and try not to repeat them?
The play will be directed by myself and will feature three of Scotland’s most talented actors, Ryan Fletcher, James McKenzie and Gavin Jon Wright.

Ryan Fletcher

Gavin Jon Wright

James McKenzie
The play will use sound, movement and live music to tell this darkly comic tale of guilt, retribution and rebirth. Amongst others it features the work of Curved Air, Pink Floyd, John Kongos, Sham 69 and The Ramones.
Ryan Fletcher has most recently been seen on the stage as Phil McCann in “Cuttin’ A Rug” at the Citizens and in “Milk” at The Traverse, and has appeared in “River City” , “Gary Tank Commander” and “The Limmy Show” on the small screen.
Gavin Jon Wright is just back from the US tour of “Titus” where he played the title role. He played “Spud” in Trainspotting at The Citizens, and features in the role of Hugh Kirk in the recent three part ITV Drama “In Plain Sight”.
James McKenzie was last seen onstage at the Oran Mor and The Traverse as John Wilkes Booth in “His Final Bow” . He also appeared in the NTS production “Rites” and will be familiar to “River City” fans for his role as Gary Trenton.
The play runs from August 28th till September 2nd.
Full programming and booking details here at Play, Pie & Pint
“The Beaches Of St Valery” which formed part of my PhD in English Literature from the University Of Glasgow premiere on Monday 6th of March. I am currently in negotiations to tour the play in the new year.
Here are a selection of the Four Star Reviews.
Mary Brennan In The Herald. Four Stars.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/stage/15137093.Theatre_review__The_Beaches_of_St_Valery__Oran_Mor__Glasgow/
Joyce McMillan in The Scotsman. Four Stars.
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews-the-beaches-of-st-valery-transit-la-cage-aux-folles-1-4389166
Mumbles Theatre Blog . Four Stars
The Beaches of St Valery
The play follows the life of a young Scottish Soldier of the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders and the 51st Highland Division from 1938 to the end of the war in 1946.
We see our everyman soldier go from a carefree 18 year old roads engineer to a battle-hardened veteran of 26.
The photograph below shows the CO of the 51st Highland Division, Major General Victor Fortune surrendering to General Erwin Rommel at St Valery-en-Caux on the 12th of June, 1940. This event forms the central motif of the play.
Rehearsals are well under way for my new play “Marco Pantani: The Pirate”. The play will be running at Oran Mor as part of the “Play , A Pie And A Pint” series from May 13th -18th. It will will also be presented at The Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock on Sunday 19th.
Details of bookings and ticket prices for Marco Pantani: The Pirate can be found online here.
The part of Italian Cyclist Marco Pantani will be taken by Scots Actor Jordan Young, who has just finished filming in Irvine Welsh’s new pic “Filth”.
The part of Tonina, his mother will be played by Blythe Duff, who has just returned from an Off Broadway production of David Harrower’s “Good With People.”
The cast is completed by actor James Smillie, who has appeared in a a multitude of television shows and stage plays, both in the UK and Australia. His television credits include The Tomorrow People, Adventure Island, Space: 1999, Thriller, Prisoner: Cell Block H,
The play has a real UWS feel to it. Director David Overend is a lecturer in Performance, our Studio managers, Jamie Hare and Keith Bird will be providing visuals, while UWS Radio Graduate Stuart Watt will be creating a bespoke soundscape using special recordings of cycle parts. The production team is completed by UWS Performance Graduand Deborah Lochran and Catriona Hepburn who studied Playwriting & Team Writing For Television at UWS.

Jordan Young