Stageplays

My first brush with writing and creating live theatre was tied directly to the formation of my band PS in 1979. Having made an album entitled 'PS: Surrealism', my co-writer guitarist Patrick Coghlan and I were, in the spirit of the original artists and poets linked to the movement, keen to push the boundaries of what a rock gig could be. As a result, a hybrid low-fi performance-art-rock-theatre-show emerged, involving props (chairs, paint, crockery, cutlery, power tools etc) and mini abstract narratives, which we toured in colleges and pubs and so on. We had no idea what we were doing of course, and no references to draw on as no-one else we knew was doing anything similar, but that made it all the more exciting and vivid. During the three years of the bands existence, we built up a small but loyal following (some fans as far afield as Poland) and I grew to realise that 'live' performance, and that direct connection with an audience is something quite unique.

In recent years I've developed a taste for more traditional narrative theatre, and though I enjoy all forms - musicals, monodramas, the classics etc - the playwrights whose work really resonates for me at present, whose plays I find myself returning to again and again, are Jez Butterworth, David Mamet and Bruce Norris. There's something about the rhythm of their language that chimes with me. Perhaps that's why my good friend the late great stage director Patrick Garland dubbed my play 'The Gift of the Gab'... 'Mamet with Marmite'. I guess in time audiences will decided whether it's worthy of such a sobriquet, but meantime you won't hear me complaining!

Below you'll find a list of selected works. Some have been produced. Some are yet to be discovered...