StageWrite is a hothouse for the development of new writing for theatre, designed to help plays grow from page to performance. It supports writers in the process of getting their work up on its feet and in front of an audience for the very first time.

Plays are performed semi-staged, script in hand to allow for a more developed experience than a rehearsed reading (where actors simply read the play out loud). You’ll be amazed at how much we can do in a short space of time!

StageWrite presents two plays over the course of one evening, performed by professional actors, and includes a short Q&A session after each piece to allow audience members the chance to offer feedback and the writers to discover more about how their work is received.  Every time StageWrite happens, it’s different – the nature of profiling brand new work!  Follow us on Instagram (@lifeboxtheatre) for updates.

For StageWrite Autumn on Sunday 20 th October, we present:

You Can Call Me Al by Brian McInally

An epic set in Ancient Rome, You Can Call Me Al is the story of a man who would
one day be celebrated as the patron saint of lovers the world over. Valentine is
incarcerated in a grotty prison awaiting his imminent death at the hands of the
Roman authorities.  An initially hostile guard befriends him and the two share stories
and secrets before the intervention of a pompous general forces them into making
an impossible decision.  Will ‘amor vincit omnia’ (love conquer all)? Or is it a case of
‘mors certa’ (death is certain)? This is a new comedy from a writer whose previous
work has been featured at London’s Old Red Lion Theatre.

The Red Fox by Gray Robert Brown

Klaus Fuchs, alias the Red Fox, alias one of the most influential spies in history,
builder of bombs, the scourge of nations… is stuck in the English countryside. And
tasked with nothing more than making jam for the village fête. When his prefab home
on the atomic research campus needs to be inspected for rust, Klaus is forced to find
lodgings with ordinary housewife Pearl.
Except Pearl is anything but ordinary – she’s lived a life just as chequered as Klaus’s.
The question is, will they discover each other’s darkest secrets?
That was the summer that Klaus fell in love with the English countryside; by winter
he will have left for good. Because dark clouds are gathering, and village residents
such as busybody Janice are growing suspicious. MI5 is closing in. Klaus knows his
time is almost up. But never mind pressing the button and blowing up the world – will
he burn the jam?

Age suitability 12+ (no strong language)

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