What really went down in 1966 at the Chelsea Hotel, the haunt of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez and Judy Collins? And what part did eccentric composer George Kleinsinger play in the lives of the folk bohemians as their stars ascended? Chelsea Girls is a comic, imaginative, musical retelling of the story of how Joan and Judy used the counter-cultural platforms they had already built to introduce Bobby and Leonard to the world. Did they come to have any regrets, as their own careers were overshadowed by two of the musical giants of the ‘sixties and beyond?
‘And so it goes on. Generation after generation. Poets, novelists, composers, musicians, painters, sculptors, playwrights, actors, architects. Living and loving. Creating and destroying. Competing and collaborating. Thriving, and even dying, within these shabby walls. And what is this place? Simply: the crucible of creativity; the fountainhead of mirth; the mine of ideas; the well of debate; the tree of knowledge. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: the Chelsea Hotel!’

Esther and Dan’s relationship is haunted by the ghost of a former lover. As the years pass, they settle into a wary equilibrium, treading gingerly through the minefield of their shared past and memories. Words, they both know, can be explosive. What they don’t know is that there’s a much, much greater challenge hurtling towards them.
Here Comes Your Ghost Again is a comedy of manners, misunderstandings and misinterpretations of people’s motives that asks: what happens to human relationships in a world in which we can simultaneously know both too much and too little about one another?

A thought provoking and deeply human experience which prompts reflection on the fragility of the human experience and the connections that remain with us forever.

The raw tones of Joan Baez’s Farewell, Angelina greet the audience as they settle. Baez’s guitar-driven folk tunes are deeply romantic and emotional. Not only does this choice of song set the tone for the play, her song Diamonds and Rust contain the lyrics of the title of the piece and the nostalgic longing therein frames this narrative.

The opening scene finds Dan in a wheelchair, mentally confused and physically constrained. It’s likely he has had a stroke given the loss of functionality in one of his arms, but that is never explicit. Phil Nair-Brown plays this role well. Heavy of limb and heart his frustrations are apparent. Esther (Sam Nixon) fusses around him, awkward, unsure of how to help properly, conflicted emotionally: keen to help whilst self-protective.

Another Joan Baez song begins in order to signal a scene change. Sam leaps up from his wheelchair and both change clothes from a box of props at the back of the stage. This time we are in a bar at the beginning of their romantic relationship and certain markers are placed that become key parts of the developing story.

The structure of the drama continues in the same fashion: short vignettes are played which follow the trajectory of the relationship between the two from the beginning, interrupted by later episodes where Dan is wheelchair-bound, historically moving in reverse. Baez’s tunes prompt the pause each time to allow the pair to redress and reframe the narrative.

Several references are made to “her”: an unknown character, but one that clearly holds Dan’s fascination and as a result Esther’s concern. The deliberate anonymity reinforced by use of a pronoun only is clever and there is a real sense of danger experienced by the audience when we wonder if Dan’s altered mental state will reveal an infidelity with “her” which would potentially cause hurt to Esther.

The design of this creation, I assume, is to highlight the presence of a former lover, never quite expelled from the memory of one, and too damaging to be fully explored by the other. The unexpected infirmity of one of the parties changes the balance of power between the two and a recollection becomes potentially explosive.

Near the middle of the drama, Esther forces Dan to listen to Baez’s Diamonds and Rust in full. It is achingly moving as the lyrics recall a memory of a lover never to be quite forgotten. Dan then, in a rare moment of clarity, half whispers a truth to Esther. The lights could well go out there to signal the end of the piece but instead the to and fro between years continues.

The audience sits on three sides of the thrust staging, which serves to emphasise the intimate nature of the plot whilst the beauty of Baez’s lyrics and sonorous delivery reinforces the immersion into the pair’s ongoing exchanges. A thought provoking performance, we are reminded of the fragility of the human experience and the connections that remain with us forever.

Everything Theatre, April 2025

It’s the summer of 1746. Charles Edward Stuart, ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, has fled to the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, closely pursued by 2,000 redcoats, after his disastrous defeat at Culloden. There is a price of £30,000 on the fugitive’s head.
On South Uist, a local girl, Flora Macdonald, agrees to guide the Prince, disguised as her maid, ‘over the sea to Skye’ where a French ship will transport him to safety.
And so a myth is born.
From Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley to the hit TV series Outlander; from The Skye Boat Song to Will Ye No Come Back Again?; the story has been mythologised, embroidered and romanticised for well over two and a half centuries.
But what do we actually know about Flora and her motivation? She wasn’t a Jacobite. She wasn’t even Catholic. So why did she help the Catholic Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape the pursuing redcoats? She was living at a time when Jacobite sympathisers were liable to arrest and imprisonment (at the very least). So what was in it for her?
What if Flora’s motives were less pure than the myth suggests? What if the rescue was more mishap than heroism?
Outlandish! is a comic play with songs that subverts a tale we think we know, set against a reign of terror in which no one declares which side they’re on, everyone is out for themselves, and in which the sentimental power of a spurious Jacobite song can change the course of history.

'Inspired by both historical events and myths surrounding the fleeing of Bonnie Prince Charlie to the Outer Hebrides in 1746, this three person play focuses on the story as seen through the eyes of Flora MacDonald, who helped him to safety. Billed as a comedy, there are many serious moments of retelling as well as some bordering on farce and panto style thigh slapping'

'The strength in this production is in the performances. Callum Murray has cast three very accomplished versatile actors who are supported by a wonderful violin player. Mark Priestley accompanies all the songs and provides occasional music during the play where needed'

'The songs, both original ones and traditional, all drive the story as well as add a gorgeous melodic Scottish ambience to the whole thing... In particular, the three part harmonies by the actors with pitch perfect blended vocals are an absolute goosebump giving joy'

'The multi-roleing actors: Sam Nixon, Phil Nair-Brown and Alasdair Carson-Sheard are superb and equally strong. They play each of their multi-role characters with depth and layers, making them feel full, rounded and real'

Brighton Source, October 2024

Rebel Rebel is a new play with music that follows the fortunes of three linked characters across two rebellions in London: Jack Cade’s Rebellion of 1450; and a contemporary climate change protest.
Jack Cade’s Rebellion involved a march on the City by about 5,000 rebels, mainly from Kent and Sussex. The target of their protest was corruption at the court of King Henry VI (the rebellion features in Shakespeare’s Henry VI Part 2), amid fears of a French invasion.
Climate change protests are a divisive feature of modern life. Rebels have blocked roads, abseiled down landmark buildings to attach their banners, disrupted sporting occasions, attacked artworks and brought traffic to a standstill on the Dartford Crossing, arousing strong feelings on both sides.
Behind every rebellion, there are rebels. Who are they, and what could these two rebellions, separated by more than 500 years, possibly have in common?

‘Those of us who doped mostly started in our third year… Everybody has their thousand days; everybody has their choice’. From The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton.
There was a time, about 30 years ago now, when no one – not even anyone in pro cycling – had heard of EPO. The Thousand Days is a satirical play, set in the years 1991-93 (and featuring the music and styles of the time), which follows a young British neo-pro, David Munro, as he pursues his dream of becoming a pro cyclist by joining the (imaginary) Belgian cycling team Top Frites. We watch as David enters a world of secrets and lies, in which even your roommate can be doping without your knowledge. David wants to stay clean, but doping in cycling is itself a cycle. As the dopers retire or get banned, new young riders hungry for success at any price, take their place. Can David both keep his place in the team and stay true to his principles?