Working in the Following Genre:
Full-Length Plays
Alison was born in Birmingham and raised on a staple diet of big band music, the whimsical humour of Flanders and Swan, the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Round the Horn and her parent’s stories of what they did in The War.
Alison joined an amateur operatic group in the 1970s, a period when no am-dram society was without its resident Am Dram Diva. The Am Dram Diva was usually a lady of advancing years and receding, or limited, acting and singing ability yet somehow she was always cast in the leading teenage romantic role. Bedecked in her big pink hair bow and nylon crinoline gown, The Am Dram Diva reminded Alison of the crochet toilet roll holders that graced 1970s bathrooms the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. Alison vowed to never own a crochet toilet roll holder or to become one. So far, so good. |
Cadbury Angels - A Brief Synopsis Featured by BBC Radio Northampton in their Jubilee Celebrations and featured in the BBC's Upload Festival (new writers.)
An elderly couple’s daughter arrives at the family home faced with clearing out her parents’ belongings in preparation for selling the house. She talks to her parents as though they are in the room, not yet able to accept they have died. She goes through her mother’s belongings and discovers a box of old letters. As she reads them, she becomes aware of her mother’s presence in the room, not as a frail and elderly lady, but as a beautiful, vibrant young woman full of mischief and life. Suddenly, her mother’s chums, the Cadbury Angels, also appear. Through the letters, the women tell The Daughter all about the time they worked for Cadbury’s, packing rations for shipwrecked troops during the Second World War. The play highlights the enduring bond between a mother and daughter as well as the importance of the work undertaken by the women who worked for Cadbury during WW2. |
Cadbury Angels - Brief Appraisal
This script has been written for theatre.
The set design, the flow of characters through the set, the interplay between the different timelines – all these things are expressions of the theatrical nature of the play. This story could be told on television or the cinema screen, but a dissolve would separate The Daughter from her mother’s story. This play allows The Daughter to be there, without leaving her mother’s living room. We know she is seeing Margaret’s interactions with her friends, even as we are. It’s not an easy thing to explain, and even harder to achieve. I think this script does it magnificently. |
Too Many Fish - A Brief Synopsis & Appraisal
Too Many Fish is a perfect musical show for small groups working in a limited space or with a limited budget.
The Happy Onion is Upper Wallop’s finest delicatessen where proprietor Bert Onions is ably assisted by Brenda, Betty, Sandra and Tina, aka The Onionettes. Bert, who comes from a long line of fish enthusiasts, is off for a weekend away at an exotic fish convention. In preparation for his granddad’s ninetieth birthday, Bert has arranged for a local carpenter to make a beautiful hand-crafted display case for the old man’s prize-winning fish. Bert takes his leave safe in the knowledge that his house, his business and his granddad’s fish are in safe hands. What could possibly go right!
Brief Appraisal - This is the kind of script I love to see – it’s ambitious, with creative use of simple pieces to create multiple locations without huge set redressing. I love the set design, and I think the story itself is a delight. |
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