King Ferdinand

Old King John’s play written by Shakespeare is the least performed of all of his pieces. This could be because it is - unfortunately - quite a dull piece. In this addition to the Mortal Temples I have spiced it up a bit, the original is great once you get into the swing of it but sometimes it’s nice not to have to think about ye olde grammar too much! Another piece written in full for the Fiery Floods Theatre Company.

Ferdinand: How much more of your men’s loyal blood are you going to spill to prove your point, out of reach as it is of your borders

Sylvester: How many more of your men will you let be felled to keep a throne that is not even yours usurper? 

Ferdinand: Who will they admit into their walls

Sylvester: Ho there, who is your King?

Soldier: When we know him we will say

Sylvester: Know him by Knox - we uphold the claim of the true King of Whitehaven

Ferdinand: A claim which has no more of a foothold to it than metal on ice. I hold the throne and therefore this city - open your gates to the King of Whitehaven
Soldier: A power greater than me holds the keys to the gates of Storby, it is not my choice but the choice of Avarice who enters these gates

Jacob: See how they stand on the battlements watching us fight one another to enter their precious city…like fools at the theatre they gape from the rafters at our entertaining lines and actions. Would it not be better to be friends to win over this little precocious city

Ferdinand: I like the way your mind works nephew. Knox what say you?

Sylvester: It is a logical conclusion to draw, but how do I know this is not part of your obnoxious plan to steal the throne from young Virgil?

Ferdinand: Your son could wed my niece, then we are family rather than warring countries

Sylvester: A marriage of politics

Anastasia: They usually are

Quentin: And this will stop a needless war between our two seats?

Into The Lyons Den

A full original play I wrote for The Fiery Floods Theatre Company back in 2022, based on Julius Caesar it was the second instalment in the Mortal Temples series. You can listen to the full play via this link where it was made into a podcast series. Please note all rights to the play including this passage here is owned by Fiery Floods Theatre Company. I just wrote it but I do not own it!

SCENE FOUR

Enter Savage with soldiers

Savage: Ride out and tell the West flank to bear down on Campbell’s sides - that’s where they are weakest

Enter Naomi and standard bearer from other side of the field

Naomi: We will go in on the other side

Standard Bearer: But they are stronger than us Lady

Naomi: And we will go down bravely - now stay by my side

Standard Bearer: Lady I -

Naomi: Now, when we see Savage’s forces hit Cambell’s side we go in - are the troops ready? Where did he go? Get that man!

Standard Bearer: Lady please

Naomi: You deserted your freedom, you deserted your brothers, your cousins and your future. I have no space for cowards

She kills him 

Naomi: Since no man can hold the flag of the Republic, let a woman march forth into the future. Now, forward!

Exit Naomi and her forces

Savage from his side of the field later in the battle

Savage: We went in too early

Soldier: Do you wish for the men to pull out my Lord?

Savage: Bit late for that!

Soldier: They will overpower us

Savage: How is Cross’ army doing?

Soldier: They are clashing, Lady Cross will be enclosed if she doesn’t retreat from her brother’s forces

Savage: Where the fuck is Blake when I need information

Enter Blake

Blake: Savage

Savage: You found us!

Blake: Only just

Savage: What news do you have

Blake: Robin is in Naomi’s camp

Savage: Damn that man!

Blake: That is not the worst bit

Savage: Your face, it has a hollowness to it - what information do you hold?

Blake: It is Naomi - 

Savage: No! 

Blake: She saw the losses and I tried to get her to leave before Robin found her - he had his men crawling the entire hill. But she would not leave, and then as I was leaving her camp I heard the cry go up

Savage: What happened?

Blake: She got her General to kill her before Robin found her

Savage: But -
Enter Soldier

Exquisite Corpse

A full original play I wrote for The Fiery Floods Theatre Company back in 2022, it was a fun brief because the scope of the project was so challenging. Through the play (which was composed of different tableaus) I had to weave in certain scenes from the Surrealist movement. The play was created to celebrate the anniversary of the Surrealist movement, as such it was full of weird, wonderful and sometimes slightly mad scenes. I've included a section here. Please note all rights to the play including this passage here is owned by Fiery Floods Theatre Company. I just wrote it but I do not own it!

ACT IV 

SCENE I 

Antonin Artaud is going into Sigmund Freud’s practice - this entire scene should be over the top at maximum volume and emotion on Artaud’s part. 

Artaud: if i wanted to come at another time i would have come at another time

Freud: Artaud

Artaud: i do not want to talk to you. I want, to talk, to Freud

Freud: Artaud

Artaud: well frankly i don’t give a flying -

Freud: Artaud

Artaud: what. Do you want?

Freud: just get inside

Artaud: she wouldn’t bloody - 

Freud: i know, i know my friend. Sit down…close the door first

Artaud: you can’t you do that 
Freud: i can. That does not mean i want to

Artaud: look okay, you left of your own accord at least. I was kicked out. Like some sort of dog. Too surreal, too weird, too out of the box, too -
Freud: much

Artaud: precisely. Too much for their tiny abilities

Freud: well, perhaps it was just different abilities

Artaud: they said i was unnatural

Freud: Artaud, as a child your parents were cousins…

Artaud: Freud, cut me the bullshit. I am not going to be psychoanalysed and told i am having issues with my self-worth because i fancied my mother as a child

Freud: just a theory, you would be surprised how many people understand once they have talked it through

Artaud: yes but these are people who also believe that Heaven exists and Hell is a bad place

Freud: Hell is a bad place

Artaud: Hell is on Earth, as is Heaven. The rest is all a mass of idiocy as fantastic as anything i could have ever thought of

Freud: what’s wrong Artaud

Artaud: they didn’t kick you out

Freud: no, i left

Artaud: well i know that. What i want to know is why
Freud: why do you think i left

Artaud: because they didn’t all sleep with their mothers or fancy their fathers and you lost the base of your theory

Freud: no need to be vulgar

Artaud screams

Freud: nobody move! It is fine, he is fine

Five Times As Wise

Detective Hook

A full original play I wrote for The Fiery Floods Theatre Company back in 2021. It was an incredibly interesting brief to write as a sequel to the classic Peter Pan story. Full of dark twists and sinister aspects to the traditional 'hero' characters. I've included a section here. Please note all rights to the play including this passage here is owned by Fiery Floods Theatre Company. I just wrote it but I do not own it!

Act II, Scene II

Hook is sitting up at his desk, it’s midnight and there’s no sign of Tiger Lily although some of her things are strewn about the room. He has his maps up near the desk where he can see them and stacks of newspapers, he’s writing notes with a large quill and cigar in his mouth

Hook: now if I went here I’d be able to put him in there. Yes he wouldn’t be able to move, the dirty rat would be completely vulnerable

Enter Tiger Lily

Hook: hello my love

Tiger Lily has got all dressed up and heads to the front door

Hook: where are you off to?

Tiger Lily: somewhere, I’ll be back before dark

Hook: do you want me to come with you?

Tiger Lily: no, no I’ll be fine

Exit Tiger Lily

Hook gets up and goes to the window where he watches her walk away. She gets to the corner, stops, stares at nothing for a few seconds and then runs back. She reaches the door and knocks on it until he opens it 

Tiger Lily: there’s a man outside

Hook: a man?

Tiger Lily: yes a man, just staring at the boat

Hook: where is he? 

Tiger Lily goes to the window and points out: there! There he is!

Hook: darling I can’t see him

Tiger Lily: well I’m not going out again

Hook: are you sure there was someone out there?

Tiger Lily: of course! Do you think I would make something like that up?

Hook: no, no I don’t think so. He stays quiet for a while just thinking I’ll go out and have a look, you stay here

Tiger Lily: no! 

Hook: okay, okay I won’t go. Do you want to go back to bed m’dear?

Tiger Lily: I want to drive the boat

Hook: you want to what?

Tiger Lily: I want to drive the boat

Hook: why do you want to drive the boat

Tiger Lily goes to the door and tries to open it, but Hook’s locked it so she stands there just staring before she turns to him: I want to drive the boat

Hook: well it’s my boat so I don’t think you should

Tiger Lily: why not? I can drive, I drove the Jolly Roger all the way from Skull’s Rock to Mermaid Lagoon

Hook: okay. Well maybe you can drive and when you get your own boat you can drive that, but right now we need to get you into bed

Tiger Lily: yes, yes I’m very tired

Hook: why don’t you – 

Tiger Lily: there she is!

Hook turns around to where Tiger Lily is pointing (the corner of the room): who? Who is it?

Tiger Lily: her!

Hook: there’s no one there

Tiger Lily drops her bag and undoes her coat that she hurls to the floor: nobody believes me, nobody wants me around. I don’t even know why I try, why do I – she falls to the flooramong her coat and bag

Hook: what’s wrong m’dear? What can I do?

Tiger Lily: believe me. There is a man outside and a woman over there, and I can’t get rid of them, I can’t stop them, I can’t – 

Hook: let’s get you into bed

Exit both

The lights inside flicker and on the stage falls a shadow of Tinkerbell from the corner where Tiger Lily pointed for a moment

Enter Hook

Hook: right, remove everything sharp…yes that’s the first thing. He goes and grabs all of the knives in the kitchen and stands there in the middle of the room holding them Now where do I put them? Where do I – what am I doing? What am I saying?! He goes over to the window and stares out, turning he looks at the audience What do I do?

Marie Curie Campaign

During 2020 I worked a lot with Marie Curie, they were one of the first charities to send a story to the How We Came To Be Project and I ended up doing various projects with them. Specifically the Kent branch. The stories I heard and the work I did with them cemented the image I’d always imagined of this charity as authentic and full of lovely people trying to make bereavement and sickness a little more bearable for those going through it and the families left behind.

Below is a link to the campaign Light up Kent and Hampshire that I did illustrations for. The idea was to give subscribers a colouring in pamphlet for the festive season. It was a project that I am proud to have worked on and a charity I feel grateful to have worked so closely with.

Miss Brawne

Back when I was in University I had the chance to perform on BBC Radio Solent as part of the Keats Bicentenary production that was put on that year. It was the beginning of a lot of opportunities for me that led to more interviews and my work as a freelance playwright. I performed this piece at open mic poetry nights as well as on the Winchester Theatre stage for the production, and - as you can find in the link below - on the radio as well.

I was not a very confident teenager, a lot had happened which had made me feel uncomfortable in my own skin. So I found myself through writing, in writing no one had to see my face, my body or any of my problems. It was all about the character, whichever character it was that I wanted to conjure. And through the opportunities I received in doing this performing project, I found not just who I was as a writer but who I wanted to be as a person. Resulting in better work and a better me.

The piece was inspired by watching Bright Star, the film about Keats and Miss Browne’s tragic relationship. I have always been romantic at heart, (though I’d hate to admit it!) so I sat down when I saw the brief for the project and came up with this piece:

Upon these pages where pen and paper meet, i have defied the rules of time amd age so my heart shall forever beat. From Wessex to Rome, King Alfred's seat to the Pope's, within such cobbled ruins I have made my home. Yet do not look for me in these streets I do not linger there. When the butterfly dies and the nightingale sings, in these Miss Brawne, in these I live forever.