The current production is a revival of "Forget-me-not-lane" by Peter Nichols to mark his 80th year. A few days after his birthday in July he will be visiting to catch a performance after which he will take the stage with Sir Alan for a conversation between the two writers who both had their first West End hits 40 years ago this year and have been part of the fabric of theatre around the world ever since.
Peter Nichols (born 31 July 1927) is an English writer of stage plays, film and television.
Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and then did his National Service in the RAF for three years, going on to study acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. While he was working as a teacher he began to write television plays which achieved notice. His first play for the stage was The Hooded Terror, part of a season of new plays at the Little Theatre in Bristol which included Cockade by another new playwright Charles Wood. He later wrote A Day in the Death of Joe Egg for the stage because he thought it would be unacceptable for television.
Nichols' plays are hard to categorize. He is quoted as saying 'Do any damn thing you have to do to keep the heart and soul alive'.
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg is a one-set drama in music hall style. The National Health is a fantasy farce, also interrupted by Vaudeville. Privates On Parade is a musical comedy. Poppy takes the form of a Christmas pantomime.
Despite the comic style, Nichols' plays deal with the most serious of themes. In A Day in the Death of Joe Egg the burden of raising a hopelessly handicapped child shatters a couple's marriage. The patients of The National Health suffer and die, as do the singing soldiers of Privates On Parade. In Poppy Dick Whittington's sister becomes a drug addict. Passion Play focusses on adultery and betrayal.
Joe Egg is based on Nichols' own experiences of raising a handicapped child. The National Health draws on a hospital stay of his own, and Privates draws on his own military experiences.
The Stephen Joseph Theatre Company in
Forget-me-not Lane
By Peter Nichols
Directed by Bob Eaton
Frank is a married man, with a family of three and a head full of memories. As he tries to understand his parents’ relationship, his friendships and the problems in his own relationship with his wife, Frank transports us back to the 1940s. Through the great music of the era and his personal memories, the poignant and witty moments of Franks’ childhood during the Second World War unfold.Join us for this nostalgic and funny play, as Frank finds himself on a journey of love, humour, bitterness and self discovery. But will it lead to the answers he’s looking for? And why is he packing a suitcase?
Cast: Mike Burnside, Elaine Claxton, Katie Foster-Barnes, Ben Fox, Ruth Gibson, Dominic Hecht, Timothy Kightley, Ben Lambert, Sarah Moyle
"It's generally assumed that this play is about my family....I have never denied that it's dramatised autobiography." (Peter Nichols)
"Life is created by family. It was intended to be. There is no escape." (Peter Ainsworth)
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