Wheellerplays December News… Supplement

The Most Absurd Xmas In The World… Ever! Southern Evening Echo review.

We had a fab review from the Curtain Call reviewer from the Southern Evening Echo tonight.

A crazy, quirky Christmas show from a group whose energy, flair and sheer ebullience endear them to the audience.
Who would have thought that the gift of music to baby Bianca would lead her to compose symphonies before she begins school, or that she would hide in a pantomime cow to escape capture from secret agents Double O Slow and Stupid? They are to exchange her for the carrots that are to bring Father Christmas back. Confused? That's only the start, and as the group pile on the amazing plot twists, it is clear they are having a ball.
The “infamous agents”, superbly played by Alex Chalk and Charlie Farley Wheeller fight with wet mops to prove their innocence, whilst Bianca, performed with great assurance by Lucy Baston, chooses a witch, who scares everyone, for her lyricist.
Nothing makes sense but enjoy this early Christmas treat. As it is a promenade show, seating is limited.
Barbara Godwin: Southern Evening Echo.

Next December we will see if we will be nominated for any of the Curtain Call Awards 2006

Ziggy's Band/Sequinned Suits & Platform Boots Award nominations

In the past Wacky Soap was nominated for Best production and Jamie Godfroy in the same production received the Best Newcomer award. Two years ago we picked up two nominations for Missing Dan Nolan (Ollie Wheeller ( Technician – Best Newcomer ) & Rachel Dennett (Best Supporting Youth Actress ).

So to get four nominations for Ziggy's Band/Sequinned Suits & Platform Boots was a thrill to say the least. These are the nominations we received… I understand over 120 groups were assessed in the south of England t be up for the awards so we are very pleased indeed!

Alex Chalk (Best Supporting Actor – Norman Threwer)

Georgina Mattack (Best Newcomer – Gilly Threwer) Ziggy's Band

Anthony Jennings (Best Youth Actor – Shakey Threwer)

Charlotte Wells (Best Supporting Youth Actress – Doris Threwer) Sequinned Suits

They obviously liked the performances of (and I hope the writing for) the main family in this play as the whole family were put forward for a nomination!!!

The awards ceremony is on 27 th January at the Winchester Guildhall and unfortunately I won't be able to attend the main part of the evening as I am engaged in a public speaking competition but am intrigued to see if we actually win in any of the categories!

It has also meant that we've had a little extra coverage on the Bowie wonderworld site which I love!!!

http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/bowienews/news.htm

It all bodes well for our performances at the local one Act Play Festivals and offers encouragement for those groups who have enquired about this play or bought the script… it obviously does have much potential.

We are planning to present Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots at local One Act Play Festivals in March/April and then onto the Edinburgh Festival for Week 2... if you're anywhere near any of these do please pop in and see us!!!

Accolade from Maverick

I was really amazed to wake up one morning and see what had been added to the Maverick site in Gail's say about the four plays of mine they have taken on for Australasian customers as the dbda scripts are only marketed in the UK. This was pretty pleasing!!! Gail is the editor in chief at Maverick:

I am delighted to be part of publishing perhaps the most amazing plays I've read in all my time in publishing . (Wow!!!) Mark Wheeller contacted Maverick about the time we were due to ?nalise the publishing lists for 2005; when we read his scripts, we knew we had to do whatever possible to delay our deadlines and get them ready for this year's releases! We agreed to publish 4 of them immediately. His Reality Plays, already massively popular in the UK, are so dramatic on the page that it's exciting to think of the power these scripts will unleash during performance. Suitable for both senior teens and adults these scripts are also used as examination texts by teachers of senior students.

The scripts and rights are exclusive to Maverick in Australia and in New Zealand; Too Much Punch For Judy has already toured New Zealand professionally to great acclaim. Please take advantage of our free reading service (Only available to Australasian customers for my plays I'm afraid) and READ THESE FOUR PLAYS! Even if you aren't in performance mode, this style of playwriting will make you sit up if you have any interest in quality script writing and feel frustrated at the lack of seriously good writing for senior teens.

http://www.mavmuse.com/editorial.asp?year=2006

Wheellerplays Keynote Courses for English teachers.
A brief reminder of my upcoming course for Keynote.
ENGAGING AND MOTIVATING PUPILS IN KS3 ENGLISH THROUGH DRAMA
Details of this are on the Keynote Web site… please highlight this to your English colleagues as they may be interested but probably won't know anything about me at all.
http://www.keynote.org.uk/Courses/Details.aspx?EventID=855

I hope you all have a great Xmas break!

Mark

Wheellerplays December News

The Most Absurd Xmas In The World… Ever!

When Oaklands You Music Theatre first presented The Most Absurd Xmas Promenade Musical in the World … Ever! nine years ago it made a stunning impression and has since been published and performed across the country. The week after we do our performance there will be a run of the Musical in Birmingham… if you are near try to get along to see it!

Santa fails to arrive one year in The Bower of Bliss.

Why? A shortage of carrots perhaps?

Or is it because the new fairytale star, Bianca, is forbidden to play her music?

And why do her parents want to disguise her as a cactus?

And where did that mysterious Pantomime cow come from?

Never fear -it's a bundle of laughs and includes a sack load of original songs such as: I'M A CARROTY GUY, LET ME WEAR A DRESS & PANTO COW BLUES.

Who could possibly miss such a bizarre Xmas entertainment?!?

Oaklands Youth Theatre has been selected for the two most prestigious showcases for Youth Theatre; The Lloyds Bank National Theatre Challenge ( Hard To Swallow at the Royal National Theatre in London), and The National Student Drama Festival ( Chunnel of Love ). Recently they presented the critically acclaimed Ziggy's Band/Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots.

"Surreal and quirky humour sets the style of this thoroughly original tribute to the Seventies. It is proposed to perform Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots at the Edinburgh Festival (fringe), and Southampton can take civic pride in being so superbly represented." ( Barbara Godwin : Southern Evening Echo)

Last year Oaklands Community School was designated a Specialist Arts College and we have chosen to revisit this successful production to provide the perfect build up to this years Yuletide festivities. It has a large cast of young people aged between 8 and 20 and will be a highly entertaining evening.

N.B. This is a PROMENADE PRODUCTION.

The audience will be standing and moving throughout the performance.

There are only a few seats available, all may have a restricted view at times

Performances on 7 th -10th December at 7.30 p.m.

at the newly refurbished Oaklands Theatre

Tickets £3:50 (if bought in advance)

£4.50 (if bought after 5pm on the night of the chosen performance.)

Seats £5.50 (limited number and with restricted view)

Tickets are available from:

Oaklands Community School Reception.

Fairisle Road, Lordshill, Southampton, SO16 8BY. Tel: 02380 739797.

Cheques payable to “Oaklands”.

One performer in the above production (playing the role of Stupid) will be familiar to those of you who have seen the Missing Dan Nolan video (where he played Greg/George) or Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots (playing Older Shakey Threwer). Alex Chalk is possibly the most talented male actor I have had the good fortune to work with… ever, and many on seeing the video have commented on his performance.

He has won best Actor at the Totton One Act Drama Festival every time he has been in a play. He is, in January, to make his professional debut (at the age of 20 without having had to go to Drama School etc) in the forthcoming Solent People Theatres tour of…

The Gate Escape… Solent Peoples Theatre & Alex Chalk.

… The Gate Escape… you will be able to see this if you are in Year 8 in many Hampshire/Southampton/Portsmouth schools throughout January and February. I am given to understand that this will be the last time that Solent are to tour this play… so I hope there will be another company wiling to take this tour on as it has proved highly successful.

Thanks Brendon, for all your work on it over the years, and good luck to you,

Alex, at the start of what I predict will be a very successful acting career.

Arson About

If you are interested to see if the forthcoming tour of this play is coming to a school near you please visit for tour details:

http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/arson/moreInfo.htm

Why Did The Chicken?

If you are interested to see if the forthcoming tour of this play is coming to a school near you please visit for tour details:

http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/chicken/moreInfo.htm

Legal Weapon II

Legal Weapon II is touring for the first time (replacing Legal Weapon I) and will be visiting the following authorities:

Jan 30 th – Feb 3 rd SHEFFIELD

Feb 06 th – Feb 10 th NORFOLK

Mar 20 th - Mar 24 th BUCKS

Contact your local Road Safety Officer if you would like this play to visit your school… you may not have to pay!!!

Too Much Punch For Judy

Punch is touring again and will be visiting the following authorities:

Jan 23 rd – Jan 27 th HUTTON

Jan 30 th – Feb 3 rd ENFIELD

Feb 06 th – Feb 10 th NEATH PORT TALBOT - WALES

Feb 13 th – Feb 17 th BRIDGEND – WALES

Feb 27 th – Mar 03 rd SOUTHEND

Again, contact your local Road Safety Officer if you would like this play to visit your school… you may not have to pay!!!

30 years Ago… December 1975… Snow White

This is a very significant anniversary for me… one I think about every Xmas… probably to date my greatest achievement!

My school Marlwood Comp in Alveston (near Thornbury in Bristol) had no Drama teacher in my penultimate year, (Barbie Davis arrived in my last year) so I as a sixth former attempted to fill that gap by putting on big productions with lots of youngsters in them… the truth was putting on these plays… well Musicals was the only way I could manage of me getting my songs performed… I was (and still am a frustrated rock star!!! I didn't at that stage write the scripts (far too much like hard work I thought!)…. but I did all the directing and organising… providing me with much valuable experience for my time as a teacher doing school productions.

Snow White was the first where I was allowed to invite parents in and sell tickets. Jane Falconer (hi Jane if you're reading this) wrote the script of Snow White and I wrote eight or nine songs. Not only did I direct but took on the role of an outsized dwarf (the others were all in the first year!) and gave myself three songs to sing… one about falling in love with a Paper Bag from the international Stores (where I worked)!

Throughout the Autumn term I organised rehearsals and worked hard with the cast. I loved it… so much so that I did little work on my exams and failed all my A Levels! In December we did a number of “in school” performances and one for our parents in the evening. I was really sad as my Dad was not able to see it as he was a teacher and was involved in a concert of his own. The evening was a huge success and I think I have tried to re-live the feelings of achievement I experienced during those performances, in all the productions I have put on since. Only once has that feeling been truly superseded… the evening Hard To Swallow was presented at the Royal National Theatre in London.

Looking back it is amazing that such a small-scale event can have given me such massive feelings of excitement and satisfaction… but it did. Each year I put aside time to sit at my piano and sing through all the songs… remembering many of the people who were in the production and that unique feeling of “ensemble”. It gave me my first real taste of “success” in Theatre and provided for me a real turning point in my life! I should mention here my housemaster Dave Goldring (with whom I'm still regularly in touch) who had the courage to trust me with the production and was always on hand to offer support… he'd never done any work in the Theatre before… and I know he looks back on that era with fondness too… thanks Dave!

Wheellerplays November News

Kill Jill

Birmingham Young Rep Youth Theatre

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005
Playing to packed houses on all three evenings it was fantastic to see my ideas brought to life by the novice cast under the expert director, Tim Ford. I have always been knocked out by Tim's work. KILL JILL was no exception. There are some technical challenges in the play but Tim was keen to stage the play simply, yet effectively to demonstrate to other schools that it can be performed without all the technical back up of somewhere like the Rep. The piece was staged with some cameras, some TV's (with captions being relayed "live" on the TV's by the camera operators filming cards held up by their assistants).

Nicola Ali took on the central role of Jill and played a major part in the shows success. I cannot imagine anyone ever making a better job of this role.

As a serious "issue'' play neither Tim or I had anticipated the resultant script to become a comedy... albeit a Black Comedy... with a real sting in the tail. To add to the comedy Tim had the inspired idea to cast Jill's mum as a Panto style Dame. Chris Todd obviously enjoyed this role and elicited many laughs!

I am never sure that my humour is ever going to appeal to others... I am much more confident about my sense of Drama. So, l was much relieved to see how well the main three comic set pieces went down. The two Shopkeepers, with echoes of both Monty Python and The Fast Show were OUTSTANDING (Ian Farnel and Dore Robinson). The Jeweller , who only had a few lines, became one of the most memorable characters! The Storytellers scene was one l was most impressed by. Staged highly imaginatively (a la Brussels Sprouts body props), it had everyone lol! Their moment on the hill as the part time well worked brilliantly too.

In the final fifteen minutes the play changes and we are plunged into thriller territory. The pace changed; as did the atmosphere and with the arrival of Jerry Orme playing the "Giant" I could see this difficult and more naturalistic scene was in very good hands. It provided a dramatic climax to a play I am delighted to say I plan to make only a few minor changes to... A sigh of relief... IT WORKED

I will try to post independent reviews as soon I get them from Tim... And will also reveal when I hear any news about this play being published... I hope it will, I hope it will become a firm favorite for both classroom and should be a great choice for One Act Play Festivals.

A short addendum... My dad always used to say:

"You can always tell if a musical is going to work because you'll hear people whistling the songs...or at least they'll stay in your head."

Today I heard my son quoting the play... the salespeople's scene... so that's a great sign or is he merely playing for a decent Xmas pressie!!!!

While in Birmingham it was great to do the workshop introducing my plays to a good number of Drama teachers. Thanks for the opportunity to meet you all.

Wheellerplays Keynote Courses for English teachers.
I have a feeling the links I gave out in last months newsletter were wrong… as Keynote Educational have had a web site upgrade (very posh!) so am repeating the details I gave last month but am adding the new links.

A brief reminder of my upcoming courses for Keynote.
ENGAGING AND MOTIVATING PUPILS IN KS3 ENGLISH THROUGH DRAMA

Details of this are now on the Keynote Web site… please highlight this to your English colleagues as they may be interested but probably won't know anything about me at all.

http://www.keynote.org.uk/Courses/Details.aspx?EventID=854

http://www.keynote.org.uk/Courses/Details.aspx?EventID=855

James Holmes.
Composer of both Wacky Soap and The Most Absurd Xmas Musical in The World… Ever! has now taken the rights back (from Musicline… spot a theme here?) for his musical Titanic the Unsinkable Dream . He and Pete Halman the librettist for the Musical which has been performed successfully both here and abroad have set up a web site with details of this exciting new musical for schools. If you want to have a look here is the url:

http://www.titanicmusical.co.uk

Hope you enjoy.

Blackout (Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatre) more reviews…

By Mark Howell-Meri

I was delighted to see this production on the same night as the Mayor of Eastleigh, Councillor Bernie Wright and his wife, Ruth. Mark Wheeller, part-time Drama teacher at Oakland's Community School in Southampton is one of the country's leading playwrights for children. Mark knows how to make quality theatre. Many of his plays and musicals are - like Shakespeare's - plays within plays. Mark's plays and musicals are ensemble pieces, easy to stage with clear meanings for children. Mark writes theatrically indicating when theatre techniques like freeze, direct address and slow motion movement can be used. His stage directions are far more than simple instructions: they extend students' learning about the Drama curriculum they learn in school.

On entering the theatre we saw old dustsheets covering the stage and a collection of 1940s bric-a-brac giving the impression its occupants had long moved on or died. The stage, though, was crowded with children in 1940s clothes like sleeping ghosts of the blitz. The two narrators Kate Underhill and Simon Paul wore modern trainers and jeans and their wonderful singing voices encouraged us to contemplate the implications of the play for the present day, rather than simply indulge ourselves. Radio broadcasts including the Joseph Chamberlain's declaration of war with Germany and Churchill's famous “We will never surrender” filled the auditorium.

The story centred on Rachel Eagle, brilliantly played by Imogen Corrie, and her experiences of being separated from family when evacuated. This paralleled that of her best friend Susan Draper played by Natalie Cadde. I completely believed these two girls might be best friends in real life. We saw how war distanced the friends and seemed to make them grow old in a very short time. At first Rachel and Susan treated evacuation like a holiday. Kim Wren, Oliver Gratton and Lewis Philpott played Rachel's father, mother and older brother extremely well, dad insisting that Rachel and Oliver stay in London come what may. It helped that all the children had been carefully directed to underplay the emotions of separation. I saw no overacting, so common in productions staged by children.

Rachel's separation started when the Area Billeting Officer placed her with the Johnson family, who never wanted her. Charlie Wheeler gave a striking performance as the very irritating Harry Johnson, the son. Michael Sprawson and Hannah Williams gave equally strong performances as the “posh” Major (“yes dear”) and mother (“speak clearly dear”) Johnson.

Songs and entertainments from World War 2 interspersed the performance. Connie Harrison and Dan Reeves gave a great performance of the Blackout Song. The whole cast had impeccable voices and really kept us absorbed and enthralled by their outstanding singing skills.

David Gale, Natalie Bray and Laura Ward equally effectively played the happy Reid family from Bramble Farm where Rachel lived as an evacuee. The production made clear that the separation felt by the evacuees might well have been equally as hurtful when they left their second families to return to London. Later in the play the audience sniggered at James Bailey, Aiden Goodall and Johnathan Bakewell playing the “'ard boys” from school picking on the “vackeys”.

The London underground sign stuck me most, hanging upstage right as if it had been blown aside by a bomb, reminding us of the atrocities in London last Thursday. We must never forget that some - be they the BNP or any other terrorist - want to follow in Hitler's footsteps and destroy our democracy. The children in this production showed that those bombers are, in truth, a very small minority of most young, happy, people.

U3A Blackout Review

Earlier in July, the theatre group went to the Point to see the Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatre's production of "Blackout", a musical written by the local playwright, Mark Wheeler.
It was a very warm, mellow July evening. The prospect of being packed into a small theatre was not enticing. However we were all more than rewarded by a scintillating and energetic performance revealing the lives of evacuee children during WW2. The individual performance of these young people, particularly those in the lead roles, was outstanding and very convincing as they revealed some of the problems faced by children of the era. With such sympathy and understanding did these young actors portray their story, that it not only stirred childhood memories of our own group but also must have served as a vivid history lesson to the cast's own peer group.
The theatre group is now looking forward to the next outing

Wheellerplays October News

Antipodes.

Yes! Maverick Musicals have ended up being as good as their word… (most publishers are in my experience!). They have adopted the exclusive rights to market four of my plays in Australia and New Zealand. They perused all of my dbda plays and have decided to test the water with (in alphabetical order) Graham - Worlds Fastest Blind Man; Hard To Swallow; Missing Dan Nolan & Too Much Punch For Judy.

I guess three out of the four plays were predictable, but Graham being selected has given me particular gratification. It is, as I have often said before, one I have a lot invested in emotionally. I loved working on it again to prepare a script, which deleted the songs. Gail who heads up Maverick said to me it was her personal favourite and she couldn't put it down… so that's really good! I hope to see Graham finding his place in schools with the upcoming Olympics!

Until last year when some students at my school picked it up and used it in their GCSE examination no-one had performed it since EBYT's successful performances at the Edinburgh Festival. I do not understand why, as it offers such an amazing central role, such drama and some wonderful humour not to mention the inspirational story. If you have the inclination take another look… and if it is the fact that there are songs in it… CUT THEM! They are not necessary! If anyone can shed any light on what puts them off about this play (if indeed you've read it) do let me know… I am SO baffled!

Anyway… have a look at this link to see how Maverick are promoting my work and also take a look at their complete catalogue… much of which is available to UK schools. They have some VERY popular material on there.

http://www.mavmuse.com/author.asp?AuthorID=60
Until now, foreign publishers have resisted any interest in my work much as UK publishers did (even when plays were touring here and, allegedly, teachers were trying to get hold of them). Too Much Punch was, for a couple of years, the most performed play (in New Zealand with Bouncers by John Godber coming second)… yet still no publisher (here or abroad) was interested! I don't understand why this is. I hope that my belief in my plays will be borne out by the work Maverick do in promoting these four plays in the Antipodes much as it has by dbda (wonderful dbda!) here in the UK. Thanks Maverick. America next? I hope so!

Kill Jill

Young Rep @ Birmingham Rep

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005
The premiere of this is now getting ever closer and I gear rehearsals are going brilliantly! I can't wait to see it! If you're interested.. please follow this link to find all the details and how to buy tickets online.

http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/core_asp/showpage.asp?theid=234

I will be at the Friday and Saturday performances.

Also… when Paul Mills (reviewer of Sequinned below) read the script for the first time… this was his (again oh so enviably eloquent… he should be writing plays not me!) response.

Oh my days! What a great script! Powerful stuff Mark and very enjoyable to read...I like the way you've kept the Kill Bill soundtrack (as an optional extra!). Haven't seen Kill Bill but can imagine the energy and drive it gives 'little sis' in performance.

The whole exchange about the cow mask fetish...that's great fun...definitely original and way out there in it's audacity. I'd love to see Tim directing his cast on in those exchanges!

I found the build up of tension really sudden in the visit to George's castle and the scene between Jill and George started to put the play in firm thriller territory! The playfulness with style and wide range of reference points all make it a clear continuation of your open all areas playfulness - as in AA you give yourself 'anytime, anyplace, anywhere' theatrical freedom and the result is Kill Jill is a very fizzy ride! Storytellers who enter in the middle of the play, for example - surely not conventional!

I love the Panto moments - e.g. having the cow mooing inconspicuously until the final blurting out in Ali G speak! It comes across like scratching a needle across the olde-worlde record of the strange young woman and bringing in the drum 'n bass with "My special cow powers inform dat dey is bangin' innit! Buyakasha!" Reminded me a bit of the fab scene in Shrek when Eddie Murphy/Donkey talks!

At times the dialogue's quite surreal - in the Well, for example...had me trying to turn the monitor upside down!

In your playing with the theatrical licence the banter goes to some strange places too Mark - perhaps a Python influence - are you a fan?

Yes… very much so!

One of my favourite moments is the slow realisation in the 'puff' section - (Pointing to the camera operators) How come they're not out of breath?
This creates a lovely switch of focus between the protagonists and their ever-present observers and sets up a hostility towards the non-participants that makes it all the more enjoyable when the COs get their come-uppance in your final chop-shock! Wonderful stuff!!!!! I'm sure it's going to go down a storm in Brum!

Thanks Paul.

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots.
Against my better judgement some students in my colleagues class at Oaklands (having seen our Youth Theatre production) decided to perform a shortened version of the above for their GCSE examination. This was never written as a GCSE piece… but they have proved it does work and so did their marks! Two of them got 40/40! The examiner obviously really liked it… it was performed exuberantly by the whole group ALL of whom achieved incredibly high marks… I think the lowest was 35/40… better than I could have predicted on the day the original request was made. I can now see it works as a GCSE piece and have consequently written a shorter version (35 minutes) which can be performed by a group of seven. Do get in touch with me if you would like further details of how you can get this as it still remains unpublished though a number of publishers are looking at it!

One teacher who has seen it really liked it… I hope he won't mind me including this review he wrote (some three months after he saw it) and put on Drama_uk. It is so well written… really captures the spirit of the piece… and… I won't say any more… here it is:

Last summer I had the pleasure of taking a coach load of our pupils to see Mark's youth theatre perform his fantastic autobio-comedy 'Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots'.
Now Mark's school is anything but 'quaint'. Coming from our leafy suburb in Winchester, our pupils filed nervously into the Oaklands Theatre while watched from the roof by the local chav society who loitered impressively on the school roof wearing perfect white on white. How could we have known that we were about to watch the most touching and nostalgic production where the simple act of taking a record out of its sleeve, moving an arm across and pulling the 'play' lever became a metaphor for the wonder of youth!
Apart from being completely enthralled in a delightfully-visual show where every entrance earned a round of applause (something to do with the gaudy makeup, wild wigs and psychedelic outfits -our Year 10s came out of the theatre thinking everything was 'cosmic' and asking each other one question..."wouldn't it be amazing if we could do this play for our final exam?!"
Mark is now making them available as e-plays until they are formally published so I can now tell them "yes you can!"
I'm blatantly a big fan of Mark's plays (although this is nothing like any other Wheellerplay I know)...but if you could have seen Sequinned Suits live, you'd have been party to one of those rare communal experiences we often hope to have in the theatre.
The play follows the story of Shakey Threwer and his first love...listening to music and following the righteous path that of the wannabe. If this play were set in modern times it would just make you think of Pop Idol. Set instead in the time of Mark's own awakening...(bloody years ago!)...when T-Rex stomped the planet, David Bowie ruled the skies, and every new bad taste idea was "cosmic!", this heart-warming play invited every member of the audience to confront their own moments of stary-eyed wonder-lust and giggle with coy embarrassment!
I hate to think that anyone would pass by on an opportunity to inspire their pupils simply because this play isn't as well known as Mark's other plays or lesser plays published by better know publishers.
If all the nostalgia sounds to sugary...I'm sure the other play on offer - Kill Jill - will catapult those who want a bit more grit 180% in the opposite direction!

Paul Mills – Westgate School in Winchester.

Chief Examiner Report 2005
I received two “mentions” in the Edexcel Chief Examiners report this year… which was really pleasing! Thanks Ginny… Edexcel have, since the dbda publications, been staunch “supporters” of my work and really helped to disseminate information about my plays. Here are the two mentions!

In Unit 2 there was also evidence of much excellent practice and, interestingly, slightly less emphasis upon performance. Challenging texts from Shakespeare, Miller, Wertenbaker, Priestley, Cartwright, and Churchill were used as well as the tried and tested favourites from Godber, Russell and Wheeller . It was noted that candidates of all abilities gained much from challenging playtexts when they were made accessible through focused teaching and appropriately selected extracts.

The mention for Paper 2 (performance of a text) was as follows.

Examiners commented on challenging texts such as Shakespeare, Priestley, Beckett, Pinter or Churchill being presented, often at a high level. The National Theatre Connections series and Grimms Tales, Arabian Nights and Twisted Tales were seen as appropriate choices that produced some ‘entrancing' and ‘magical' work. Some were played to a target audience of primary school children to great effect. Two other writers of plays targeted at this age group are Chris Owen (A Mother's Voice / The Last Resort) and Mark Wheeller ( Hard to Swallow / Too Much Punch for Judy ) produced work that fully met the criteria for this paper and was often well matched with candidates' interest and knowledge .

It is a pretty good feeling to be listed along with these names!

Amateur Stage Review

I also had an amazing review in The Amateur Stage last month for two of my plays… Legal Weapon II and The Gate Escape. The reviews were [receded by a paragraph about my work in general… whoo!!!

The remarkable Mark Wheeller's play Legal Weapon has had no less than 1897 performances since it was first staged in 1996. This puts into perspective the vital contribution to our education system and the value of his exceptional writing in confronting the vast range of social issues that make up his invaluable portfolio.

It is important that we pay due cognisance of the invaluable role that Mark plays as a socially conscious dramatist, and for me it has been exhilarating to see his work extend beyond the early commissions to write for Theatre in Education companies and within the last decade to become one of the most performed playwrights in a wide range of professional and community venues as well as in educational establishments that face so many of the social problems that are addressed in his work.

Charles Vance Editor of Amateur Stage.

Well, well well! This doesn't happen too often I guess… so I'll put this on the from page of my web site I think!

Wheellerplays Keynote Courses
I have a feeling the links I gave out in last months newsletter were wrong… as Keynote Educational have had a web site upgrade (very posh!) so am repeating the details I gave last month but am adding the new links.

A brief reminder of my two upcoming courses for Keynote. They look at some tried and tested improvisations that I have run with classes in schools Key Stage 3 & 4. This is on, again for two dates at the following venues:
LONDON : The Thistle Kensington Park Hotel: Wednesday 12 October 2005
MANCHESTER : The Marriott Airport Hotel: Thursday 13 October 2005
Follow this link to get all the details:
http://www.keynote.org.uk/Courses/Details.aspx?EventID=539

http://www.keynote.org.uk/Courses/Details.aspx?EventID=540

I am also running a course for English teachers.

ENGAGING AND MOTIVATING PUPILS IN KS3 ENGLISH THROUGH DRAMA

Details of this are now on the Keynote Web site… please highlight this to your English colleagues as they may be interested but probably won't know anything about me at all.

http://www.keynote.org.uk/Courses/Details.aspx?EventID=854

http://www.keynote.org.uk/Courses/Details.aspx?EventID=855

The Most Absurd Promenade Xmas Musical In The World… Ever! AUDITIONS!!!

All cast (many parts double cast!) and now having great fun in rehearsals. I'd forgotten quite how much fun this zany script is and the music (by James (Wacky Soap/Titanic – The unsinkable Dream) Holmes is a treat!

Another really wonderful thing for me is that two of my three children have roles in it… Daisy was cast (by James I hasten to add) as one of the two Bianca's and Charlie will be up to his normal comedy as he is one of the Slows! It will be an Xmas I think all involved will remember with much fondness!

Our performances will be from December the 7 th –10 th 2005… and we are doing it as a promenade piece!

I'm also really pleased to report that we are not the only ones being ABSRUD this Xmas. I have had notification of another Youth Theatre are doing it… Sandwell Youth Theatre at Coneygre Arts Centre Sandwell MBC Sedgeley Road East Tipton on 13th -15th December 2005 so if you can't get to see our version you may well be interested in seeing theirs!

Wheellerplays September News

The Most Absurd Promenade Xmas Musical In The World… Ever! AUDITIONS!!!

Auditions for this exciting promenade (my personal favourite way of presenting this Musical!) production are on the 15 th September.

ANYONE who is interested in being part of a large cast Oaklands Youth Theatre production should come along to the newly refurbished Oaklands Theatre, Lordshill Southampton at 6pm on that night. No previous experience is necessary… just lots of enthusiasm and a keen sense of commitment.

We haven't presented a Musical for a number of years at Oaklands so we are seriously in need of SINGERS and DANCERS! We have lots of great actors… but I have no idea how many of them can sing (or dance)… so if you have singing ability PLEASE don't be backward in coming forward!!!

The performances will be from December the 7 th –10 th 2005.

Auditions are open to anyone able to attend rehearsals in Southampton they will only be on Tuesdays, Thursday evenings or Sundays but not all of them!) in Sept – Dec… and targets 8-22 year olds… if you are just outside that age limit then do get in touch we are keen to make exceptions!!! Obviously you will have to live near enough to Southampton to be able to attend rehearsals.

These are the details of the parts available:

Female roles (child). Solo singing parts. Really strong voices needed.

*Bianca Beauty She sings one solo song. A main part. She is in most scenes and has a lot of words to learn. This will be a tremendous opportunity for someone very young (or very young looking). Needs to be able to play a ten to twelve years old . (Only needs to look this age, need not be this age.)

*Little Goodie: Has to be able to sing a short solo. A major part for someone who looks ten to twelve years old . (Again needs only to look this age). Is one of the main characters from the chorus having some words to learn.

No solo singing required.

Fairy-tale Goodie children of The Bower of Bliss: A lot of choral singing and speaking.

Female roles (older): Solo singing parts. Strong voices needed.

*Witch: Has a solo song . Major part. Great opportunity for subtle character playing.

Dance ability would also be an asset.

*Bad Fairy: Needs to be prepared to sing solo . The song is the only time that the Bad fairy appears ... it has no spoken lines. Dance ability would also be an asset. Could equally be male.

Gretel: Appears in two scenes. Words to learn ... but not that many. Would prefer a singer.

No solo singing required.

Sleeping Beauty: Bianca's mother. Major part… lots of comedy.

Bianca's Nanny: A comic character part. Not a lot of words to learn.

The Queen of the Bower of Bliss: A small role who appears (with the King a lot). She has few lines to learn.

Goodies 1-5: Might be an advantage to sing. Will not be expected to sing solo. Various solo lines as well as a large number of choral work. Could equally be male .

DJ 1 & 2: Cameo, comic role with 5 or 6 lines to learn . Could equally be male.

Dancers/Bad Fairy's entourage: To be auditioned on dance ability. Could equally be male.

Paramedics/Fairy Tale Folk of The Bower Of Bliss :

Effectively the chorus. To be auditioned on singing ability. Could equally be male.

Boys: Solo singing parts. Really strong voices needed.

Older boys. Solo singing parts. Really strong voices needed.

*Bad Fairy: Needs to be prepared to sing solo . The song is the only time that the Bad fairy appears ... it has no spoken lines. Dance ability would also be an asset. Could equally be female.

*Goodie Six: Solo song in the style of a Music Hall. London/cockney accent essential. Vibrant personality and confident singer. Has some lines ... with Little Goodie is the leading chorus member. Could equally be female???

Goodies 1-5: Might be an advantage to sing. Will not be expected to sing solo. Various solo lines as well as a large number of choral work. Could equally be female.

Male - No solo singing required.

00 Stupid: Major part in the musical. A comedy James Bond type secret agent. Part of a double act.

00 Slow on the Uptake: Major part in the musical. A comedy James Bond type secret agent. Second part of a double act.

The King of The A major role. Very little in the way of movement. A lot of rhymed speeches to learn…

Bower of Bliss: some are quite long.

Alan Beauty: Bianca 's dad. An important part. Comic moments ... but not a comic character. Appears as a main character in the first half of the play.

The Fairy: Excellent comic role. Appears in the opening scene only, however, is the central character in this scene. Is likely to be remembered. Also an opportunity to wear a gorgeous costume!!!

Hansel: Appears in two scenes. Words to learn ... not many. Singing in tune might be an advantage.

DJ 1 & 2: Cameo, comic role with 5 or 6 lines to learn. Could equally be female.

Father Xmas: Brief Cameo appearance… no words… hands out sweets!!!

Dancers/Bad Fairy's entourage: To be auditioned on dance ability. Could equally be female

Paramedics/Fairy Tale Folk of The Bower Of Bliss :

Effectively the chorus. To be auditioned on singing ability. Could equally be female.

Antipodes.

I hope I will have some good news to tell next month… or before… regarding marketing of some of my plays in Australia and New Zealand… well I should… but keeping mum for the moment after being let down at the final hour last month by a different publisher for another of my plays… can't imagine that will happen twice though in as many months!

Kill Jill

Young Rep @ Birmingham Rep

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005
This is now getting closer! Can't wait! If you follow this ink you will find all the details and how to buy tickets online.

http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/core_asp/showpage.asp?theid=234

I will be at the Friday and Saturday performances.

MBA Literary Agents Newsletter

I have been with MBA since they saw Hard To Swallow in 1989 in Edinburgh. They have moved my writing career forward in a big way. For the first 14 years my agent was Meg Davis who has now moved on to do bigger and better things within the agency… so I have been taken over by Sophie Gorell Barnes who you will get to hear on the phone should you contact MBA for performing rights or slides or whatever. Sophie has made a great start with me and has included some news of me on the MBA web page newsletter, which can be accessed on:
http://www.mbalit.co.uk/pages/

Professional tours

Details of the following tours of my plays can be accessed from the following web sites.
Too Much Punch For Judy and Legal Weapon www.apetheatrecompany.com

Chicken http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/chicken/moreInfo.htm
and Arson About http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/arson/moreInfo.htm

The StopWatch site is particularly informative and tells you where both Chicken and Arson are being performed. Also on the Arson page there is a link (which I can't get to work… but others have), which allows you to see a brief video of extracts from the professional production… it's worth a look.

The Gate Escape - http://www.solentpeoplestheatre.com/index.asp?upid=44&msid=20

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Dengie Hopes and Dreams.

I am so pleased to see Blackout be the biggest climber in my charts this quarter! It has suddenly been performed by a number of groups this summer… whereas before people seemed to have shied away from it. All the productions went down amazingly well… I hope that this experience will tempt more groups to try it!

I have been delighted to have contact with the shows producer Ann Barrett and was amazed to make contact again with Goldsmiths' golden oldie (not so much of the old I hear her say!!!), Carole Ash whose daughters (Polly & Eloise) were both in the production.

Ann kept me informed throughout the preparation period and news and how it went post-production. I have just opened my post today and she has been kind enough to send me a programme and some other goodies from the show including a signed card from the cast… thanks you guys! It sounds like it was an amazingly moving experience for all concerned both performers and audience alike. Here's a review from their local paper… I look forward to seeing the video!

BLACKOUT – was this year's show chosen by Dengie Hopes and Dreams. It was a tribute to the older citizens and acknowledged all that is owed to them by present generations. It was the story of Rachel who represented “one evacuee in a thousand”.

Hopes and Dreams did magnificently - and all in a week! The performers' ages ranged from 11 to adult but most of them were in the 11-16-age range. Had I been in one of London's top theatres I could not have found more talent, the singing the sensitivity of the acting, so many emotions, it was all there.

The cast were superb and carried their parts extremely well. Narrators (Liz Holliday, Charlotte Smith & Amy Moss – land army girls) did a superb job in singing the story line and such lovely voices. Hannah Rees (Rachel's best friend and Jemma Walshley as Doreen Reid were both quite brilliant in their supporting roles with Rachel. The Eagle family, Phil Merriam (dad) Jennifer Hammond (mum) & Theo Perry (Brother) really took you back to how a family from Bethnal Green in the late 30's really were and the snobby Johnson family played by John Holliday (Dad) Rosie Smith (Mum) and brother Harold (with a lisp) Jack Saunders were such a great contrast. Yet again the mood changes when Rachel finally settles with a very kindly family – the Reid Family –Gordon Anderson (Dad) Eloise Ash (Mum) and their daughter Doreen(Jemma Walshley).

Along with a chorus of Mums, evacuees, school children, billeting officers, teachers & newsreaders all too many to mention by name. Although I would like to mention the “Clean up Gang” a group made up of young men who brought a real bit of comedy to the show – they were fantastic.

Each and every member of the cast deserved a bouquet but of course the biggest bouquet of all had to go to the leading lady Jessica Merriam who played Rachel – she was amazing - one moment she had you laughing the next you were searching for the tissues. An absolutely faultless performance.

Congratulations also to the people who work so hard all week behind the scenes, preparing food, rehearsing, and all the many other jobs that are required to be done to get a show like this on the road. Ann Barrett , musical director, Sue Lucas, Nick Perry & Allan & Sue Watkins who provided excellent musical backing. Wardrobe too deserves a mention – so authentic and where did you find the gas mask?

And last and by no means least Mr Tom Cooper the Director who used his own personal magic to bring this absolutely magical performance to us. Thank you Dengie Hopes and Dreams for a most amazing show – you are all Stars!

It is far, far superior to anything on TV!

Sylvia Paine.

Wheellerplays Keynote Courses
A brief reminder of my two upcoming courses for Keynote. They look at some tried and tested improvisations that I have run with classes in schools Key Stage 3 & 4. This is on, again for two dates at the following venues:
LONDON : The Thistle Kensington Park Hotel: Wednesday 12 October 2005
MANCHESTER : The Marriott Airport Hotel: Thursday 13 October 2005

I am also running a course for English teachers.

ENGAGING AND MOTIVATING PUPILS IN KS3 ENGLISH THROUGH DRAMA

I hope you have all had a good summer holidays… didn't they go fast?

Wheellerplays August News

Kill Jill

Young Rep @ Birmingham Rep

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005
Wow! Yes! Finished this yesterday (June 30 th ). Sent it to Tim Ford from the Young Theatre at Birmingham Rep and he has been most complimentary about it saying he thinks it's possibly my best yet!!! He should know… he's read all of my plays (I think)… and directed a good number of them! It is cast and tickets are already on sale. If you follow this ink you will find all the details and how to buy tickets online.

http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/core_asp/showpage.asp?theid=234

I am hoping to be at the Friday and Saturday performances and will be delighted to say hello to anyone who visits these pages at this exciting performance directed by my fave director, Tim Ford who you may remembered directed the memorable production of Graham –World's Fastest Blindman at Edinburgh Festival about four years ago.

Now the play is completed I can write a proper synopsis, which is as follows and will from now onwards appear on the plays page of this site.

Kill Jill explores the hot topical issue of homeowners defending themselves, and the rights we have (or don't?) to protect our homes.

This One Act Play uses ideas form the age-old story of Jack And The Beanstalk, where a youth, Jack, has been repeatedly robbing the guy at the top of the beanstalk. His final visit to the beanstalk is different in two ways. First: With Jack is his girlfriend, Jill, (of course) who is co-incidentally the latest victim in Reality Lottery. This is a fictional TV transmission where people are forced (Selected by a Lottery) to participate in a Reality Show, a futuristic form of National Service… to entertainment. Secondly the guy at the top of the beanstalk has chosen this day to lay in wait for the young thieves armed with a shotgun.

The ending is suitably Tarantinoesque.

Kill Jill raises issues of rights and responsibilities (Jack, Giant, Jill and the also TV crew filming the reality show… how far should they allow this to go?).

It is a play that will both delight Drama teachers and their students as it is full of imaginative techniques and will thrill anyone exploring Citizenship issues through imaginative and entertaining Theatre productions.

I will be staying over in Birmingham for an extra couple of days as I have been asked to lead a course for Drama teachers at the Great Barr School in Birmingham. on the Monday following the last performance. I look forward to meeting them, and hope that some of them will also come and see the play!

I am also running a course for English teachers.

ENGAGING AND MOTIVATING PUPILS IN KS3 ENGLISH THROUGH DRAMA

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatre.

There have been a couple of reviews of this production in the local press… I think all concerned can feel suitably pleased!!!

This polished, well-performed production stands as a credit to director Dan Clarke's skill in working with young people, and every player exuded confidence and energy. The chorus produced some of the best sequences in the show and the muted costumes and set were a delight to the eye.

This is the story of “One Evacuee In Thousands”. Rachel, powerfully created by Imogen Comrie, is evacuated from home and unwelcome in the household to which she is sent. She is strong willed and insists on being moved to a caring family environment where she is happy. The war intervenes, and her feelings disregarded, she is returned to the city.

As the show ends, the poignancy is beautifully captured by Katie Underhill singing the last notes of Eyes of a Child .

There were notable performances from Kim Wren, Lewis Philpott, Michael Sprawson, Hannah Williams and Natalie Leader as the newsreader.

Barbara Godwin – Southern Evening Echo

Blackout – Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatre.

Moving Evacuation.

Eastleigh borough Youth Theatre's musical Blackout, was loaded with nostalgic atmosphere, wartime spirit and heartbreak. When the curtain drew back, it revealed a crowd of lost little children clutching tiny suitcases, the dominant sepia making the scene look like an aging photograph. The stage set was a heap of discarded junk: the contents of an attic, the detritus of lives.

With a well trained cast of over 50, the show fairly pulsed with energy in sassy routines like the dancing Mrs Mops Sweeping to Victory , and the exhortation to Blackout your Windows .

But the story of one little girls evacuation from London was moving too. In the words of the nest song in the show this was life through The Eyes of a Child , being pushed around at the whim of adults: evacuees were not always well treated by their hosts.

Rachel, beautifully portrayed by Imogen Comrie, stays on in Bethnal Green through the Blitz because her parents can't face sending her away. But when the bombing intensifies they decide she has to go to the country. At first she is unhappily placed with the Johnson's, but later she is moved to a farm where the kindly Reids are more like her real family. Then her mother dies in a bombing raid and Rachel has to return to an uncertain future in London.

Performances that caught the eye included Michael Sprawson, as the martinet Major Johnson, his wife Phyllis (Hannah Williams) and son (Charlie Wheeller), who is the target of bullying because he has to look after a girl evacuee.

Much of the burden of singing was carried by Katie Underhill and Simon Paul, the narrators of the story.

Director Dan Clarke said he chose the musical because he hoped that by understanding the plight of children all those years ago, the youngsters involved would better understand the plight still faced by refugee families, away fro their homes and friends.

Robin Brown – Hampshire Chronicle

The Most Absurd Promenade Xmas Musical IN The World… Ever!

I am really pleased to announce that James Holmes and I are working together again to re-mount this successful Xmas Musical, which remains one of my favourites. We will be doing it as a promenade production… I don't think anyone else has done it in that way since it's first performances ten years ago.

Auditions are on the 15 th September… anyone who is interested in being part of a large case Oaklands Youth Theatre production should come along to the newly refurbished Oaklands Theatre at 6pm on that night. No previous experience is necessary… just lots of enthusiasm and a keen sense of commitment. The performances will be from December the 7 th –10 th 2005. Auditions are open to anyone able to attend rehearsals in Southampton in Sept – Dec… and targets 8-22 year olds… if you are just outside that age limit then do get in touch we are keen to make exceptions!!!

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Disappointing news… and lessons for me to learn! Never take anything for granted! Never make announcements on your own web site until you are absolutely certain. I guess these are two lessons I've had to learn re what happened to this play so suddenly in July.

After all the excitement of our performances; after the stunning reviews we had in June; after not showing it to any other publishers and promising it to one who had told me they were seriously interested; after they'd negotiated with my agent a contract; after signing that contract all I thought I had to do was to wait for the signature from said publisher. It wasn't forthcoming but naively I did not anticipate any problem… I'd had lots of very positive contact with this company. I was not expecting an email from the guy at the head of this company saying that he'd/they'd had second thoughts… seemingly sudden ones. 24 hours before getting the aforementioned email I was arranging a review for said publisher with Amateur Stage with the their full knowledge and consent. They have decided not to go ahead with publishing this play.

How disappointing is that? VERY! In retrospect it may be for the best… for both parties. We shall see!!!

So back to square one! It is not dbda's cup of tea, I always knew that and they have since confirmed that they only publish issue based plays. So it is now with two other publishers who are looking at it.

I can now only hope it will be published and become available to others.

Meanwhile OYT are planning to perform it at local One Act Drama Festivals in March. We are also hoping to perform it in Thornbury at their wonderful Arts Festival in May 2006. It will then go on to be shown at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2006… all being well…. But after this who knows what plans could change!!!

I hope you all have a good summer holidays… aren't they a welcome time?

July News… Extra!

My Reflections of the Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatre BLACKOUT- ONE EVACUEE IN THOUSANDS production.

Wow! What a great week… thanks EBYT.

A few years ago I saw EBYT's version of SMIKE. It was the best Youth Theatre production I had ever seen. From that point I set as an ambition to have Eastleigh Youth Theatre choose to present one of my musicals. Last week this ambition was fulfilled and how!

EBYT are a most professional outfit. They have a full time director(!) and a team of administrative assistants plus an incredible band of talented volunteers. The young people they attract become part of this professional team and bear all the advantages this brings to bear.

As soon as the curtain opened it was obvious this was going to be a production to marvel at. I was able to relax immediately and ENJOY! The opening stage picture was beautifully done… attractive tableaux and imaginative use of coloured light. The set (Honor Bayes) was out of this world… and would have been considered excellent in any professional Theatre. The costumes/props (Cathy Johnson) were of a matching high standard.

Dan Clarke superimposed his own “concept” on the production… a couple of youngsters rooting though an attic and discovering bits and pieces relating to past occupants (or their grandparents). This brings the story to life.

The concept worked superbly and was magnificent to see this level of creativity applied before the first note had been played or sung. When that did happen it was magnificent and crystal clear. One outstanding aspect of the production was the quality of the music… Katie Underhill (Narrator 1) and Natalie Cadd (Susan) were particularly impressive. As the lyrics are important to the progression of this story it was imperative that we could hear them at all times… and we could… all the time from all the singers chorus and soloists… fab! The musical arrangements by Judy Marshall were complimentary to the tone and time of the piece… you will be pleased to hear that she is making these arrangements available to everyone through SchoolPlay productions… hopefully thy will be ready for use in another production of Blackout due to happen in mid August. She added some excellent close harmonies… favourites of mine were One Evacuee In Thousands and Air Raid Lullaby. The electric guitar Myk Hough/Mark Craig played some emotive counter melodies… particularly on One Evacuee in Thousands and Eyes of a Child .

The opening song was “staged” to depict from the outset parting of parent and child. When I'd done it previously I remember the cast basically standing and delivering the song “concert version”. So with only minutes gone I knew I was in for a treat. Imogen Comrie was outstanding… utterly outstanding… as Rachel Eagle. Her acting was well “played” yet she was able to achieve incredible emotion particularly in the scene where she is reacting to her mothers death. The tears seemed real!

David Gale's portrayal of Tom Reid was interesting. At first I was concerned he was playing it for laughs… I knew he would have to deal with the scene where Rachel's mothers death is revealed to him. His slight overplaying actually worked as it set up a bigger fall for the audience when that news was released. The scene where he and his wife are standing listening to the whole cast singing Happy Birthday to Rachel, having decided that they will not tell Rachel until the day after her birthday was one of the most powerful I have seen onstage in any musical.

It seemed so strange to have two of my children (Daisy & Charlie) on stage singing my tunes, some of which were written in my first year at College (1977) long before I was married or had any thought of having children. I didn't imagine that these songs would still be getting performances nearly thirty years on let alone be performed by my own offspring. Charlie (who only a few weeks ago was playing Puck in A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM and then played the Blockbuster in SEQUINNED… how does he do it) also had the part of Harry Johnson and provided much comedy together with his on stage parents the “posh” Mrs Johnson (Hannah Williams) and henpecked (retired) Major S Johnson (Michael Sprawson).

So… I was not only the thankful writer… but also very much the proud father… in fact I was proud writer too… Dan (his associate director Honor Bayes) and his team did a production that I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to see. Dan is sadly leaving Eastleigh Youth Theatre after this (what a swansong!). I look forward to seeing what he does next. Clearly big things are in store for this outstanding director… who afterwards I discovered had never directed a Musical.

So for me I have to come back down to earth… in fact today real life continued and Daisy thoroughly impressed me by completing the Race For Life with Rachel in around twenty minutes… shouldn't she have slept in! Well done Daisy and Rachel!

Well done EBYT… you have given me fantastic memories… and brought Blackout back into my line of vision… I can't wait to see what reviews you get for this… so do let me know! Well done all!

For me… I have two weeks to complete writing KILL JILL… for former EBYT director Tim Ford.

PS It was lovely to see lots of people who were in previous productions of Blackout… Mark Eagle, Dave Nurse & Martin O'Neill from Stantonbury… Mark lent his name to the production as well as a few of George Eagle's lines. Also from OYT… Linzi Adams and Katie Thomas. Thanks for supporting.

SUCCIT and SEE!!!

Two nights in a row the above performance was disturbed by people... not nesc young people unwrapping sweets or undoing crisps/popcorn sold in the Foyer of The Theatre.

Why oh why (Yes I used to love Points of View!) do Theatres sell almost exclusively sweets that are noisy to unwrap? There are many quiet sweets that could be sold... surely I am not the only person to think this or to have expereienced this. Last night a row could have broken out when the person in front for the third time(I do not exaggerate!) requested that the person behind them stopped making sweet-wrapper induced noise!

This happened at the Point in Eastleigh... but I know the Nuffield and The Mayflower in Southampton also sell noisy sweets in their foyers? Why?

How about starting up a new campaign… Shut up Confectionary Campagin In The Theatre SUCCIT. Am I on my own here?

No sooner had a submitted this to the Drama Uk… I had this witty response… I attach it here for your amusement!!!

No Mark. you're not. However, just as annoying is the Wednesday matinee crowd of pensioners who my kids always seem to sit by. They not only eat (a lot) noisily, they always seem to need to explain what's going on to the person sitting next to them ("He said he's going to leave her if she doesn't have the baby adopted" "Oohh"). I nickname them Seniors Echoing Everything.

Can we therefore combine our two campaigns - SUCCIT and SEE.

Thanks Clive

To all those who are about to break up for Summer hols… have a good one!

Mark

Wheellerplays July News

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

This month saw the long awaited run of the re-written Ziggy's Band. Although the audience seemed to enjoy the opening night neither cast nor myself were entirely happy with it. I spent much of the next day re-writing the opening scene to make it more zippy. The cast came in for an early rehearsal and after about an hour had got the new scene and we were all much more confident with what we'd done. We really needed an enthusiastic response… and we got it… in spades. The audience was WONDERFUL… couldn't stop clapping and when the Blockbuster (my son Charlie) came on they broke out into shrieks and cheers. It was a wonderful evening as was the final night. This was so well deserved for the cast who have had to put up with constant re-writes. We are all really confident that this will work brilliantly in Edinburgh and are working towards that for August 2006. So far we have had one review… we are awaiting another two!

Here's the first from the Southern Evening Echo, which is also serves as our review for the prestigious Southern England Curtain Call awards:

Pounding to 1970's rock, this show is another success for Oaklands' director/writer Mark Wheeller.

Giving his own play Ziggy's Band , even more surreal twists, Mark charts the rise and fall of music stars through the actions of a group of adoring fans. At the very moment that fame beckons, Shakey Threwer fails in his attempt to keep the Luminous Earwigs band going. It is 30 years later on TV that events are played out to the full.

Alex Chalk is superb as the Older Shakey, while Anthony Jennings' bubbling style suits younger Shakey to perfection. Charlotte Wells and Michael Johnston take Shakey's bizarre parents to new comic extremes, while George Mattack gives an excellent portrayal as the neglected but “what do I care” glittery sister.

Charlie Wheeller, as the Blockbuster, delighted the audience, and the whole cast mimed and danced throughout with enormous quantities of expressive energy.

Barbara Godwin (Southern Evening Echo)

I am SO confident that this will prove a popular “feel good” One Act Play which will grace many a Festival in the future. Our cast really loved the colour of the seventies costumes and really appreciated the music. The parents who came to watch gave it one of the best reactions we've ever had… many of them saying how it brought back so many memories!!! It will suit both schools and amdram groups… I'd be really interested to see a mixed adult and youth group attempt it… and hope that it will go on to achieve my Youth Theatre some awards when we enter it for One Act Play Fests next year!

I am also pretty confident that nothing can go wrong in terms of publishing… and so am going to use this news page to announce (a little prematurely as it isn't quite all tied up… but very nearly!) that Musicline Publishers will be taking out worldwide rights on this play and will be promoting it into schools as of September. They have some seriously successful schools Musicals on their books (e.g. Rocky Monster Show) and we both feel that this will sit well in their catalogue. It will be their first play. Yes! So it will be a “flagship play” and the start of a new venture for them too. Have a look at their web site… and you will see that their materials seem not only popular but really well presented.

http://uk.musicline-ltd.com/

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14 th –16 th ) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend. I can't wait for this to happen and will feedback any reviews in the next edition of my News… or maybe even in a special.

Kill Jill
What was going to be Right to Fight has now become Kill Jill and is progressing really well. Tim Ford, the director at Birmingham Rep Young Theatre is really pleased with it and has shown the section I have written to the cast. He tells me they really like it too. It is to be performed at the Birmingham Rep on October 27-29 th. It should be completed by the start of September… and will hopefully become available for schools sometime in 2006. It is probably one of the funniest plays I have written and has benefited from the surrealist thinking behind Sequinned (thus far… I'm about a third of the way through) but the final scene promises to have a real sting in the tail… watch out for more news on this one!

Wheellerplays Keynote Courses
It was great to meet so many teachers at my two courses organised by Keynote… thanks for your interest and enthusiasm. I hope that many of you will attend my other planned course which is not related to my plays at all. It looks at some tried and tested improvisations that I have run with classes in schools Key Stage 3 & 4. This is on, again for two dates at the following venues:
LONDON : The Thistle Kensington Park Hotel: Wednesday 12 October 2005
MANCHESTER : The Marriott Airport Hotel: Thursday 13 October 2005

After that I have been asked to plan a course (which I am submitting today) for English teachers. This will focus on including Drama ideas in the English curriculum to help motivate boys writing. If you work in a school please do highlight this to your English colleagues as they may be interested but probably won't know anything about me at all.

Legal Weapon II
Finally Legal Weapon II is out and those who completed an advance order form (ages ago) will be receiving their copies very soon. Please do not blame dbda for the delay it is entirely my fault… they have actually managed to get it out in record time given that I only submitted it about 5 weeks ago!!! This new version of the play is SO much better and I would be really interested to hear if this is being performed in the South of England as I have not yet seen it in performance. So do let me know. It is now the correct length for One Act Play Festivals and has some really scorching scenes and shows how it can be performed by a cast as small as 2m 2f. Hope you enjoy this latest edition to the Wheellerplays cannon. I am under the impression that the original Legal Weapon script has sold out completely… it will not be reprinted.

Wheellerplays June News

Wheellerplays Keynote Courses
Keynote Educational are offering two courses for teachers and Youth Theatre leaders which may be of interest.
The first looks at studying and performing my plays is on in two venues:
LONDON : The Thistle Lancaster Gate Hotel: Wednesday 29 June 2005
MANCHESTER : The Marriott Airport Hotel: Thursday 30 June 2005

The second is not related to my plays at all. It looks at some tried and tested improvisations that I have run with classes in schools Key Stage 3 & 4. This is on, again for two dates at the following venues:
LONDON : The Thistle Kensington Park Hotel: Wednesday 12 October 2005
MANCHESTER : The Marriott Airport Hotel: Thursday 13 October 2005

GCSE Examination pieces (Paper 2).
This year at my school (Oaklands in Southampton) a record number of Wheellerplays were put on. Ziggy's Band (looks like this will be the final ever performances of this one… but it has inspired me to develop a GCSE version of Sequins !!!), Graham – World's Fastest Blindman & Too Much Punch For Judy. The latter has been put on two years in a row now! I wish these an all our other students the best of luck in their GCSE's… can't wait to see the results.

I was also very pleased to see Danny Sturrock's Gagging For It (which is now out… get a copy!) put on… not only by our school but in two other local schools who happened to see it when our YT performed it.

Missing Dan Nolan
I am delighted to see that this important play received more amateur performances in the last three months than any of my other plays.!

Arson About

The StopWatch Theatre Company's tour of this play continues very successfully… being the only play of mine to be touring this term!

4-15 July Staffordshire

If you would like this play to visit your area contact your Fire and Rescue department… it is my understanding that it is being booked all over the country… but the letters may go to PSHE teachers saying this is available rather than to Drama teachers… so do talk to your PSHE co-coordinator

The Gate Escape

The Solent People's tour of this play is planning to visit schools after Christmas. Again details will be going to the PSHE teachers. As far as I am aware it will visit:

Southampton, Portsmouth & Hampshire.

I was very pleased to hear reports of this being used very successfully by schools in their GCSE examinations.

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Discussions with the publisher appear to have reached a conclusion… it is my understanding that this new play will become available at the start of the new school year. I expect to have an announcement re this in the next few weeks. Inspired by a group of six Year 11 students from my school (taught by my colleague Johnny Carrington) who presented extracts from Ziggy's Band for their GCSE exam this year, I am preparing a shorter version of the play which will be available separately as a GCSE exam piece play. I hadn't ever imagined this would “work” as a GCSE piece… or be appealing to students… but they loved it and the exam went really well. Who knows we could have all sorts of young people raiding their parents record collection (and wardrobes) in the coming years!!!

My Youth Theatre are premiering Sequinned Suits this month. The poster we are using designed by Danny Sturrock (who wrote Gagging for it and also designed the book cover for Missing Dan Nolan ) is going to be the cover for the publication when it comes out. I do hope this takes off as it has a lot of me in it… so becomes along with Graham – World's Fastest Blind Man, Sweet FA & Missing Dan Nolan another very personal play… do try it out… here's the information from our flier:

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Wednesday 22 nd , Thursday 23rd & Saturday 25 th June. 8.00pm.

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots is a new One Act Play set against the backdrop of Pop Music of the 70s ( T. Rex to the Sex Pistols ) and charts the life of one music fans desire to make his own impact on the Music business. Originally written as a highly successful Two Act tribute to David Bowie ( Ziggy's Band ) the story has now been broadened to incorporate a wider range of music from this colourful era. It is a school show parents (and maybe even grandparents) will really enjoy! OYT plan to present this play at the Edinburgh Festival in 2006. The play is being published for schools in September 2005.

The adult Shakey Threwer, is participating in a quiz show answering questions on popular music of the early seventies. As he awaits the final he reflects on his teenage years, reminded of them by both the preparation for the quiz and an unexpected reunion with Lorraine Izoff, an old school friend who had never been his girlfriend. The ending to the play is wild and chaotic… but will it lead to Shakey finally having his dream date?

Surreal and quirky humour sets the style of this thoroughly original tribute to David Bowie. It is proposed to perform Ziggy's Band at the Edinburgh Festival (Fringe), and Southampton can take civic pride in being so superbly represented."
Barbara Godwin : Southern Evening Echo Ziggy's Band

"Funky, funny and factual I thought the play was brilliant… interesting for any music fan, glam rock or not… but be warned, it will have you coming away cringing at your own memories of singing into a hairbrush whilst staring at your reflection in the mirror. "
Craig Morrison Southampton Institute Newspaper 2005 Ziggy's Band

A must see show for all music fans… especially Glam Rockers!

Tickets for “ Sequinned Suits & Platform Boots ” are available from:

Oaklands Community School Reception 02380 739797

Wednesday 22 nd All tickets £2.50.

Thurs & Sat: £3.50 (Advance sales) £4:50 (on the door 7pm onwards)

10% reduction for groups of 10 or more.

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14 th –16 th ) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

Wheellerplays May News

Ziggy’s Band… becomes Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Lots of developments regarding this…

Firstly it is no longer Ziggy’s Band!

I have re-written it to trace the music of my teenage years more generally… it will still have the colour and excitement of Ziggy’s Band but have broader appeal. It is still essentially the same story (improved and upgraded and told more clearly… something I have been able to do now that I have seen it.) It will feature the music of a range of recording artists I worshipped in the Seventies dating from T. Rex to the Sex Pistols (and still includes some passing Bowie references!) This is something that I was advised to do from the outset… but I had to get the Bowie thing out of my system. It is now… and I am glad I did it… and for it to have inspired a brand new play for the Wheeller cannon: Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots.

Another change I have made is to make it onto a play rather than a part musical. This means that none of the characters will need to sing. The company who are proposing to publish it have made it clear that it needs to be one thing or another from the outset… so when Danny Sturrock (Gagging For It) said he was no longer able to plays the part of Older Shakey (we have no other obvious singers) I took the bull by the horns and drafted out an idea to enable us to cast a non singer in the role and to provide the Publishing Company with a Play rather than a play where one character needed to be able to sing. It will use interpolated music

I hope that this play will not only be a popular choice for Schools but for Am Dram groups as well… to this end I am going to work towards cutting it (it was originally a 90 minute play) to become a 55 minute play so it can be a One Act Play Festival piece where increasingly my plays find success. It is currently 70 minutes and I will be working on further cuts in the coming days/weeks.

Meanwhile my agent, Sophie is in discussions with a publishing company I have not worked with before who wish to publish the play. As soon as all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed I will make an announcement on here as to who they are etc. It is their aim to get it out by September… I have already had three requests from groups who are interested to perform it so do let me know if you are interested.

My Youth Theatre are going to premiere Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots at Oaklands Theatre in Southampton on 23^rd, 24^th & 26^th June (there will be no performance on the 25^th). We are hoping to be able to take this performance to Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2006… so if you are planning a trip then… (note 2006 not 2005) a/ you’re frighteningly well organised(!) and B/ drop in and see us!

Sweet FA

Sweet FA was performed in the Haslemere One-Act Festival on Fri 7th April by CADS Juniors (CADS = Churt Am Dram Soc). Haslemere is in Surrey.
The Adjudicator (John Bromley) praised the performance of Sedge (Charis Doidge) and she was commended in his final presentation. He said it was a 'rich' play and gave it the Adjudicator's Award (for "courage and ambition" in taking on the task and bringing a lot of ideas and performance values to the play). This award was one of only two awards presented at this Festival.

They tell me that they imported an enormous Grandstand from a local racecourse, which was 3 tiers high and took up the entire upstage centre area where the kids could sit, stand, cheer etc - it looked great decked out in Saints gear courtesy of one of the actors' family!
Thanks very much to CADS for gaining this success with the play.

Missing Dan Nolan
Bryn Thomas has also been an award winner in a Bedfordshire One Act Play Festival for his portrayal of Dan Nolan. Well done.
It is great to see so many groups tackling this play and entering it for Festivals… it has such an important set of messages to communicate!

Keynote Courses

Keynote Educational are offering two courses for teachers and Youth Theatre leaders which may be of interest.

The first looks at studying my plays in GCSE and also in performing them as school productions…

The second is not related to my plays at all. It looks at some tried and tested improvisations that I have run with classes in schools Key Stage 3 & 4.

Tufty The Squirrel

A question was used on Who Wants to be a Millionaire featuring something which Rachael and I were responsible for re-launching in the early nineties… & what fun we had… Tufty the Squirrel did anyone out there actually buy those books/ comics. I remember well writing one about a Xmas pantomime in which Mr Hedgehog appeared in a Xmas panto - Aladdin (Sane?) appearing as a (Gene) Jeanie. We were intrigued to see how the artists at RoSPA would manage the art work on a hedgehog genie! I remember rushing over to Sainsburys after school had finished to see it… as we never saw them until they arrived in the shops… it was great fun giving the illustrators challenges like that!

The question was

In the 1950’s Tufty The Squirrel was invented to teach children about fireworks, swimming, countryside code or Road Safety?

Answers on a postcard!

Legal Weapon II

Legal Weapon II is now completed! I finished it last Thursday. Just as well as I understand dbda have completely sold out of the old Legal Weapon book. Legal Weapon II is now 55 minutes long so again perfect for One Act Play Festivals! The new twist in the storyline makes it even more dramatic… I can’t wait to see it… so do let me know if you plan to put it on… I will try to come and see it!

The Ape Theatre Company tour continues to be incredibly successful… here are a selection of quotes from some satisfied customers they have had.

“Excellent with a gripping storyline. Hard hitting messages came across clearly and at a level that really meant something to the students. It clearly made an impression…. It truly was a powerful tool. Even the most challenging of our students were held by the drama. This type of learning experience should be given to each Year 11 as they come through the school. It had such an impact and I’m sure will make a difference out on the roads in the real world.”

Myrtle Springs Secondary School.

“Our Year 11’s were engrossed and really enjoyed this production. The Drama held their attention and drove the message of speeding home in a very visual and entertaining way. The presentation was pitched at exactly the right level with a lot of humour despite the seriousness of the topic. I have no hesitation in recommending the show and will book it if the opportunity arises next year.”

G Mackenzie (Waltheof School Sheffield KS4 Manager.

Absolutely brilliant! The best production for young people I’ve seen., age-wise, message-wise, context absolutely superb good balance of message.

Mr Lynn English Teacher. Sheffield City Council School:

Excellent. Fast paced. Captured attention immediately. Adult context students loved it! Very appropriately pitched for them. Clear messages given about road safety. Powerful and emotional. Heard so many positive comments afterwards and no negatives… that is a first! Best visiting Theatre Company we have used.

Sheffield City Council School: Head of Year 11.

Students were totally focussed on the action/storyline. Found it very moving and mentioned later they could have cried. The messages were very clear in this high energy production.

Sue Lawrence Hinde House School.

This was excellent for Year 11 students. The students were engaged throughout the performance a credit to the cast and the quality of the script. It promoted high level debates during the PSHE follow up lessons.

PSHE Teacher from Ecclesfield Secondary School, Sheffield.

This was definitely the best factual government message I have ever seen and really made you think about the effects of speeding not only on yourself getting a fine or imprisonment but the overwhelming sense of loss to a family if you kill someone on the road. It was a very important experience for the students and so valuable to make it available to so many. They really felt its impact.

Richard Storer: Ecclesfield Secondary School, Sheffield.

Arson About

The StopWatch Theatre Company tour of this has been so successful that they have booked 40 performances in this the exam term. Well done. Here are the dates… if you are interested in having this play come to your school (Year 8’s) do please contact your local Fire Station or Stopwatch Theatre Company themselves.

9-27 May Befordshire

4-15 July Staffordshire

Blackout

This is being performed all over the place this year… which is lovely… it’s taken a long time for people to discover it… but perhaps that has now happened. Good luck to you all!!!

Meanwhile tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14^th –16^th) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

Wheellerplays April News

Legal Weapon II

It has been a busy month for me with Legal Weapon. I had promised dbda the new Legal Weapon II script by January. However I had to [put that back with the sudden need to get Arson About re-written for a professional tour and the various re-writes I have been doing on Ziggy’s Band. Consequently at the start of this month I was in the strange position of seeing the dbda mail outs going into schools advertising Legal Weapon II as though I had already written it!!! Needs must… and I have now completed the new version of the play and consider it to be a huge improvement on the original Legal Weapon. Both plays are now available from dbda… but when the current version of Legal Weapon is sold out no more will be printed. The main change in the new version is that Andy now knows the girl (Kelly) who he kills… she is in fact one of Jazz’s best mate… this makes the final scene where he has to reveal to her what he has done… when she is trying to reveal to him that she is now “with” Matt Irvine (a professional footballer) even more dramatic. This is not the only change… I have re-written virtually every scene and made big improvements throughout. Hope you like it!

While I was working on the play I remembered a conversation I had with the Scottish Road Safety team last summer. They told me that they were planning to create a Legal Weapon game to go online as part of the support material for their professional tour. I had heard nothing but just on the off chance checked to see whether anything had happened. I discovered it is there. If you want to have a go at this excellent game go to:

www.legalweapon.co.uk

You will discover that driving is not as easy as it looks! I’ve not got beyond the second task!!! I did much better on the chatting up one though!!!

Missing Dan Nolan

Missing Dan Nolan continues to keep Dan’s memory alive. I know of many schools who are now using this piece as their study text for the Edexcel GCSE Paper 2… my own included. It works particularly well as Dan is the same age as those who explore the play so they relate to it exceptionally well.

This month I also had news from Carol Beardsall and her BURSLEM STARS group who recently performed this play in the Stoke on Trent One Act Play Festival. It was obviously really good as it won the following awards:

A certificate of Merit for the best actor under 16 awarded to one actor for his role in 3 plays one of which was Missing Dan Nolan. However the greatest achievement was the group winning The Best Youth Group Trophy. Thanks Carol for letting me know and well done to all on this tremendous achievement another award for Dan!!

Blackout

Tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14^th –16^th) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

I have heard from SchoolPlay Productions that there has been a resurgence of interest in this Musical with a number of schools requesting inspection copies… let’s hope so… it’s a hidden treasure!

Chunnel of Love

The mail out for this play should have found it’s way to all Secondary Schools in the UK now… so I hope you have yours.

(We Were) Ziggy’s Band

I am meeting with the cast on April 17^th to see if we are to move forward with our proposed June performances… I will publish news of these performances in my May edition of the Wheellerplays News.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the Easter break… I know I am… though my enjoyment is tempered by a mass of GCSE marking to do. A win for Southampton when they meet Chelsea on Saturday would lift the spirits somewhat… if you see it on tv… watch out for me… I’ll be there in the crowd somewhere!!!

Wheellerplays March News

Arson About

Well, after the excitement of Ziggy I had another month with a premier… this time the professional premier of my adaptation of Arson About… in this new TIE version reduced to a 45 minute play… with a developed characterisation for Stueey as a wannabe gangsta! The play performed by StopWatch Theatre Company was premiered at Oaklands Community School Southampton and went down a treat! Lots of laughter… lots of thought provocation and for me as a Drama teacher lots of opportunity for our Year 8’s to see a group so expertly demonstrate how simple performance skills can make great Theatre! It will really enhance their work. A big thanks to Hants Fire and Rescue who have sponsored this first week of the tour and really helped to get this play on the road. It has taken five years to get it this far… at one point I was giving up… thinking it would be left in my trunk unperformed… strange how things work out. Lots of Fire services from all over the country are coming to see the pilot tour so there is a good chance that in future years it could be coming to your school. Finally a big well done to Steve Pearce for great direction especially the “Magic of the Theatre” bit, to Adrian new for promoting it so effectively, and the wonderful cast for making the performance as good as it is! THANKS!!!

This pilot tour continues in:

28 Feb - 4 March West Sussex

7 March Essex

8 March Staffordshire

10 March Leicestershire

There are morning and afternoon performances every day.

Kill Jill

I have been commissioned to write a play for Birmingham Rep Young Theatre with the working title of Kill Jill . This will focus on the issues of householders right to protect their property… with a fairly unusual starting point! This is due to be delivered to them at the end of July… more details will follow… suffice to say I am delighted to be working on this with former EBYT director Tim Ford, whose Birmingham Rep Young Theatre group will be premiering the play.

Blackout

Talking of EBYT… I am absolutely thrilled to say that they have decided to do a WheellerMusical! Blackout is a musical for which I wrote both script and Music… and some of the lyrics. The performance is on in July 14 th –16th… directed by new EBYT director Dan Clarke and will be on at The Point Theatre in Eastleigh. As will all EBYT’s award winning productions it promises to be a wonderful performance. It will also “star” my two children, Charlie (Jean Genie) Wheeller as Harry and Daisy-Lou as an evacuee! I would be really interested to hear from anyone who has been in productions of BLACKOUT I have done who would like to see this… I know that Dave Nurse Mark Eagle Dave Gundry & Martin O’Neill from Stantonbury may well be coming to se it. Any other old Blackoutians from 4R, Stantonbury, Epping or Oaklands… this would make a “cool” reunion.

Ziggy’s Band

I have now written a second daft of this following the opportunity of seeing it live. I am in the process of contacting “Isolar”, David Bowie’s personal management Company to see where the future lies for this project. A number of other groups have contacted me as they are interested in producing this… thanks for your interest… I will let you know the outcome of the discussions we have! OYT are still hoping to be able to take this to Edinburgh in 2006 and are aiming to remount the show in June of this year as a try out of the new script.

Keynote Courses

I have been invited by Keynote Educational to deliver two more courses.

The first is on 29 th & 30 th June (London and Manchester) and will deal curriculum work at KS3 & 4 (including Edexcel Paper 1 Unit 2). I will use my plays for the purposes of illustration but the ideas can be applied to a range of other plays. The course will also explore the advantages of using my work as the main school production!

On the 12 th & 13 th October (London and Manchester) I will be leading a course that offers some successes I have had in teaching improvisation and leading work that is suitable for (amongst other things) Paper 1 Unit 1.

I know details of these courses will be mailed to schools soon… this is just advance warning.

Chunnel Ideas

I have been really intrigued to hear the response to the recent news that Chunnel of Love is to be republished. Two or three schools have contacted me and are planning to present this play. One has the amazing idea of doing a video link with a French School showing the French scenes in French performed by French school students. We are now considering doing a joint production with a French school… when we did it originally we had an all English cast who learnt the French words… it worked so well we were invited to perform at the NSDF… so this would be quite a different approach… especially as our partner school does not do any Drama!!! We aim to perform the play both here and in France. I hope this plan does come to fruition.

It has struck me that Chunnel could be just the project a specialist Languages school are looking for!

A mail out by Zig Zag (the publisher) is going our to schools on March 4 th… so look out for it!

Chunnel of Love – Full Play for KS3/4 is now on offer… £39 £29

Go printable – add 30% +vat to get resources in PDF format for easy printing.

Go editable – add 50% +vat for Word+PDF on CD for easy printing and editing

"A sensitive and hugely important treatment of a relatively neglected youth issue. The writers have an unerring feel for the attitudes and concerns of young people and they bring to the play a strong emotional charge, which, without glossing over her folly, retains our sympathy for the central character throughout. This is tellingly complemented by information, advice and argument directed as much at parents as at the youngsters themselves. A powerful and moving plea for young people to be given the support and understanding which they have a right to expect."Mick Martin: Times Educational Supplement .

Includes support material developed by Johnny Carrington.

Chart movements!

I have a new number 1… Arson About after having hung around in my trunk for five years has reached the number one spot… largely due to the StopWatch tour.

Sweet FA & No Place For A Girl have both moved up the chart due to their rankings in the Amazon sales chart!

I am also really pleased to announce that King Arthur is receiving it’s first performance in a long while… so that also gets some extra points!

I can’t believe that Absurd Xmas is sitting at the bottom… it’s still my favourite Musical… and to prove the point we are planning to present it at Xmas… as a promenade Musical! Can’t wait!

Wheellerplays February News

What a month!

This has proved to be a mammoth news page… I have decided to include lots of reviews for Ziggy’s band as it has created so much interest… if you are not interested please skip them as there are other items which I have listed here so that you can skip to where you want.

Ziggy’s Band (my own reflections and some other reviews)
Arson About (StopWatch tour)
Nicky Chapman (a “goodbye” to a well loved OYT member who was tragically killed in a car crash last week).
Barbie Davies (a poem to my old Drama teacher whose retirement “do” I attended last month)
Keynote courses (New and just gone!)
Oaklands Community School gets Arts Specialism Status.

Ziggy’s Band

My own thoughts following the first night.

We had a bit of a panic at the start as the guy playing the lead part... Shakey Threwer (singing in the Seventies special and narrating his and Ziggy's story throughout) was very late. When he arrived his excuse was the best I've ever heard!

"I had no idea it would take so long to shave my legs!!!"

It took him 3/4 of an hour!!! I expect David Bowie can relate to that!

We hadn't sold many advance tickets so I was a little concerned, but I needn't have worried. Unusually for a Youth Theatre production the audience was made up of largely adults. There were LOTS of adults... all about my age... 47 (I wonder why?!!!)

The performance went beyond my expectations. There have been times when I've been concerned that doing this may spoil my relationship with Bowie/Ziggy... if it went disastrously it would drown my memories... like it or not... it was a risk... and I treasure those memories... putting them (and my sense of humour for the first time) up for public scrutiny is a risky and very scary thing. It was wonderful to see people sitting on the edge of their seats, laughing (at the right moments) and at times I could hear people near me saying "Yes I remember that!" people related to what I was saying!!! Yes!

The audience more responsive than any of us anticipated. There was laughter and clapping, and the final moments left the audience genuinely wanting more.

I go to bed... dreaming of Ziggy playing his guitar... (even though when Bowie sang it he never did... always thought that was one of those ambiguities about whether he was or wasn't Ziggy... perhaps it was Ronson after all!!!)

Mark Wheeller 03/02/05

My own thoughts following the last night.

It’s the day after the final night. As I sit down here writing this, my son (12 year old Charlie, who played the Jean Genie in our production) sits upstairs playing on his computer listening to Aladdin Sane… by choice!!! I never thought I’d see the day. His “confession” that he actually liked David Bowie came on Wednesday morning at breakfast when the rest of the family had left the table. Last night as our cast sat round a table in a Southampton Chinese Restaurant (Charlie Chans… check it out!!!) a great moment occurred where, much like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, they went one by one round the table saying my names whatever their name is and I like David Bowie!!!

The last night was a fab evening… three Bowienetters attended, which added to the excitement. The performance had the fizz I remember from the first night. The Jean Genie was greeted by shrieks of delight every time he appeared… and a round of applause as he disappeared. That happened on the final two nights actually… and my Charlie (who was playing the Jean Genie) loved it!!!

At the end the clapping and cheering seemed to go on forever drowning out The Pretty Things Can Go to Hell blasting out from our PA. Another very special evening to remember. My young cast did me… and David very proud. They have worked SO hard to enable me to fulfil my dream… I can’t thank them enough… Thank-you is not sufficient… but THANKS!!!

My daughter sits behind me (10 year old Daisy) she is reading the script trying to re-live moments from the performance she saw last night…which to her surprise she loved!

We all have a determination to take this forward. Afterwards on each evening my hand was taken firmly by so many people and I was told how wonderful it was. We have to perform it elsewhere… and I’ve just opened an email from a teacher asking if she can perform it. There is some work to be done on the script to shorten it and tighten it up… then “permissions” for the songs in non-school venues… and moreover if I wish to take up the offer of publishing that has been made… then we really can see a trip to Edinburgh on the horizon. Our hopes are high… we are even considering a trip to the US to perform it in a Performing Arts School… ours (Oaklands) has just been granted Arts Status. All is VERY exciting.

Ziggy is alive and well… and we aim to excite future generations with his guitar playing! I’m so pleased I did this… a labour of love… thanks to all those who came to the performances.

Mark Wheeller 06/02/05

I have put here some extracts of reviews we have gained over the last few days:

Ziggy’s Band
Oakland Youth Theatre
Oaklands Theatre, Lordshill

Surreal and quirky humour sets the style of this thoroughly original tribute to David Bowie. Writer/director Mark Wheeller is well known to local audiences in a different vein, as the creator of Dan Nolan – Missing.

Shakey Threwer is a fanatical Bowie fan. His band failed to make an impact in his youth, but now, thirty years on, Shakey is singing as Bowie in a live TV competition. Some surprises await him – and the audience.

Danny Sturrock, the older Shakey, commands the show, combining worldly wisdom with a continuing adulation for the singer. Adam Sander plays his lively younger counterpart with assured confidence, whilst Charlotte Wells and Alex Chalk create hilarious cameo roles as Shakey’s parents. A uniformly excellent cast supports the production.

Lighting, graphics and multi-media design add excellence to excellence. It is proposed to perform Ziggy’s Band at the Edinburgh Festival (fringe), and Southampton can take civic pride in being so superbly represented.

Barbara Godwin, Southern Evening Echo

Ziggy’s Band Review
The quirkily, original 'Ziggy's Band' manages to be funky, funny and factual while exploring a time in our lives when being the next 'Ziggy Stardust' was achievable. I thought the play was brilliant!
Set to a soundtrack from Bowie's glam rock era the show follows Shakey's band, The Luminous Earwigs, quest for stardom alongside a biography of Bowie and the rise and demise of the Spiders of Mars, interesting for any music fan, glam rock or not.
Ziggy's Band is great fun stuff, but be warned, it will have you coming away cringing at your own memories of singing into a hairbrush whilst staring at your reflection in the mirror.
Admit it, we were all going to be pop stars!
Craig Morrison (Southampton Institute Newspaper)

Ziggy’s Band Review
Ziggy's Band was awesome. The script was quick, witty and handled with ease by the Youth Theatre cast. Moments of comic genius came thick and fast. The cross-cutting between the present and the seventies was inventive, with the modern Shakey amusingly changing his past when it suited him. The seventies' feel was firmly embedded in the text and costumes.
The piece works on so many levels, engaging those who experienced the music first (or second time round) to those who had not heard it before. I am sure that a whole new group of Bowie fans will emerge as a result.
Ziggy's Band would transfer well to Edinburgh and cordially invite a
pre-excursion performance to come to Bitterne Park School.
Neil Phillips: (Head of Drama, Bitterne Park School & Arts College)

Ziggy’s Band Review
The packed houses on these evenings have loved the multi-media experience so much. I’d love to see this performed by Bowie-fan thesps, even if they are 46 years old!

Ziggy’s Band’s a fab piece whether you’re into Bowie or not. It works as a tribute to the MainMan himself, but shows just how a particular music, can lead someone into the exciting, and vaguely clandestine world of music obsession. In the end, we, the audience, perhaps getting a little obsessive ourselves by now, are left hanging over the edge of the fandom abyss, because we never do get to hear “Monkey’s Revolt”. Whatever did happen to the rock operas the author wrote back in those halZiggyon days, I wonder?

Graham Cole (Colleague and fellow music obsessive (though Dylan!) at Oaklands Community School)

Ziggy’s Band Review
I took my husband and two teenage children to see this production at Oaklands School last Saturday night. It is difficult to please all of them in one go, but amazingly “Ziggy’s Band” did just that.

Cathy Wingate Southampton University ITT Student.

Ziggy’s Band Review
Elements of sit com, slapstick, spoof and just plain old clever writing were very evident… a high energy performance with fast moving cameos… the play is mainly told in flashback but there are moments where the two meet and future meets past. The ending seems inevitable for a long time but there is a clever twist to the ending. This is a ‘feel good’ show which appealed to a wide range of ages in the audience.

Marks personal passion for the music of David Bowie came across very clearly. I did wonder if not being a fan would diminish my experience of the play. It did not. The show carried a timeless theme: when we are young we look forward to what could be and when we are older we look back on what might have been. . I think it will get a good number of performances… and my school will be one.

Pete Hallman Head of Drama; Wildern School (Specialist Arts College with Leading Edge Status).

Arson About

I am SO looking forward to this. The premiere is on at Oaklands Community School Southampton on 21^st February and then travels to other schools in Southampton Portsmouth and Hants in the following week. This pilot tour continues in:

28 Feb - 4 March West Sussex

7 March Essex

8 March Staffordshire

10 March Leicestershire

There are morning and afternoon performances every day.

Goodbye Nicky Chapman

I am very sorry to report the news that Nicky Chapman, a much loved member of our Youth Theatre, was tragically killed in a horrific road accident in our locality. She was the passenger in a car with her friend driving. As far as I can glean it was an “accident” and nothing more… my thoughts go out to the families of both girls.

Nicky came to my attention when we presented The Most Absurd Xmas (Promenade) Musical in the World… Ever! My regular readers will know this is one of my favourite OYT productions and Nicky was the first to play the main part of Bianca. She was in Year 7 at St. Anne’s School in Southampton. She sings the Let Me Wear a Dress song on the past performance tape that SchoolPlay productions distribute to schools and appears in the video I show on my conferences, so I shall remember her and be reminded of her forever more. She was a fantastic singer… a mature performer and a talent we were keen to develop at OYT. She stayed with us for a long time and performed in the premier of Gagging For It which won awards at all the Festivals it entered. Nicky was a major part of the production and a central person in the social scene of our Youth Theatre. She appeared on a film Edexcel produced of our production of The Bald Prima Donna playing opposite Danny Sturrock, writer of GFI.

I was about to contact her as I think she would have been interested in making a return to OYT to perform as one of the adults in The Most Absurd Xmas (Promenade) Musical in the World… Ever! which we plan to re-present in December 2005.

We will all miss Nicky very much. This production will now be particularly poignant for all of us who knew her… it has made our determination to put it on again all the greater. Her funeral is on Thursday… and as I have already said, my thoughts are with her family at this time… I hope they find some strength in this appalling situation.

Barbie Davies

Barbie was my old Drama teacher!

My school did not have a Drama teacher until my final year in school. Barbie arrived and lit up the school! She put on a production of Oliver! In which I played Bill Sykes which was utterly amazing. She went on to produce huge plays where she had to take over the gym as the School Theatre was not big enough. Finally in the year 200 the gym was too small and she put on a promenade production in regions surrounding Thornbury with buses laid on to take the audience to the different scenes! She has been an inspiration to many and in my little poem beneath I hope I have captured my own thoughts about this wonderful teacher. However I have been criticised… my daughter says it doesn’t scan properly (it does when I read it!!!) and that it doesn’t rhyme all the way through… oh well… can’t please everyone all the time! Barbie seemed to like it!

The Pied Piper of Marlwood.

When I arrived at Marlwood… it wasn’t actually Marlwood
Thornbury Grammar was its name… there were some in Thornbury who said Marlwood was a shame.
I was never one of those… the Grammar, I hated … the attitudes there seemed, to me, outdated.
So gladly I moved with the rest up the hill….
To Alveston… and the impressive new buil…d
At Marlwood, for me, things improved… mixed ability tutor groups… I was moved… from “B” Form classes where all the bad ones collected…
Victims…
I’d been selected!
The new Tutor groups provided me with friends…
But Drama being absent drove me round the bend!
A School without a Drama Department is a school without a heart
Marlwood realised this and gave Barbie her start
Miss Stone arrived… not Davies then… and lit up the school!
She was young… she was cool… above all friendly… and made all us boys drool…
I remember meeting her…thinking did she really live in Johnny Johnsons attic??
This seems wrong… but my memory can’t be trusted it’s not cinematic!
My first impressions were… “ain’t she great?”
She can Pied Piper me through the new school gate!
Miss Stone would never have Drama as a frill…
She did all she could to make sure it would thrill…
Us all… and it did… it took off unbelievably fast
Her first production – in her second term(!!!) - “Oliver!” was amazing… I remember the cast…
Rupert with his accent… Johnny with his voice…
Simon White with his curls… and Helen… my Nancy… what a choice!
My first-born son was named after this production…
Indicating how important an introduction…
Drama was to me in my final sixth form year
Pretty dammed important… it provided my career… I too am now an elderly Drama teacher… so…
I wonder… how many others Marlwoodians Barbie’s influenced to date
I wonder how many others she’s Pied Pipered through that gate.
I wonder… when she was appointed did anyone really know
How often she’d change young people’s traffic lights from stop… to go… go… go!

Thanks Barbie… you were an inspiration to me!

By the way it was good to see my old friends (Ann and Andy Gould and family) before the event Simon Sweeny, the Dyers, and Mary Sargeant… and old teachers Trev Lea, Chris Holland and “Min” Walker. Chris and Trev did a stunning sketch on the night which was a parody of the famous “You were lucky” Monty Python Sketch… Amazing!

Keynote Course
As ever I really enjoyed the Keynote course last month… felt it went amazingly well… and hope that you all returned positive with some of my ideas. Keynote have asked me to do another 6 courses in the remaining months of this year. In October I will be doing one about Paper 1 Unit 1 of Edexcel’s GCSE. This will not be related to my plays.

In June I will be doing one focussing on ways of approaching my plays in Unit 2 . At the start of next month I am doing the following course for (primarily) KS2 teachers… hope some of you will choose to attend one or more of them:

Making Drama Look Good At Key Stage 2

LONDON: The Thistle Kensington Park Hotel: Tuesday 01 March 2005
MANCHESTER: The Marriott Airport Hotel: Thursday 03 March 2005

We are delighted to offer this brand new course designed especially for all Key Stage 2 Teachers. The course has two major focuses:

Effective, successful approaches and strategies for teaching Drama at KS2, setting the foundation for future development

Ways in which Drama can be used as a tool to explore other areas of the curriculum

Emphasis throughout will be on good, worthwhile “fun” to motivate, energise and stimulate learning in its broadest sense at Key Stage 2. We will also be looking at assessment and recognising achievement levels.

The day will include some practical work, offering Teachers a range of skills to use as part of their own programs of work, and many ideas that they can use and apply in their own classrooms. It should be a stimulating and thought-provoking day and will offer an introduction to Wacky Soap, an allegorical approach to drug education in Key Stage 2!

Oaklands Community School

Finally fantastic news! The school that I have worked at for the last seventeen years has gained Arts Specialism Status! This will give us access to lots more cash to give our students a better and wider experience of Art, Dance & Drama (in alphabetical order!). The addition of a Dance Teacher will be an absolute wow for both school and Youth Theatre!!!

Wheellerplays January News

Happy New Year to all my readers!

Ziggy’s Band

My wife keeps saying “it had to happen”… well now it has. David Bowie who provided the soundtrack to my life has inspired me to write a play. After completing the utterly absorbing play about the tragic Dan Nolan case in 2003, I wanted to write something lighter… but something that would also capture my interest completely. When I presented the first draft to the Youth Theatre a year or so ago I had no idea how they’d react… they weren’t even born when Ziggy was in his prime. I have no idea how it will be received when it’s performed but I hope it provokes as many laughs as it seemed to on the night of the YT’s first read through!

The idea of Ziggy’s Band started to form in my mind some years ago when I read Nick Hornby’s book Fever Pitch telling his own life story against the backdrop of Arsenal FC in that same time frame. I remember thinking how I’d love writing a similar tribute to my rock star hero.

Initially I decided to make my tribute fictional. I had no story mapped out as I usually do trusting that a story would emerge and it has… but as the cast will tell you it went through numerous changes to get to the play OYT are presenting. In the end I have mixed fiction and reality… I didn’t have a sister, nor a mother who was fixated with the fear of aliens abducting people! I did write a rock opera (two or three in fact all unperformed!!!), did live in Thornbury (which did have a wonderful record shop called Shapes) and I did belong to a group… I can’t remember what we were called but the other guys in the band would not let me call it The Luminous Earwigs!

In Ziggy’s Band things that happened to me are mixed with things that I would have liked to happen or simply make, in my view, a good story! All these events occur alongside the Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust.

Writing this play has made me realise more than ever before that Ziggy Stardust and David Bowie are two very different entities… it was Ziggy who I worshipped enthusiastically for a while and David who I continue admire to this day.

Ziggy’s Band is to be premiered at by Oaklands Youth Theatre in Southampton at the start of next month. I have included the information on the flier that will soon be paraded around Southampton and environs. You maybe interested to hear that free tickets are being offered to 10 people who offer to write a review for the fabulous bowiewonderworld web site as advertised on their news page

http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/bowienews/news.htm

If you are interested in doing this (so that we have some independent comments to assist us taking the play further… hopefully to Edinburgh) you can contact me and I will provide you with the ticket as long as you are prepared to write a review for the Boweiwonderworld.

This amazing Bowie fan site is well worth a surf!

Anyway... without more ado here’s the bulk of the information on the flyer for the show:

Thursday 3rd February - Saturday 5th February. 7.30pm. Oaklands Theatre, Lordshill, Southampton.

It wasn't only the Spiders from Mars who were Ziggy's band... thousands of teenagers around Britain in the early 1970’s were too…

Shakey Threwer is one such fan, and, as an adult, becomes David Bowie, in a TV “70s Special” tribute show. Awaiting the announcement of the tele-vote, he reflects on his teenage years when he dreamed of being the next Ziggy Stardust. He forms The Luminous Earwigs with friends, Billy, Buddy and Lorraine, and composes a new Rock Opera (about a monk!) as a tribute to Ziggy. His jealous rival, John, destroys the dream. Shakey and Lorraine vow to reek their revenge and find themselves assisted by the unexpected appearance of a mysterious, undersized Genie!

Ziggy’s Band is a new play set against the backdrop of David Bowie's early 70s music and charts the life of a Ziggy era fan. It is presented by the award winning Oaklands Youth Theatre, from Southampton.

“This was teamwork one always hopes for in Youth Theatre but witness all too rarely, alas! Individual performances were first class… the direction showed the same flair, imagination and rigorous discipline as the writing.”
Paul Fowler: (Adjudicator of Missing Dan Nolan at the Woking One Act Play Festival (2003) where OYT won the Best Youth Production.)

A must see show for all music fans… especially Glam Rockers!

Tickets for “Ziggy’s Band” are available from:

Oaklands Community School Reception 02380 739797

£4.00 (Advance sales)

£5:50 on the day of the production

10% reduction for groups of 10 or more.

Arson About

I am really pleased to announce on behalf of StopWatch Theatre Company (who have been touring Why Did The Chicken Cross the Road? so successfully for so many years) are about to start touring Arson About which was last year published by Nelson Thornes and is moving off their shelves very well. Fire and Rescue departments sponsor this pilot tour. I understand that Hampshire who helped me in the writing of the original play will be presenting the first week and that this will be in February 2005. The plan is that the play will then play to various counties on a day by day basis so that people can see what it is like and hopefully come back and book week long residencies from September 2005 onwards. The production will play to Year 8’s. The touring version is developed from the Nelson Thornes version… is a fair bit shorter (running at about 50 minutes)… and focuses more on the three central characters, Molly, Ian & Stueey.

Chart Leader

At the start of 2005 I have a new most popular play after Dan Nolan Missing held the top spot for most of 2004. Now The Gate Escape holds the top spot mainly due to the two touring productions that have occurred last term. This term it will face a stiff challenge from Arson About as it too goes on tour… and the two books are neck and neck in terms of sales figures… with TGE in the lead, by 80 books exactly!

SchoolPlay Productions

SchoolPlay productions who publish most of my musicals (Blackout, Absurd Xmas & No Place For a Girl) & Sweet FA are pleased to announce that they now provide a one stop shop as they are introducing a credit-card payment on-line directly through their web site www.schoolplayproductions.co.uk

This will be available to customers in the UK and overseas! Purchasers in the UK can continue to order without advance payment allowing groups to use the scripts as inspection copies.

Chunnel Of Love

Now signed and sealed… It will be available very soon and will be published as a version with a “within institution” photocopy license as part of the price… I understand there will be a “discount” price for early orders…

Chunnel is being published by Zig Zag… their web site is:

www.zigzageducation.co.uk

Its recent publication accounts for this plays sudden rise up the Wheellerplay Chart… this together with the fact that the presentation at the National Student Drama Festival has been taken into account as a national award. It is also worth noting that Lizzie Hole, the OYT member who originally played Lucy (the central character) was short listed as the NSDF Best Performer of that year.

Keynote Course
The forthcoming Keynote courses I am planning are running… so if you are interested there are still some late places left. I am also pencilled in to do a couple for them in March for KS 2.

WHEELLERPLAYS, GCSE AND THE SCHOOL PRODUCTION: WORKING WITH THE PLAYWRIGHT
MANCHESTER: The Marriott Airport Hotel: Tuesday 18 January 2005
LONDON: The Thistle Kensington Palace Hotel: Wednesday 26 January 2005

Wheellerplays December News… Supplement

Wheellerplays December News

Wheellerplays November News

Birmingham Young Rep Youth Theatre

Wheellerplays October News

Antipodes.

Young Rep @ Birmingham Rep

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005 The premiere of this is now getting ever closer and I gear rehearsals are going brilliantly! I can't wait to see it! If you're interested.. please follow this link to find all the details and how to buy tickets online.

Amateur Stage Review

Wheellerplays September News

Antipodes.

Kill Jill

Young Rep @ Birmingham Rep

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005 This is now getting closer! Can't wait! If you follow this ink you will find all the details and how to buy tickets online.

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Wheellerplays August News

Kill Jill

Young Rep @ Birmingham Rep

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Wheellerplays June News

Arson About

The Gate Escape

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Tickets for “ Sequinned Suits & Platform Boots ” are available from:

Oaklands Community School Reception 02380 739797

Blackout – One Evacuee In Thousands

Tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14 th –16 th ) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

Wheellerplays May News

Ziggy’s Band… becomes Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots

Lots of developments regarding this…

Sweet FA

Tufty The Squirrel

The question was

In the 1950’s Tufty The Squirrel was invented to teach children about fireworks, swimming, countryside code or Road Safety?

Answers on a postcard!

Legal Weapon II

Arson About

Blackout

This is being performed all over the place this year… which is lovely… it’s taken a long time for people to discover it… but perhaps that has now happened. Good luck to you all!!!

Meanwhile tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14th –16th) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

Wheellerplays April News

Legal Weapon II

Missing Dan Nolan

Blackout

Tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14th –16th) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

Wheellerplays March News

Arson About

This pilot tour continues in:

Blackout

Ziggy’s Band

Keynote Courses

I have been invited by Keynote Educational to deliver two more courses.

Wheellerplays February News

Ziggy’s Band

Mark Wheeller 06/02/05

Arson About

I am SO looking forward to this. The premiere is on at Oaklands Community School Southampton on 21st February and then travels to other schools in Southampton Portsmouth and Hants in the following week. This pilot tour continues in:

Goodbye Nicky Chapman

Barbie Davies

Wheellerplays January News

Happy New Year to all my readers!

Ziggy’s Band

http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/bowienews/news.htm

If you are interested in doing this (so that we have some independent comments to assist us taking the play further… hopefully to Edinburgh) you can contact me and I will provide you with the ticket as long as you are prepared to write a review for the Boweiwonderworld.

This amazing Bowie fan site is well worth a surf!

Tickets for “Ziggy’s Band” are available from:

Arson About

Chart Leader

SchoolPlay Productions

Chunnel Of Love

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005
The premiere of this is now getting ever closer and I gear rehearsals are going brilliantly! I can't wait to see it! If you're interested.. please follow this link to find all the details and how to buy tickets online.

Thu 27 Oct 2005 - Sat 29 Oct 2005
This is now getting closer! Can't wait! If you follow this ink you will find all the details and how to buy tickets online.

Meanwhile tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14^th –16^th) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

Tickets for Eastleigh Borough Youth Theatres performances of Blackout (July 14^th –16^th) are now on sale (£7.50 £6.00 Concessions). The Box Office number is: 02380-80652333. I am hoping to go every night so it would be good to see anyone there who is able to attend.

I am SO looking forward to this. The premiere is on at Oaklands Community School Southampton on 21^st February and then travels to other schools in Southampton Portsmouth and Hants in the following week. This pilot tour continues in: