Bold and powerful new plays to be presented in a pub and car park in Derbyshire
An actor and theatre-maker who cut his teeth in Derby will present his debut play in the city.
John Booker’s creation LAD will be performed at the Brunswick Inn from March 23 to 25 and focuses on two young men – one who is back from uni, the other back from doing time. Against the backdrop of the England vs. Spain, Euro 2024 final, the guys are in a pub where they speak openly about everything men have been told they should bury deep down – how they feel, their working class conditioning and the expectations lumped on them from vey small boys.
John, who was raised in Derby, said: “I’ve seen first-hand the ripple effects of an absence of connection in the lives of the people I grew up with. The lack of safe spaces for men to talk about loneliness, anxiety and personal struggles, plus the all-consuming nature of social media and digital life, gives the illusion of society, but you’re never truly seen. Being of mixed-race heritage, I know it is that much harder to find those spaces to discuss feelings of isolation and not being understood. I wrote this play to create a second chance for the forgotten men“.
His first script BWOY DEM won the 2021 Take Off competition with In Good Company and had a rehearsed reading at Derby Theatre.
LAD is one of two new pop-up plays that will be brought to Derby this month by award-winning theatre company Fifth Word.
Tabby Lamb, one of the UK's leading trans playwrights, will present TRANS IT in the car park of Derby Theatre from March 24-28. This horror story sees two trans women forced to keep their identities hidden from the Division of Biological Integrity. The women dart in and out of the back of a van, having captured a politician whose fate they compare to those of the Greek Gods and their mortals. Critically acclaimed playwright Tabby has won multiple awards for her previous creation Happy Meal.
LAD will be performed at the Brunswick Inn at Railway Terrace, Derby on March 23 at 6.30pm and 8pm, March 24 at 1pm and 4pm, March 25 at 6.30pm and 8pm. TRANS IT will be performed in Derby Theatre’s upper car park Tickets for each show cost £15, available from https://derbytheatre.co.uk