By Jennifer Corcoran
Southport Dramatic Club (SDC) celebrated its centenary in 2020 and it has been resident at the Little Theatre on Hoghton Street in Southport since it commissioned the building, which opened in 1937.
The Club boasts many talented performers and writers, and accepts members from the age of 14. The theatre itself is a jewel of a venue and has been used for fundraisers, comedy gigs and social functions as well as hosting guest societies.
The latest company to form and book the theatre are Ghostlight Performers. They were formed during lockdown and take their name from the Ghostlight that remains on stage when a theatre is closed and otherwise dark.
The formation of the company and virtual meetings of its members signalled hope, just as a light in the darkness does.
Their first production will be Grape Juice, a coming-of-age drama written by, and starring Paul James Green.
Paul joined the SDC as a teenager, first performing in Pygmalion in March 2007. However, he has been connected for far longer having been taught by members of the club in his formative years at St John’s Primary in Ainsdale. He moved on to Birkdale High School and was again taught by an SDC member as well as an inspirational English teacher who was of pastoral support and also encouraged the youngster to use writing as an outlet.
Unsure of his path, he initially enrolled on a Childcare course at Southport College before being drawn to Performing Arts and gaining a qualification in this field that led him to University of Cumbria where he performed his all-time favourite role as The Governor of Texas in the comedy musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Despite the joy of performing, he began to feel writing was his true strength.
He returned to Southport after graduation and found his way back to the SDC as well as joining the Crosby Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He has had multiple roles on-stage and off. They include Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth and Antonio in the Gondoliers. He has held positions on many a committee, being a long standing secretary for the G&S and currently Props master at the SDC after time on the Play Selection and Casting Committee.
Throughout all of this, he was beavering away as a scribe. He had begun writing short stories and poetry as a teenager, but was unable to complete bigger pieces due to the time involved – many were started and stored away for later. At University he wrote a piece to be staged and subsequently a radio drama script – both went well but he fondly reflects that they were early work and ‘not the best’.
A theatre trip to London in 2019 was the catalyst for him to pick up his pen once more and plant the seeds for Grape Juice. He set the scene:
“Funny story, the reason behind Grape Juice was literally a very simple one… I was standing on the London Underground, having just seen a fantastic new play Admissions by playwright Joshua Harmon.
“I was waiting for my train and was a bit bored… so I started reading the train map to see all the weird and wonderful place names… and suddenly the word Stockwell stood out to me… no idea why, but it did and suddenly the concept of a family, the Stockwell family, with a hidden secret came to mind.The train ride and walk back to my hotel, I thought about this concept and when I got back to my hotel room, got my laptop out, sat down and started writing. A few hours later the first draft was done, it just needed a title, so I read it back and then went to bed.
“I woke up in the early hours of the morning, turned to see what time it was and knocked over a drinks carton of Grape Juice. The next day, I re-read the script, noticed I had written the exact moment grape juice spilled and realised that was the visual representation of the whole play. And so, the title happened! Since then I wrote other plays, but again, hid out of view, until I got the courage to get a group of friends round to read through the play. To my amazement they all loved it!”
Grape Juice tells the story of Adam Stockwell, an academic perfectionist coming to terms with his sexuality and how his coming out affects his relationships with his friends and family. He has been the apple of his mother’s eye, much to the chagrin of his sister, but will this change and how will he react?
Paul credits Josh Harmon as one of the writers that inspires him due to Harmon’s ability to take a serious subject and infuse it with sensitivity, but also humour. Paul is also a fan of Jonathan Harvey’s writing, particularly Beautiful Thing.
Grape Juice developed from a (pre pandemic) read through at his home, to further read throughs and evolved from a short play into a full piece. Many of the original read through players were part of a rehearsed reading on Zoom when the closure of theatres meant a scheduled performance in Liverpool could not go ahead.
As Covid restrictions were lifted, a new director was recruited and it became possible to plan a live debut for the piece. Unfortunately, the original actors involved have been unavailable for the performance, bar the author himself, but he is delighted with the current line up and they are looking forward to bringing Grape Juice to a wider audience.
Paul has written a further two plays in lockdown and they are currently in the read-through phase and will hopefully develop as successfully as this has.
When asked if he has any advice for aspiring writers he suggests writing because you feel inspired, not for the sake of it and to be brave – share and show your work to friends.
Paul believes inspiration can be found anywhere; that if you have a voice then you should let it out. He also found that when he invited friends to read and perform his work, it allowed him to see and hear different interpretations in their portrayals. This additional perspective informed re-writes and character development, and led his play to where it is today!
- Grape Juice will be performed by Ghostlight Performers in the bar of Southport Little Theatre for three nights from 29th September to 1st October. Performance starts at 7:30pm each night and tickets are £10 plus a booking fee and can be purchased from ticketquarter.co.uk/Online/grape-juice-21
- For further information on Ghostlight Performers, or to become a member, visit their website ghostlightperformers.co.uk
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