Welcome to our first season of 1999. All meetings take place in the Cooper’s Loft at the Theatre Royal, King Street, Bristol 1. Ask at the bar on the first floor for directions. Everyone attending still pays only £1!

Tuesday, 26 January at 7.30pm: Meet Catherine Johnson
A chance to meet our President, Catherine Johnson, and ask her questions about her current successes as well as what’s happening in the New Writing Department at the Bristol Old Vic. See below for details of a trip to see her West End musical Mamma Mia!

Tuesday, 2 February at 7.30pm: Open Workshop

Tuesday, 9 February at 7.30pm: It Was You by Brian Weaving
A reading of Brian Weaving’s murder mystery — with lots of twists!

Tuesday, 16 February at 7.30pm: Open Workshop

Tuesday, 23 February at 7.30pm: Lampeter Blues by John Colborn
A reading of John Colborn’s TV comedy drama about three ex-students who meet up again after 20 years.

Tuesday, 2 March at 7.30pm: Open Workshop

 

West End outing
We’re organising a trip to London to see the matinee performance of Catherine Johnson’s Abba musical Mamma Mia! on Saturday, 27 March. The cost is £26 (£10 for the minibus plus £16 for the ticket).

 

Meet Peter Nichols — one of Bristol’s most famous playwrights
The Creative Writing Centre in Bath is hosting a talk by Peter Nichols on Thursday, 28 January at 7.30pm, titled ‘Wrighting: Four Decades in Theatre’. The venue is the Pump Room, Bath (near the Abbey), and admission is free. Peter Nichols’ plays include A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, The National Health and Blue Murder.

 

That’s All Folks! in the Basement
Toby Farrow has another play That’s All Folks! in the New Vic Basement’s Spring Season, running for a week from 15 February. Toby’s last New Vic Basement production Gringos has now been made into a full-length play and will be performed in the New Vic proper from 8 to 12 June. It’s a great show, so if you missed it before, don’t miss it this time!

 

The Secret of Fire on Radio 4
Congratulations to Steve Hennessey whose play The Secret of Fire (which won a Theatre West award last year) has now been accepted for broadcast on Radio 4. We’ll let you know the airdate as soon as we have it.

 

Y2K plans
Looking ahead to the spring of the year 2000, we’re hoping to organise another short season of plays by group members at the New Vic. For this event, we’ve decided that submissions should be completed first drafts of one-act or full-length scripts. These will be judged anonymously by independent readers. The closing date will be 30 September 1999, so start writing now!

 

Another Y2K opportunity
You could send the same play to The International Playwrighting Competition 2000, which has a closing date just one day later on 1 October 1999. Maximum number of characters: six.