Text Box: NEWS Text Box: Last updated 15 December 2005 Text Box: We had a very good evening on 21 November, when Alan Bennett came, as promised. He started off with some personal recollections about his early contacts with theatre (matinees at the Grand, Leeds where as a schoolboy he would occupy a lonely seat in the Gallery) and his surprise on visiting a London theatre to find how small it was and how crowded with people. He spoke very modestly about his contribution to BEYOND THE FRINGE and how his early attempt at writing a play was entirely unsuccessful (that cheered us all up) and he answered our questions with great candour and a lot of wit. He confessed to writing everything in longhand in Notebooks which he was in the process of tidying up and throwing away [No, please don’t throw them away] and he autographed more books at the end than John Morrison [who never loses an opportunity to market his fast-selling school story about Anthony Blair, Captain of School]. When we finally let our speaker go home we sat back for a very entertaining little piece by Jan Harris: THE FAN (see Play of the Month). Our Christmas Party was attended by our Presidents, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran who gave out the Player-Playwright awards for 2005. Their own entry, THE NEW STATESMAN (stage version) was beaten into second place by Helen Blizard’s THESE FOOLISH THINGS and this year’s acting awards went to Daniel Dresner and Emma Katz. We round off the year with good news about our writers. Julian Armistead’s Showcase play THE NAME OF THE SON was given a run by Theatre West, Bristol and he was awarded an attachment/bursary with Birmingham Rep on the back of it. Helena Thompson’s OPEN HOUSE ran for 2 months to full houses at Kensal House in Ladbroke Grove and she too has been awarded an attachment/bursary, but hers is with the National. Joanna Norland’s play about Jane Austen A MORNING COAT A GOOD DEAL TOO LIGHT is being prepared for the Bath Festival. But there is sad news too: David Elliot Brown, an uninhibited writer from Edinburgh, who brightened many a Monday evening at the Horse and Groom with ribald plays about the people of Bonnyrigg died suddenly in Germany. He was one of our Showcase stars and his work was performed in Rome and New York but it never made him any money: we shall miss him and feel great sadness for his loving wife Claudia who will miss him too. In the New Year we have some excellent new plays (see the programme and previews) and a talk by John Plews who runs the highly successful theatre Upstairs at the Gatehouse. He is directing THE WIZ there over Christmas which must be worth a visit [Box: 020 8340 3488] Peter Thompson Hon Sec P-P@dial.pipex.com [020 8883 0371]