From page to stage: eight new plays get their first performance in Hemel Hempstead

Eight brand-new plays which have never before been performed will make their stage debuts in Hemel Hempstead this autumn.

Local writers, directors and actors are joining forces for Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company’s Duologues, at the Boxmoor Playhouse on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October.

Each of the eight short plays features just two actors and a different director, with audiences getting the chance to see everything from comedy to more thought-provoking drama in a single evening.

But what makes the project particularly unusual is that some of the writers will be discovering what directors and actors have done with their words at almost the same time as the audience.

Producer Ciaran Connors said: “There’s a mixture of nerves and excitement. Some of them are seeing their work staged for the first time, which is really lovely.

“At the moment they don’t know much about what is happening in rehearsals because we’ve kept them very separate from the directing side of the process. I’m really excited for them to see what has been created.”

The project is a first for HHTC and has been designed to give local creatives the opportunity to experiment with new writing rather than staging an established play.

Ciaran said: “Amateur dramatics brings together creative people from so many different areas of theatre, but when we stage an existing play we don’t always get the opportunity to see what writers can do.

“I’ve wanted to introduce brand-new writing to the company for a while. At the same time, we want to expand the number of directors we have available for future productions, so we saw an opportunity to give a lot of people the chance to grow all at once.”

The eight plays promise plenty of variety.

Ciaran said: “They’re all very different. There’s a comedy through-line in the majority of them, but not all of them.

“You can go from characters discussing the worth of a life and getting into something really quite deep, to two friends making jokes at each other. That variety is one of the things I think will make the evening really interesting.”

The directors have also been given the freedom to put their own stamp on each piece, with some already finding meanings and relationships in the scripts which surprised Ciaran.

He said: “Some of the ideas that came back were fantastic. They had read things into the scripts and the relationships between the characters that I hadn’t picked up myself.

“I hope people come away talking about the quality of the writing and how good the actors were, but I particularly hope they notice the artistic choices the directors have made and how their vision has been put onto the stage.”

Duologues will be performed at the Boxmoor Playhouse, 72 St John’s Road, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October.

Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketsource.com/hhtheatreco