David Ross

AN UPDATE FROM DAVID (Oct 22):

2022 has been a busy year for me since coming out of lockdown.

• Penrith Players Juniors have put on two of my mini plays (April and July) and they will be performing a longer play, "Away in a Stable" in December. This is my rather irreverent version of the Nativity.
• In February, Wigton Theatre Club put on "The Pie-eyed Piper of Wigton", to full houses. This was my first attempt at pantomime.
• I was asked to write a one act play by Wigton. The deadline set by the theatre was extremely short; I wrote it in three days. "The Philanderer" was performed in Wigton in August with me taking on the role of the philanderer.

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Despite never having written anything more than the occasional letter or email prior to his retirement in 2015, David became a member of the U3A’s Writing for Pleasure group in Penrith and, in 2018, joined the North Cumbria Scriptwriters.  Since retirement, he has published his travel/history book and a number of full-length scripts for the stage.  David has well and truly got the writing bug and is also writing a novel, inspired by blue plaques encountered on a 300 mile ramble!

The rest of David’s time is spent chilling with his daughter and other members of his family or being involved in various volunteer activities.  The latter include front of house volunteer at Theatre by the Lake (TBTL) in Keswick and helping to run the Penrith Players under 18 junior actors group.  He is also a member of The Elders, an over 55s group, at TBTL.

Off the Straight and Narrow – A Modern Roman Road Trip

What do you do when you reach 65 and have a dodgy hip? Go on a 300 mile walk, that’s what!  David set himself the challenge to walk in the footsteps of the Roman Ninth Legion and then write a book about the experience.  The book is available in paperback via Amazon and electronically on Kindle.  David has given a number of talks about the walk and has been interviewed by Radio Cumbria.

Here and There

Satan joins God for a quiet chat where they discuss free will, good and evil.  The play was written to enable the option of staging scenes one to six as short stand-alone works.  It also includes a duologue, which can be performed as a short, one act play Free Will.

A third piece, Tidings of Comfort and Joy, is another take on the Nativity story.  This is also a one-act play and is suitable for performance by secondary schools or adults alike.  The three plays are included in the one book and is available on Amazon and Kindle.

The Luvvies

An aspiring West End director has decided to run an over fifty fives amateur dramatics group. A mishmash of wannabee actors answer her advert in the parish newsletter. Thus the scene is set for the journey of the four women and four men, from raw talent, or lack of talent, to their big opening night of a play penned by an unknown writer. Along the way some rather unpleasant truths emerge.

The “play within a play”, a parody of The Merchant of Venice, can be performed as a stand-alone one act performance as well as part of the overall production. The Luvvies is available on Amazon and Kindle and is soon to be performed by two amateur dramatics groups.

Marbles

How does a group of late middle aged children cope with the realisation that their mother has dementia?  A play that explores the impact of the debilitating illness. Versions include the full cast and a duologue, due for publication on Amazon and Kindle in October 2019.