News & Events
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Talks: Whitby Lit Fest I'm delighted to be involved in two events for this year's Whitby Lit Fest. The first is hosting the Patron Spotlight with award-winning playwright and author Rob Shearman as well as a talk about my book A Theatrical Revolution and my role as an archivist. Both talks are taking place on Sunday 22 November at Whitby Museum with further details in the right hand column.
Publication: The Trial of Romeo Oscar My article 'Looking Back To The Future' was published in the programme for the world premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's new play The Trial of Romeo Oscar at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, S Scarborough, in September.
Publication: A Theatrical Revolution An open edition of my book A Theatrical Revolution is now available following the sold-out limited edition release in 2025. The book celebrates the 70th anniversary of Stephen Joseph founding the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round in Scarborough in 1955. More details here.
Archives: The Library Theatre / Stephen Joseph Collection I'm currently working with Scarborough Library on their significant archival holding of The Library Theatre / Stephen Joseph Theatre Collection. This is the largest single resource in the world regarding the founding of the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round company at Scarborough Library in 1955. I'm curating, cataloguing and re-housing the entire collection as part of an ongoing project. More details here.
Publication: Woman in Mind My article 'Celebrations' was published in the programme for the recent acclaimed revival of Woman in Mind at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, starring Sheridan Smith.
Publication: Earth Angel My article 'Disinformation Technology' was published in the programme for the world premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's 91st play, Earth Angel, in 2025.
Website: A Round Town The A Round Town website, which I launched in 2023, has had more content added and revisions to make navigating it easier. The website explores the history of theatre in there round in Scarborough from 1955 to 2009. It explores the contribution to Scarborough's cultural heritage and history made by theatre in the round, Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Joseph. Find out more at www.a-round-town.com.
Event: The Ayckbourn Collection I'm extremely excited to announce The Ayckbourn Collection at Scarborough Museums and Galleries. I facilitated and curated a permanent donation of significant items to Scarborough Museums & Galleries in 2023 relating to Alan Ayckbourn, his mentor Stephen Joseph and theatre in the round to celebrate their contribution to the cultural history and heritage of the playwright's adopted home town.
Publication: Unseen Ayckbourn is out now, updated and with new entries - including the playwright's prodigious pandemic writing. The book looks at withdrawn, lost and unwritten plays as well as concepts, alternate version and titles as well as other ephemera from the playwright's career. It's priced at £15 and details can be found here.
Website: The Woman in Black The A Round Town website now has a section highlighting a key play which originated at the SJT. It looks at the original production of Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation of Susan Hill's novella The Woman In Black, which premiered in Scarborough in 1987 before becoming an international theatre phenomenon.
Talks: Whitby Lit Fest I'm delighted to be involved in two events for this year's Whitby Lit Fest. The first is hosting the Patron Spotlight with award-winning playwright and author Rob Shearman as well as a talk about my book A Theatrical Revolution and my role as an archivist. Both talks are taking place on Sunday 22 November at Whitby Museum with further details in the right hand column.
Publication: The Trial of Romeo Oscar My article 'Looking Back To The Future' was published in the programme for the world premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's new play The Trial of Romeo Oscar at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, S Scarborough, in September.
Publication: A Theatrical Revolution An open edition of my book A Theatrical Revolution is now available following the sold-out limited edition release in 2025. The book celebrates the 70th anniversary of Stephen Joseph founding the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round in Scarborough in 1955. More details here.
Archives: The Library Theatre / Stephen Joseph Collection I'm currently working with Scarborough Library on their significant archival holding of The Library Theatre / Stephen Joseph Theatre Collection. This is the largest single resource in the world regarding the founding of the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round company at Scarborough Library in 1955. I'm curating, cataloguing and re-housing the entire collection as part of an ongoing project. More details here.
Publication: Woman in Mind My article 'Celebrations' was published in the programme for the recent acclaimed revival of Woman in Mind at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, starring Sheridan Smith.
Publication: Earth Angel My article 'Disinformation Technology' was published in the programme for the world premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's 91st play, Earth Angel, in 2025.
Website: A Round Town The A Round Town website, which I launched in 2023, has had more content added and revisions to make navigating it easier. The website explores the history of theatre in there round in Scarborough from 1955 to 2009. It explores the contribution to Scarborough's cultural heritage and history made by theatre in the round, Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Joseph. Find out more at www.a-round-town.com.
Event: The Ayckbourn Collection I'm extremely excited to announce The Ayckbourn Collection at Scarborough Museums and Galleries. I facilitated and curated a permanent donation of significant items to Scarborough Museums & Galleries in 2023 relating to Alan Ayckbourn, his mentor Stephen Joseph and theatre in the round to celebrate their contribution to the cultural history and heritage of the playwright's adopted home town.
Publication: Unseen Ayckbourn is out now, updated and with new entries - including the playwright's prodigious pandemic writing. The book looks at withdrawn, lost and unwritten plays as well as concepts, alternate version and titles as well as other ephemera from the playwright's career. It's priced at £15 and details can be found here.
Website: The Woman in Black The A Round Town website now has a section highlighting a key play which originated at the SJT. It looks at the original production of Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation of Susan Hill's novella The Woman In Black, which premiered in Scarborough in 1987 before becoming an international theatre phenomenon.
Talks & Events
◦ Talk: Whitby Lit Fest Patron Spotlight - Robert Shearman interviewed by Simon MurgatroydWhitby Museum
Sunday 22 November at 10.30am
£7, book here
◦ Talk: Whitby Lit Fest: Raiders of the Lost Archive with Simon Murgatroyd
Whitby Museum
Sunday 22 November at 1.30pm
£7, book here
◦ Book: A Theatrical Revolution
£10 including P&P
Details here
◦ Book: Unseen Ayckbourn
£15 including P&P
Details here
◦ Streaming: Talks & Videos
Several of my talks can be found on the Ayckbourn YouTube Channel
Details here