Asylum tale with a twist (From Stroud News and Journal)

Asylum tale with a twist

FLIES on the Wall Youth Theatre return for the Nailsworth Festival this weekend with a play written by a founding member of the company.

Flies on the Wall was started ten years ago by Lucy Heywood, aged 13, when she wrote a play and produced it at Nailsworth Town Hall with a group of friends.

She is now completing her degree in creative writing and has written a three act play for the group.

Hope and Anchor tells the story of an asylum seeker from Afghanistan who turns up in a rural Gloucestershire pub seeking sanctuary. The locals are perplexed until events start to unfold that reveal connections with someone in the close-knit village community.

Lucy has mixed her experience of growing up in Horsley with her subsequent travels abroad and time living in multi-racial London.

"It's been very good for the company to work with a hands on writer who's near their age and isn't afraid to change things as the play progresses," said director Jo Bousfield.

"It's also been good for Lucy, who has enjoyed watching things change.

"The play is funny and moving and is a big challenge for the actors in Flies, who are enjoying working on it very much," she added.

Hope and Anchor is being performed Nailsworth Primary School on Saturday, April 26 at 7.30pm and Sunday, April 27 at 2.00pm and 7.30pm.

Tickets, at £5 and £3, are available on the door or from Nailsworth Information Centre.