The Bench: A Tale from Paradise Heights

It's the controversial play that defies all synopsis attempts! Because that's what you're looking for right? A synopsis that tells you exactly what this play is about. So before I attempt to do that I'm going to tell you the show has played countless shows down the years since 2007, the play that loved by critics and audiences alike. The play that had me compared to Martin Scorsese, Jimmy McGovern, Jim Cartwright, Stephen King, Wim Wenders, Paul Abbot and quite a few other very respected names in 'the business'. It took until 2023 to get me - and all my works - banned for life as a creative...in Wakefield. This after the show had produced the biggest drama audience in ages for that theatre, the show that the audience were applauding between the scenes, and cheering at the end. Yes, for all of that this particular theatre banned me and all of my works. It's really funny and has given me some kind of notoriety - completely undeserved by the way, I'm no Chubby Brown. And there's no way so many critics and audiences wouldn't have complained before, you know? Makes you want to see it now though, doesn't it? Notoriety works - ask The Sex Pistols. So yeah, think of me as a bad boy of theatre - come on - I want a little rock n roll y'know? It's a fact though that everywhere we go with this play it gets us cheered off the stage at the end, audiences left with either tears in their eyes or big grins on their faces, all applauding, all cheering - I mean, what more do you want from a night at the theatre? Ban the bastard! So yeah, that synopsis. What can I say? It's a slice of life comedy drama built from urban grit and painted with a little of the strange and supernatural. Critically acclaimed the play will move you to laughter, horror and tears. It will have you gripped from start to finish. It's 12 months, 12 scenes, 1 park bench, 1 war memorial, 1 bin - and oh yes, 16 characters played by 6 incredibly talented actors. It's more of a mathematical equation than a synopsis right? But it adds up to so much more than the sum of its parts. It is - as so many audience members have said down the years - magic.