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Ray Collins Dies on Stage

Written by Mark Breckon
Directed by Chris Loveless

02 Jun 2009 to 13 Jun 2009
Alma Tavern Theatre, Bristol

Playwright Ray Collins is angry. Ray Collins is dead. He'd been telling everyone it was coming for years of course. But typically, after finally getting the doctors to take his illness seriously, he's been finished off by a hospital superbug. Trapped inside his own version of purgatory, a badly-directed version of his final autobiographical play, Ray takes us on a rollercoaster ride through his four decades of ill-health and theatrical disappointments. A tale that can only be redeemed by love . .

All characters are fictional. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Playwright Mark Breckon is not dead. If he was, he couldn't have written this play . .

Mark Breckon is one of Bristol's best known playwrights with previous scripts produced by Show of Strength, Theatre West and Southwest Scriptwriters. He has also written for radio and television. This is Mark's most personal play, dealing with both his experiences as a writer on the Bristol theatre scene, and his years of battling with the strange condition known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

An extraordinary feature of this production was that it teamed Mark up with Stepping Out Associate Director Chris Loveless who suffers from the same rare condition.

The production received excellent reviews, enthusiastic audience feedback and was sold out most nights.

Cast

Oliver Millingham - Ray Collins
Kirsty Cox - The Actress
Neil Jennings - The Actor

Crew

Director - Chris Loveless
Design - Ann Stiddard
Lighting Design - Tim Bartlett
Costumes - Ann Stiddard
Technician - Martin Lee
Sound - Hoxa
Photography Jose Navarro
Produced by Steve Hennessy

Reviews

"That a proportion of Breckon's play . . was autobiographical, meanwhile, added to the evening's emotional heft. Funny, moving, neatly constructed and superbly performed."
     Steve Wright, Venue Magazine

"Huge credit to Stepping Out Theatre Company for bringing this brave and brilliant play to Bristol."
 Crysse Morrison, Plays International

"Writer Mark Breckon has come up with an astute dissection of fragile, ego-bruising life while director Chris Loveless extracts a moving story from plots thicker than bad gravy."
 Sophie Lomax, The Bristol Evening Post