It is 1985. Philip Larkin is the nation’s best-loved poet. He sits in his suburban house in Hull, drinking too much, listening to his beloved jazz and wondering why he can’t write any more.
Award-winning playwright Gail Lowe explore’s the roots of Larkin’s poetry – his happy childhood, his need for privacy, and the complex relationships he had with the women in his life.
Larkin is brought vividly to life by Brighton actor Graham White in this witty and intriguing production.
Gail Louw has her plays performed throughout the world: Duwayne, (Best New Play at Brighton Fringe), Blonde Poison (Argus Angel, Best of the Fest – San Francisco Fringe, South Africa and Sydney Opera House). Miss Dietrich Regrets (Naledi Award). And this is my friend Mr Laurel, with Jeffrey Holland (Edinburghand tour), Two Sisters (Los Angeles and UK). Most recently is The Mitfords. Oberon have published two collections of Gail’s plays.
Directed by Sylvia Vickers.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
An East End gangster’s tale as you’ve never heard it before.
Better known as Skinny Dan or Longdog, Danny O’Halloran was a villain in the old fashioned sense of the word. A contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser and all those old-school London gangsters, he robbed banks for a living. But, unlike the infamous Kray twins, he never sought the spotlight.
After a life spent shuttling in and out of jail, scrapping to survive and leaving plenty of broken bones in his wake, Longdog died in 2005. Prairie Flower is set in that year.
Written and performed by Danny’s son Ryan Simms, this one man play turns a family’s dark past into a compelling new piece of theatre.
January 2010 – one night an earthquake in Haiti results in the death of around 100,000 people and almost two million are left homeless. At the same time, in leafy Muswell Hill, six friends meet over avocado, prawns and a monkfish stew. They worry about their mortgages, careers, phone tariffs, Facebook friends, diets, love lives, alcohol intake… and whether or not history will remember them.
January 2010 – one night an earthquake in Haiti results in the death of around 100,000 people and almost two million are left homeless. At the same time, in leafy Muswell Hill, six friends meet over avocado, prawns and a monkfish stew. They worry about their mortgages, careers, phone tariffs, Facebook friends, diets, love lives, alcohol intake… and whether or not history will remember them.
January 2010 – one night an earthquake in Haiti results in the death of around 100,000 people and almost two million are left homeless. At the same time, in leafy Muswell Hill, six friends meet over avocado, prawns and a monkfish stew. They worry about their mortgages, careers, phone tariffs, Facebook friends, diets, love lives, alcohol intake… and whether or not history will remember them.
January 2010 – one night an earthquake in Haiti results in the death of around 100,000 people and almost two million are left homeless. At the same time, in leafy Muswell Hill, six friends meet over avocado, prawns and a monkfish stew. They worry about their mortgages, careers, phone tariffs, Facebook friends, diets, love lives, alcohol intake… and whether or not history will remember them.
January 2010 – one night an earthquake in Haiti results in the death of around 100,000 people and almost two million are left homeless. At the same time, in leafy Muswell Hill, six friends meet over avocado, prawns and a monkfish stew. They worry about their mortgages, careers, phone tariffs, Facebook friends, diets, love lives, alcohol intake… and whether or not history will remember them.
Helped by his aristocratic lover Edwina Mountbatten, cabaret singer “Hutch” has become Britain’s first black superstar – but a gossip columnist hints at their affair in the Sunday People. In the libel case which follows, Edwina is ordered to appear in court to deny ever having met Hutch. But despite her public denial, Hutch’s records are no longer on the airwaves. Edwina encourages him to go and see the BBC’s Director of Variety – a budding songwriter called Eric Maschwitz. Hutch takes Eric’s as-yet-unknown song These Foolish Things and turns it into a massive hit. The BBC embargo ends – but so too does Hutch’s hope of achieving national recognition.
Helped by his aristocratic lover Edwina Mountbatten, cabaret singer “Hutch” has become Britain’s first black superstar – but a gossip columnist hints at their affair in the Sunday People. In the libel case which follows, Edwina is ordered to appear in court to deny ever having met Hutch. But despite her public denial, Hutch’s records are no longer on the airwaves. Edwina encourages him to go and see the BBC’s Director of Variety – a budding songwriter called Eric Maschwitz. Hutch takes Eric’s as-yet-unknown song These Foolish Things and turns it into a massive hit. The BBC embargo ends – but so too does Hutch’s hope of achieving national recognition.
Helped by his aristocratic lover Edwina Mountbatten, cabaret singer “Hutch” has become Britain’s first black superstar – but a gossip columnist hints at their affair in the Sunday People. In the libel case which follows, Edwina is ordered to appear in court to deny ever having met Hutch. But despite her public denial, Hutch’s records are no longer on the airwaves. Edwina encourages him to go and see the BBC’s Director of Variety – a budding songwriter called Eric Maschwitz. Hutch takes Eric’s as-yet-unknown song These Foolish Things and turns it into a massive hit. The BBC embargo ends – but so too does Hutch’s hope of achieving national recognition.
Highgate Society Autumn Social 10a, £5 on door, 6.30-8 pm, welcome autumn and the changing season with a glass of wine, chat to your neighbours, all welcome
Helped by his aristocratic lover Edwina Mountbatten, cabaret singer “Hutch” has become Britain’s first black superstar – but a gossip columnist hints at their affair in the Sunday People. In the libel case which follows, Edwina is ordered to appear in court to deny ever having met Hutch. But despite her public denial, Hutch’s records are no longer on the airwaves. Edwina encourages him to go and see the BBC’s Director of Variety – a budding songwriter called Eric Maschwitz. Hutch takes Eric’s as-yet-unknown song These Foolish Things and turns it into a massive hit. The BBC embargo ends – but so too does Hutch’s hope of achieving national recognition.
Helped by his aristocratic lover Edwina Mountbatten, cabaret singer “Hutch” has become Britain’s first black superstar – but a gossip columnist hints at their affair in the Sunday People. In the libel case which follows, Edwina is ordered to appear in court to deny ever having met Hutch. But despite her public denial, Hutch’s records are no longer on the airwaves. Edwina encourages him to go and see the BBC’s Director of Variety – a budding songwriter called Eric Maschwitz. Hutch takes Eric’s as-yet-unknown song These Foolish Things and turns it into a massive hit. The BBC embargo ends – but so too does Hutch’s hope of achieving national recognition.
Helped by his aristocratic lover Edwina Mountbatten, cabaret singer “Hutch” has become Britain’s first black superstar – but a gossip columnist hints at their affair in the Sunday People. In the libel case which follows, Edwina is ordered to appear in court to deny ever having met Hutch. But despite her public denial, Hutch’s records are no longer on the airwaves. Edwina encourages him to go and see the BBC’s Director of Variety – a budding songwriter called Eric Maschwitz. Hutch takes Eric’s as-yet-unknown song These Foolish Things and turns it into a massive hit. The BBC embargo ends – but so too does Hutch’s hope of achieving national recognition.
The original hippy musical HAIR made its debut on the London stage in Autumn 1968.
Fifty years on, some of the original cast members get back together to talk about their experience of being in the very first rock musical.
Paul Nicholas, Annabel Leventon and Peter Straker have all gone on to be major stars in British theatre.
We are hoping that other cast members from HAIR will join Paul, Annabel and Peter. Come and listen to them talk about that wonderful period of love and peace. Help us recreate the Age of Aquarius and Let The Sunshine In!
There will also be a few old film clips to remind everyone what a hippy happy time we enjoyed in the Swinging Sixties.
Hosted by John Plews