cpa@uwe Double Bill: Have-A-Go Hero and Christmas with Johnny and Dee

The University of the West of England's links with Bristol Old Vic and local practitioners will be showcased this weekend when they present a double-bill of plays at QEH theatre.

Tim Massey, local playwright and core member of South West Scriptwriters will see two of his works, Have-A-Go Hero, and Christmas with Johnny and Dee performed by cpa@uwe, the company based at the Centre for Performing Arts at the University.

The Centre for Performing Arts is separate from UWE's drama department and is intended for students across the University interested in theatre, but the faculty's connection with the Old Vic Theatre School is mirrored in cpa@uwe's wide range of local contacts.

Massey, currently studying at Cardiff University for a PhD in Creative Writing works part-time in UWE library, but was originally approached about a script by director Ned Milne through South West Scriptwriters.

The weekend's double-bill is cpa@uwe's follow-up to Tim's play Bacon Sandwich, which played to sell-out audiences at the Alma Tavern in May.

UWE visiting drama lecturer Ned Milne, behind Bacon Sandwich, will be directing Christmas with Johnny and Dee, Massey's new play. The unlikely seasonal plot focuses on the two saddest men in Bristol who force a bus-load of people to spend Christmas with them.

The company are also enlisting the talents of Bristol Old Vic assistant director Joyce Branagh. Joyce arrived in Bristol after directing plays in London and Dublin and assisting Sam Walters at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.

She was recently appointed assistant director at the Bristol Old Vic as part of the Channel 4 Young Directors' Scheme.

And another practitioner from a prominent local company will be joining her, with Bristol actor Paul Mohan, last seen as Richard in Theatre West's production of Richard III in the New Vic Studio in February, starring in Have-A-Go Hero.

The play is about a self-made security man who has to choose between calling the law and dishing out some instant justice when he knocks out a burglar with a baseball bat – and echoes the case of Norfolk farmer Tony Martin which recently reached the court of appeal.

Contacts and links:

Tickets are £8 / £5 concessions and can be reserved from the QEH box office on 0117 925 0551 or by emailing bookings@qehtheatre.com. Seats may also be booked by credit card through the Old Vic box office on 0117 987 7877 or by minicom on 0117 926 4388.

VICKY FROST