Unleashed? Definitely!

My childhood was not an easy one, due to an undiagnosed disease since birth.

'For goodness sake be quiet! You're waking the baby,' was a regular telling-off when I screamed in pain at night.

'Could do better,' was my normal school report, but how, I would ask myself. Clearly, I let everyone down!

Then, one day, I was invited to play a part in a school drama. Healing? Mentally, yes. The characterisation of the person whose part I played, enabled me to part company with my own persona.

As a teenager, my heart's desire was thus to become an actress.

'Nope! You need to go to university,' was my beloved father's response.

'Men don't make passes to girl's who wear glasses,' my mother admonished me, meaning that the possession of intellect would impair the prospect of marriage.

In the end, having gone to college to learn shorthand and typing, and then being secretary to the famous author, Paul Gallico, it was writing books that became my salvation.

SINGING & DRAMA UNLEASH PURPOSE IN PEOPLE

My purpose in writing my story, however, is to point all readers to the benefits. Unleashed Theatre Company – a choir and drama group in Torquay - was the inspiration of an actor, Martin Harris, someone whom I have known for many years. Open to one and all, though primarily for the vulnerable and those in need, it began about twenty-five years ago. Initially with no permanent home, events were usually performed outdoors, until The Royal Lyceum Theatre – a place Agatha Christie used to attend - was eventually donated to the company.

Martin has been described as a 'Duracell battery', a man whose 'charm, charisma, and enthusiasm never runs out'*. Having seen and enjoyed a number of shows, and read in the local paper about the huge positivity felt by many of those taking part, I can believe it. Unleashed won an award for the short film The Rich and the Pure, then Martin created another, filmed outdoors during Covid lockdown. An inspiring story, Three Steps, set in the 1840's, this was based on fact, revealing the austerity of the homeless, when Torquay was the richest resort in the country.

The expertise of the choir, and drama group, may not match that of professionals, but it is, nonetheless, incredibly enjoyable. Not only that, but by indulging your own entertainment, you are donating to those in need, as well as giving them a much needed sense of worth. With The Pitman Painters – a true story written by the author of Billy Elliot, and Noel Coward's Hay Fever coming up in June and September, do make contact via email for further information: admin@unleashedtheatrecompany.com

*A quote from Ben Tisdall in Torbay Weekly newspaper.