A Frome playwright has beat off hundreds of entries in a competition to have his own play performed at a London theatre before an audience of esteemed thespians.
Scott Carpenter’s play ‘Songs of the Apocalypse’ will be performed at the Lost Theatre One Act Play festival in London on Saturday 15th May.
The play beat hundreds of entries to be chosen, and will be judged by The Times’ drama critic Jeremy Kingston.
The One Act Play festival showcases writers, directors and performers of all ages, genres and artistic backgrounds. Each of the 30 shows that make up the festival must consist of only one act and be between 20 and 45 minutes in length, over 10 nights on the stage.
Scott wrote his first play ‘Teenage Wildlife’ when he was 17 and studying drama at Frome College. After college he moved on to Bath Spa University where he continued writing plays and met internationally renowned playwright Edward Bond.
It was Edward Bond’s play ‘Saved’, in the 1960s which contributed towards the abolition of censorship on stage. Edward Bond has requested to read every completed play of Scott’s.
Having achieved a first class degree in drama, Scott trained as a drama teacher at Oakfield School in Frome. Since then he has worked at Kings Park Primary School in Melksham where he has written and staged two mini-musicals for the children.
In January of this year, Scott was invited to stage his play ‘Children of Ghosts’ as part of The Lost Theatre’s grand opening of their new theatre building in London. Amongst the invited audience were Ralph Fiennes and Sir Derek Jacobi. The play starred three children from his year 6 class.
Previous plays of Scott’s have been performed in London, Milan, Como, Bath, Portsmouth and Somerset.
Scott said, “‘Songs of the Apocalypse’ tells the story of a soldier who returns home from the Middle East, into the arms of his loving fiancée. His face is on the news and his name is in the papers. He is a hero.
“But this soldier harbours a dark secret. As he adjusts back to civilian life, can he suppress his thoughts of the bloodied streets? Will his memories cease haunting him? Or will the young girl continue to sing her songs of the apocalypse?
“Haunted by his memories and the young girl that appears before him, as the play progresses the truth unravels, the identity of the ghost is revealed and the lives of the soldier and his fiancée are changed forever.”
Scott was personally invited to submit a play by the theatre company after impressing them with his last play ‘Children of Ghosts’ and the play beat hundreds of entries to be selected.
