Deborah McAndrew

Imagine a world where imagination is forbidden. Coketown is such a place. Thomas Gradgrind will not permit fanciful thoughts in his school or his home. But what effect will this policy have on his own children, Tom and Louisa? How can he protect them from corrupting influences – especially when the circus comes to town? Dark satanic mills, interrupted by the colour and vibrancy of Sleary’s Circus, set the stage for a sweeping tale of suppressed love, seduction and social mores, peopled with the sharply observed exaggerated characters that Dickens is celebrated for.

Tomorrow morning, you and Frank Armitage are getting wed. In my opinion, marriage is blind optimism at any time, but especially in wartime. It's an act of faith. Taking its title from a line in Philip Larkin’s poem 'MCMXIV', An August Bank Holiday Lark explores the impact of the First World War on a rural community in East Lancashire. Set in the idyllic summer of 1914 rural Lancashire, everyone in the community is excited about Wakes week; a rest from field and mill and a celebration of the Rushbearing Festival with singing, courting, drinking and dancing. The looming war barely registers . . . but it will. Through the lens of traditional rural life, the play follows the stories of the people of the village and witnesses their personal transitions from exuberance to touching naivety as they manage their loss with courage and humanity. An August Bank Holiday Lark received its world premiere on 7 February 2014, in a touring production by Northern Broadsides and New Vic Theatre.

The world was cruel to Simeon DuffMad and mired in the deepest sloughNobody seemed to give a stuff‘bout Simeon, Simeon DuffSimeon Duff is working class, unemployed and desperate. His wife works. He’s lost all self-esteem. He’s on the scrap heap and wants to end it all . . . and so begins this brilliantly insane comedy about a man on the edge. When word gets out that Duff is going to top himself, a host of ne’er-do-wells crawl out of the woodwork, each wanting to claim his grand gesture for their ‘noble cause’. Let’s face it, why waste a death? But which cause shall it be . . . love, politics, religion, or the rising price of fish? Will the disillusioned Duff go through with it? Will he really top himself for a dubious cause? Is he worth it? An adaptation of Nikolai Erdman's The Suicide (1928), The Grand Gesture is a witty satire of lobbyists seeking political control.

A big-hearted, bittersweet comedy about mothers, sisters, love and lies. In her Yorkshire council house, no-nonsense Mari is having a clear out before the 'Big Move' brought on by cancer. There's a lifetime of clutter to be sorted, the house to clean from top to bottom, and the squirrels in the loft to be dealt with before she can bow out. But, as well as memories of holidays in Mablethorpe and day trips to Flamingoland, there's a big box of family secrets to dust off and unwrap. Will Mari decide to let sleeping dogs lie? Or will she force them all to wake up and finally face the truth? Deborah McAndrew's play Flamingoland was first performed at the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, in 2008.