Off The Page is a relaxed night of play readings designed to bring you diverse new writing read by local, professional actors. From established to emerging writers, we have some amazing talent in our community. Every other month you’ll be able to hear brand new work with an opportunity to give the writers your feedback.
This month: Smugglers by Nick Jobber
A pub in Dorset, a stone’s throw from the sea. A stash of drugs found on a buoy. Lynn is running the ‘Smugglers’ pub in the absence of her husband Ray (currently in prison for dealing in stolen goods), awaiting her daughter Bow’s return from uni for the Christmas holidays. When she finds Bow in the pub cellar, she knows something strange is up – and what has Bow’s surfer boyfriend Dean got to do with it? Smugglers is a story about life on the isolated edge of England, where work is seasonal, opportunities hard to come by, and horizons can feel limited. It’s about the heritage of smuggling and what that means in an area that’s often been left behind. And it’s about families and communities and how people are shaped by them.
About the writer:
Nick has had had work shortlisted for the Papatango Prize (The Demolition, 2014) and longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize (2015). He’s had rehearsed readings performed at the Actors’ Centre and Barons Court Theatre and a short piece presented at the Lighthouse Theatre (Poole). He’s also worked as a teacher, publishing assistant, supporting artist for film and tv, travel journalist and non-fiction author (with five books published, winning the Stanford/Dolman Travel Book Award, and he’s written for the Guardian, BBC Online, Irish Times and many other publications).