Owen Lewis' Portable Theatre Company prepares for new Spring tour.

Owen Lewis Portable Theatre Company Tour.

Whitchurch Talbot Theatre April 10th

Oswestry Kinoculture April 15th

Church Stretton Silvester Horne April 23rd

Shrewsbury Walker Theatre April 24th

For many years now I have been reviewing theatre and drama within Shropshire/Shrewsbury. Sometimes contentious, sometimes gushing, sometimes harsh but always honest. Well what sort of a reviewer would I be were I not to push my head over the parapet and show work of my own? Well I am going to, yet again.

Two years ago Owen Lewis’ Portable Theatre Company (www.olptc.com) were amongst the first to start touring two one act plays together. It has become a popular strategy with other theatre companies too and the audiences are getting great value for money enjoying two plays for the price of one.

Up until now the plays we have performed have been my own writing but there’s a change in things for this new tour.

This Spring OLPTC will be presenting “No Man’s Land,” by David and Ceri Wright as well as my own piece “The Astounding Works of Simon Trout”.

It is great and highly exciting to welcome the writing of David and Ceri Wright. Always a part of the management of OLPTC this husband and wife team have, between them, produced acted and directed our presentations. This however is their debut into Play-writing and we are all excited about their new work, “No Man’s Land” which deals with the fragile peace that occurs between families during the week between Christmas and New Year.

Bringing the relationships within a family of three generations under the microscope, “No Man’s Land,” explores a subject that is seldom written about and more so misunderstood by the majority of society. It is a brave piece of theatre and promises to start off the evening with an explosion.

My own “The Astounding Works of Simon Trout,” is a play that once again explores the dynamic of family life with the hilarious Carter Family and a little mischief maker, Simon Trout. Once again introducing new blood to the growing company of OLPTC actors and is, to my mind, one of the funniest things I have written.

The aims of OLPTC are firstly to put Theatre within the reach of the ordinary man in the street, and secondly to introduce new actors, directors, technicians, producers and writers to a professional theatre experience that they can continue with into further work within the arts.

The company, which has its roots in Essex where I taught Drama for six years, is now based in Church Stretton and has become very much a part of the plethora of Drama and Theatre that is available throughout the County.

This year the OLPTC are honoured also, to be able to announce that we will be performing another of my plays, “The White Feather”, in the Sabrina Marquee at Shrewsbury Folk Festival.

This will be the Company’s first venture into a festival of this scale and we are very excited about what that experience will be like for both our actors and for the audience. It is also a first for the festival to put a live play on in a marquee that has been reserved predominantly for music in the past. It will be an exciting performance and we will proudly be a part of one of the biggest Folk Festivals in Britain.

The OLPTC is always looking for actors and other theatre company personnel. If you yourself want to get involved you can email me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you. To maintain any art form over any reasonable period of time one always need new blood. Maybe that’s you? Come and see our work and bring a friend.

Owen Lewis