Honeysuckle Weeks in 'Young Girl'. A rehearsed reading

Since 2008 there exists an Adopt a Playwright Award to support playwrights, who have had at least one play staged, to find the time, space and financial backing to hone their craft and write another.

The edition of 2017 featured 'Young Girl' by Adam Hughes. The cast included Natalie Gumede, Jason Merrells, Honeysuckle Weeks, Colin McFarlane and Tanya Moodie.

The play centred on Graham Clark (played by Colin McFarlane), who back in the 1970s was the first black presenter of a primetime game show. A pioneer for change, this stand-up comedian and straight-talking Yorkshire man was much loved by the nation; “just thinking about him used to put a smile on my face”, reminisces one of the cast.

Honeysuckle Weeks, courtesy of Rollo Weeks]

Fast forward to 2017, however, and that has all changed. Graham is currently in a prison cell, having been convicted of historic sex crimes. Half the nation thinks he’s guilty; the other half doesn’t want to believe it. In the latter camp is his daughter Chloe (played by Natalie Gumede), a television and radio host, who is determined to prove her father’s innocence. Whilst everyone else has given up on him she is adamant the truth will out.

It goes without saying that the theme of this play is highly topical and guaranteed to elicit strong emotions. The play itself asks some uncomfortable questions: would you – could you – stand by a family member or friend who had been convicted of a sex crime? How far would you go to prove a loved one’s innocence? And is it really possible for a person who achieved so much; made so many people happy and raised vast amounts of money for charity, to have committed such a crime? This latter is something that will speak to a lot of us – there was universal shock when, for example, Rolf Harris was convicted of indecent assault.

Where I found the writing particularly strong was how it addressed the impact of the above on family and friends – the toll taken, and the lasting consequences. Yet, although the subject matter is dark, the play is, in turns, witty and wry – and the nostalgic element lends some warmth to what would otherwise be a grim couple of hours. Even so, you could feel the tension stretched across the auditorium and a rapt audience as the play hurtled towards its shattering conclusion. Bearing in mind that this was “just” a read-through, it bodes very well indeed for the final version.

Source here and here.