Screwpacket Playwrights of Newport South Wales : Our History

Will Cross writes about the history of Screwpacket Playwrights , Newport. Screwpacket Playwrights was formed in Newport, South Wales in 2006. The team comprised a number of writers, poets and playwrights taking a drama and scriptwriting course led by Vanessa Dodd, a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of Wales at Newport ( Now the University of South Wales ). The group went on to produce four plays at Newport's Riverfront Theatre to commemorate the centenary of the opening of Newport's Transporter Bridge in 1906. The original members of the Screwpacket Group of Writers were Monty Dart, Maureen Barrett, Alan Roderick, William ( Will ) Cross, Mary Anstey, the late David ( Dai) Jones, Greg Glover and Andrew Cambray. Vanessa Dodd was in charge of the overall proceedings, with guest directors. It was a successful, well received experience for all concerned. The timescale of the four plays produced entitled "The Lady of the Usk", "Hats", "Only Kissing Mind" and "The Mark of a Man" covered the Newport Transporter bridge's history from its opening, the 1950s and 1980s drawing on the Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge and its archives of local stories, events, memories and incidents in the bridge's long history. In the years that followed all the members of Screwpacket Playwrights ( sometimes referred to as Screwpacket Writers) went on to work in a variety of literary mediums and members of the group have produced plays, poetry, biographies, other books of non-fiction and film scripts as well as making a significant contribution to Creative Writing activities in Newport and elsewhere. Screwpacket's mission statement is dedicated to delivering works of social conscience. In 2014 Screwpacket Playwrights was successfully revived to assist in the revival of THE FORGOTTEN, A CHARTIST MUSICAL ( Music by Justin Nicholls, Book by Patrick Jones and Vanessa Dodd, Directed by Chris Durnall). This show is to mark the 175th anniversary of the Chartist march on Newport in 1839. Performances Riverfront Theatre, Newport 19th and 20th November, 2014; Llandogo Millennium Hall 22nd November, 2014 ; Drill Hall, Chepstow 27th November, 2014;Savoy Theatre, Monmouth 5th December 2014. All enquiries please e-mail Will Cross williecross@aol.com