Director’s Note: FOLK

Tom Wells’ plays are both hilarious and heartbreaking. These are qualities shared with characters created by the inimitable Genevieve Lemon. I think I’ve found a perfect match.

Tom Wells’ lovely plays are often set in his home town, Withernsea in East Yorkshire but his bittersweet work manages to be universal. He reminds me of a young Alan Bennett, with a comic touch that’s both witty and revealing. I’ve just read this great quote: ‘Blake saw the universe in a grain of sand. Wells finds it in a pebble on Withernsea Beach’.

“When you listen to a lot of folk songs, you see that the stories that they tell are full of struggle and resilience, full of characters who feel strong and brave and a bit broken. I wanted to have a go at writing a play that felt a bit like a folk song, fill it with music and see what happened. So I hope people will enjoy it like they might enjoy a good folk song. Fingers crossed anyway.” – Tom Wells

Terence O’Connell, 
Director

At Ensemble Theatre 3 May – 1 Jun, book here.