The Girl in the Corner

Written by Mark Wakeman

Totton - 31 March 2012

Directed by Mark Wakeman

The first round of the All England Theatre Festival (Western Area, Southern Division) is usually held at the Hanger Farm Arts Centre in Totton. Bench Theatre first entered the festival competition in 2006 and has been a regular contributor ever since.

AuthorMark Wakeman

Mark Wakeman

"This play was my attempt to go 'serious' again after the success of my last serious play, the thriller 'Father for Justice' which appeared in Supernova³ (and subsequently went on to win best original script at Totton in 2009). I immediately found myself trying to write another thriller with a 'twist' ending, but rather than echo a previous success, I thought I'd use the Supernova festival to try my hand at another genre that I have not tackled for the stage and which I couldn't remember the Bench having done before. Therefore this was a deliberately contrived piece to test my own abilities to once more swap out of my comfortable comedy zone and play around with my dark side again. Also, I wanted to see if I could write a play with a strong central female character as I had written for male actors last time.

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PlayThe Girl in the Corner

1885. Blackmoor Asylum. Its latest inmate, a young woman, finds herself alone in a squalid room, subjected to the scientific whims of a sadistic Doctor, terrorised by the staff and haunted by dreams of a mysterious girl who stands in the corner, a figure that only Rebecca can see. With the help of her one and only friend Rebecca seeks to uncover the secret of Blackmoor House, but as the plot unravels she realises this can only end with the loss of her sanity... or her life. 'The girl in the Corner' was first performed to in 2007 at The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre as part of Bench Theatre's festival of new writing, Supernova 4.

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The Bench Competition Entry

Cast

Rebecca	Fern Bicheno
Kitty	Beth Evans
The girl in the Corner	Tasmin Halford
Mary	Claire Lyne
Doctor Grey	Mark Wakeman
Fletcher	Thomas Hall

Crew

Director	Mark Wakeman
Stage Manager Totton	Robin Hall

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