I Should Have Been Liz
Girls Up North Theatre Company
10–24 October 1995, Dukes 92, Manchester
In 1995 Helen was invited to write a piece for the Boddington’s Manchester Festival. I Should Have Been Liz , a 25 minute one-woman show, was the result. The play was inspired by the fact that American film star Elizabeth Taylor was born in London. It explored the idea of what might have happened had she been accidentally swapped at birth with another baby girl and been raised a wannabe actress in Manchester. Helen again collaborated with director Lynne Shaw and actress Joan Kempson, the latter now a familiar TV face from her roles in Early Doors, Clocking Off and Coronation Street.   To read press on I Should Have Been Liz click here.

The Crabtrees Celebrate
Young At Heart Reminiscence Theatre Company
8 May 1995, Albert Square, Manchester
Following their successes in the Reminiscence Theatre and Theatre In Education fields, Young at Heart were invited to perform on the 50th anniversary of VE Night in 1995 by Manchester City Council. Helen wrote The Crabtrees Celebrate, a tale of ordinary Manchester folk celebrating the end of the war in Europe. The play comprised three 10 minute sections and was seen by an audience of 3000 people.

When the Lights Go On Again
Young At Heart Reminiscence Theatre Company
28-31 March and 4-6 April 1995, Pumphouse People’s History Museum, Salford
This 30 minute Theatre In Education piece was commissioned by the Pumphouse People’s History Museum in Salford for Year 4 to Year 8 school groups studying the Second World War and its aftermath. The play, involving audience participation, compared the recent experiences of a group of culturally and socially diverse characters living in Old Trafford on the day the end of the war was announced, and was based on the reminiscences of senior citizens in Manchester.

Celebrations and Salvations
Young At Heart Reminiscence Theatre Company
December 1994, Age Concern, Manchester
In 1994 Lynne Shaw and Jacqui Carroll formed Young at Heart and invited Helen to join the company as Writer in Residence. The pair had previously worked with Helen on Seen and Not Heard as production manager and lead actress respectively. Celebrations and Salvations was their first commission for Age Concern, Manchester, and was performed to audiences at day centres and residential homes in the Greater Manchester area throughout December. This 60 minute play with songs was set during the Abdication Crisis of 1936 and was inspired by historical research and the reminiscences of Manchester elders.