Avoidance is a new play by award winning playwright Mike Heath. It is a witty drama that explores the nature of grief and the bonds that tie families together. Fittingly, a key aspect of the play is the power of the human mind to heal. It's a poignant tale of truth and hope, when it seems that all is lost. It has an excellent cast that includes well-known actors that have appeared in Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Last Tango in Halifax.
Avoidance is an original tale that focuses on Tom who has been 'dead' for 15 years; at least, that's what his sister, Michelle, thinks. Their mother has since passed away, leaving her and husband, Damian, trapped in a house haunted by memories.
Damian is desperate for them to make a fresh start away from the family home, but then Tom suddenly appears on the doorstep! I ask Mike Heath about the origins of the play...
"I wrote Avoidance originally as part of a Studio Salford Development Week Challenge" he explains "Basically the 'challenge' is all about writing a new stage-play specifically to be performed as a rehearsed reading. So, I took it to Development Week, got feedback and went off, re-wrote it and here we are today with the script.
"I got the original idea for the script from a Facebook post" he adds "This guy was going around the country, offering homeless people an opportunity to leave a video message to people that might be missing them. The project went global pretty quickly and there was something like a 45% success rate of reunion.
"So it was that which sparked the idea that, perhaps, someone has been away from home for a reason and then thrown back together, it wouldn't be a straight forward reunion" he says "There would be resentments, confusions and skeletons to exorcise before the relationship can be healed."
The play has a top cast, including award winning actress and stand up comedienne Joanne Dakin whose credits span stage and screen and include Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Two Pints of Lager. Joining Joanne is Ant Bacon who you may recognise from Last Tango in Halifax, Ordinary Lies and Corrie. Ant is also an established theatre and radio performer with appearances going back over ten years.
Completing the cast is Greg Kelly, whose recent work, Chippy Tea, has been selected for the BAFTA festival this year. His CV also boasts numerous TV roles including Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road.
"We've got a really brilliant cast and we're really lucky to have them on-board" says Mike "Me and Richard Douglas put a casting call out on CastingCallPro and we were inundated with great applications. I'd wanted to work with Jo Dakin for ages - she'd auditioned for some of my previous productions and somehow it just never quite worked out; but this time I was determined to work with her.
"I've known Greg Kelly for years through Studio Salford" he adds "Greg is a really great actor and has done some really impressive stuff for TV as well. Ant Bacon completes the cast - I'd never met Ant before, so this was a discovery through the audition. He instantly got Damian as a character. There's lots of humour in Damian as a stroppy, frustrated husband - and he really brought something really special to the role...we've been finding some lovely tension between the characters."
Mike is an experienced theatre writer and director. He has worked in fringe theatre since 2003, with work appearing at Studio Salford, 24:7 Theatre Festival, Re:Play @ The Library Theatre, The Lowry and Robert Powell Theatre, as well as many fringe venues in Manchester.
Given that Avoidance is Mike's 16th stage play, you can rest assured that you are in save hands. Mike's other credits include The Call of Nature, All Tomorrow's Parties and The Rise and Demise of Kenneth Kennedy Smythe.
"I don't really have a specific type of play I like to write" he explains "I guess I started off writing comedies; things like The Game of Two Halves and Hot Shot were out and out comedies, with drama embedded into them. Avoidance isn't a comedy in that same sense - but there's always a thread of humour, often quite dark, in my work and that is very much present in Avoidance."
Avoidance tells the tale of a brother and a sister trying to mend a broken relationship. They attempt to re-discover their undying bond, but there are some major questions that need to be addressed. Or as Mike succinctly puts it, Avoidance is ... "a drama with funny bits..."
Avoidance
Wednesday 31st May – Friday 2nd June
Kings Arms
Bloom Street M3 6AN
Tickets £8 - £10 – click here to book
Words by Ian Leslie
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