An award-winning Stockton born playwright, actor and writer is heading our way on Thursday to put on quite a show, which features a funny yet moving friendship with a computerised character based on Middlesbrough FC legend Tony Mowbray, an unusual job advert in the Gazette and a rather odd scene about foxes…
Scott Turnbull’s new show, Where Do All the Dead Pigeons Go?, is not about pigeons at all, but is full of comedy, farce, drawings, anecdotes with some regular nods to Scott’s Stockton roots and his beloved Middlesbrough Football Club.
Part of the show revolves around a character called Darren Smith who moves to the moon after applying for a job he had seen in the Evening Gazette.
The show gained some excellent reviews when it was performed at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and now Scott is excited to bring it home to ARC, where he is hoping that Teessiders will be able to relate to the humour and local angle of the show.
Speaking about the play and his Teesside upbringing which has helped form its content, Scott said:
“Back in the 80’s when I shared a room with my older brother Neil, we had posters all over the walls- Debbie Harry, Erasure, Pink Floyd and pride of place amongst them all was the 1988/89 Middlesbrough team photo. My brother had somehow managed to get all the players signatures, by spending wet and windy afternoons outside the old Ayresome Park, with my uncle Bill. Naturally, I grew up a fan of the club and an admirer of all things red and white.
“This year I decided to write my first play. I knew that I wanted to put a little piece of Middlesbrough on stage, and ended up creating Where Do All the Dead Pigeons Go? It’s all about Darren Smith – Teesside’s very own ‘man on the moon’.
“He lives aboard Moon-base 1 with his best friend the T-100. The T-100 is a highly intelligent ‘Zenith-Data, Computer System Robot’ based on former Middlesbrough captain Tony Mowbray…It’s surreal, funny and sad all at once. It’s also not your average piece of theatre. I think it would appeal to a lot of people in Teesside..after all, it’s kind of written for them!”
Scott graduated from Stockton Riverside College over ten years ago and has worked as a successful actor ever since, with appearances on Byker Grove and The Bill to name a few. He has worked extensively in theatre, mainly at Northern Stage in Newcastle, and also does live voice-over work for Sky One.
You can catch the show this Thursday at 7pm and it is priced on our Pay What You Decide pricing policy.
Seats can be booked by calling ARC’s Box Office on 01642 525199 or you can book your seat here.