Playwright and director Joe O’Byrne writes about Paradise Heights – the world he has created as the setting for his series of interconnected plays, four of which are set to arrive at the Grand Theatre.
Paradise Heights could be a run down and deprived estate in any town. Your town. And that’s what I wanted you to feel when I created it. But there’s something else at play here… something twisted and paranormal.
Tales from Paradise Heights are a series of plays and independent films I’ve written, produced and directed for around the last 24 years. I’m currently touring five of the plays and there are more to come. They are starting to build an army of fans. They’re a TV series waiting to happen.
Each play here is a complete tale of its own. However the stories are all inter-connected, by either character, location, event, or some times all three. Characters cross back and forth through the tales, some characters appear in more than one tale, or are referred to in three tales before they appear in the fourth. Audiences will feel at home watching one tale and feel they have enjoyed it, not missed anything. But when they watch a further production, that’s when they begin to see the breadth, depth, layers and scope of this ever-growing series. You could take any of these characters and build a whole new story and dovetail the narrative into what has come before, whilst layering in the storylines that will lead to what will come next in the tales beyond.
Throughout all of this, one man, Frank Morgan – the Irish gangster, loan shark, dark force of nature, Ace of Spades club owner and gambler – casts an ominous shadow across the whole of Paradise Heights. You have a problem in the Heights? You don’t go to the police, you go to Frank. A man who’s power and influence sends ripples throughout the other tales. Such is his influence that his presence is even felt in stories he does not appear in. A man haunted, sometimes literally, by his past. As is the community of Paradise Heights.
You can jump on board with these separate plays at any point, watch them in any order, but be warned – you will want to keep returning to Paradise Heights.
There’s something strange here – a darkness nibbling at the edges of a place where the urban meets the supernatural, a community shrouded in ghostly noir. There’s an angel flitting through the tales, she used to live here, and there’s at least one ghost. There’s a cyclops doorman, a feared Frankenstein of a man, who will tell you the tale of the eye that died over a whiskey ’n’ dry. He’s a Beast who finds his Beauty, and a whole lot of trouble. Look closely for an angel of death and, oh yes, a stolen baby in a jar, the twin sister of… really, there are so many real but ‘magically or tragically touched’ characters that we have to stop there, we’d stray into spoiler territory.
Paradise Heights is a place where the mean and moody streets whisper secrets, and where, between the crumbling walls and stripped-out shells, these people call home. You will find comedy, tragedy, heart, soul and humanity. You can jump on board with these separate plays at any point, watch them in any order, but be warned – you will want to keep returning to Paradise Heights.
Once you’ve seen one of these tales you will be compelled to see them all, like theatrical crack – one hit and you’re hooked. The most recent example being that I played Strawberry Jack: A Tale from Paradise Heights in Salford last week, and some of the audience are now coming all the way to Blackpool to see The Bench: A Tale from Paradise Heights. The same thing happened when audience members saw one of the Tales at Crewe Lyceum and then travelled over 30 miles to see another one of them at The Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford. That’s the power of them.
It isn’t just the drama, the comedy, the intricate twisty/turny plots and the supernatural that are a draw for audiences here. It’s not the fascination with the eclectic range of colourful characters. It’s the outrageous humour, with a dark edge yes, but you’ll be rocking with laughter at points – and then asking yourself, ‘Should I really be laughing at that?’ The answer is yes, of course. The laughter comes in between gripping the edge of your seat.
These are stories that will move you, shock you, make you laugh and cry, give you characters you love and characters you love to hate. Incredible casts and crews that throw all of their heart and skill into giving you a night of theatre you will never forget, and then further tales to follow that one. What more could you want from a night of theatre?
Welcome to Paradise Heights. Welcome to The Undiscovered Country…
Tales from Paradise Heights are being performed at the Grand Theatre over coming months. The Bench runs 17th-19th Feb; Diane’s Deli 4th-6th April; Strawberry Jack 31st May-2nd June; I’m Frank Morgan, Rewired 25th-27th July.
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