SCRIPTS
Paul writes various scripts for a range of mediums and genres. His writing includes radio-dramas, screenplays and plays. Below is a list of his latest work. If you are a Production Company, Radio Station or Theatre that is interested in performing any of these works, please email: scripts@marmaladepublishing.com
Gone
Play / Radio Drama
We live in an age when people are living longer. Growing old, being ill and hospitalised for sustained and repeated periods of time, is a feature of modern life. Many are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia or some other related condition. But the suffering is not just that of the individual: it is the family and friends who are left behind that also suffer. In this play, Mark is coming to terms with his troubled past. He was born in the 1960's as an illegitimate child; a bastard. The man who had adopted him when Mark was five years old has Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. He is dying. Mark sits next to an empty hospital bed reminiscing on painful events of his childhood - trying to reconcile his feelings of rejection – of always being an outsider. "Gone" is a dark comedy. The play can be presented as a monologue, suitable for the stage, radio, film and television. It can easily be adapted to include parts for multiple actors.
1976
Play / Radio Drama
"1976" is a serious comedy. This work is based on real events and people. To protect the integrity of those that have passed on and the feelings of those that are still alive, the identities have been changed. The entire play takes place during the liturgical Catholic calendar year of 1976 in a Presbytery and Jesuit Church, Mayfair, London. Each generation tends to look back to a "golden age" when things were better. But such an age is an illusion. The human condition has not materially changed ab initio. It can be tragic and humorous. It can be inspirational and dark in equal measure.The issues and concerns of forty years ago are being played out today, just as they were forty years before 1976, and forty years before that. Families. Relationships. Sexuality. Love. Spirituality. Religion. Hypocrisy. Cover ups. Terrorism. The search for meaning in life.
The Inquisition
Play / Screenplay - TV Series
The action entire play takes place between Thursday 17 September to Friday 25 September 1514, in the Palace of Cardinal de Burgos, Seville, Spain. The Cardinal was a Spanish Jew who converted to Christianity. A renowned exegete, he rose to become an Archbishop and Lord Chancellor. De Burgos was one of the many Jews who made such a transition and achieved high office in the Spanish Court. The original Inquisition was established in the 12th Century to deal with heresy in France. In 1478 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella extended the reach of the French Inquisition by obtaining a Papal bull. The bull was formally called the "Tribunal del Santo Officio de la Inquisition" (Tribunal of the Holy office of the Inquisition) and colloquially known as The Inquisition. A state council was created to administer the Inquisition. The Dominican Friar Tomas de Torquemada acted as its first president. He was succeeded by Archbishop Fray Diego de Deza of Toledo who we find in this play. Archbishop de Deza had Jewish ancestry and was renowned for his particular cruelty, towards Conversos. On 31 March 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella issued the "Alhambra Decree", expelling all Jews from Spain. From that date until July 1492, there followed a mass exodus of 40,000 - 100,000 Jews to Portugal, France, North Africa and many other countries. It is estimated that prior to and as a consequence of the Alhambra Decree, some 200,000 or so Jews had converted to Catholicism and remained in Spain. They became known as the Conversos. In time, suspicions arose that the Conversos were secretly practicing their old religion - and the Inquisition turned its powerful and terrifying resources upon them.