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The RSCAW was the brainchild of Birmingham sports journalist and closet thespian Roger Clarke aided by Tom Roberts, producer of the excellent Lichfield Garrick Rep (click for details of the Garrick).

The idea is to have a community theatre in the pub and with help and encouragement from Keith Ward, the manager of The Station in Station Street, Sutton Coldfield, we launched The Station Pub Theatre in the summer of 2008.

The theatre will put on professional, amateur and pro-am productions as well as open mic nights and workshops. We hope to encourage local writers and actors as well as new works. We are also looking at producing our own radio plays for local radio and hospital radio.

THE start of the 2010 programme has been delayed yet again and once again by something out of our control. Radio was due to be performed on Wednesday and Thursday, April 28 and 29 BUT it was discovered this weekend that The Station Pub has managed a double booking.

The comedy club have a national act booked on Thursday and as they have 100 seats and a thirsty audience there are no prizes for guessing who was going to win - it wasn't even a battle. Apparently the problem arose as the Comedy Club booking was not written in the bookings diary.

We looked at running with just the Wednesday performance and cancelling or postponing the Thursday performance and even at performing Radio on Thursday at an earlier time as the Comedy Club does not start until 8.45 but that wasn't really practical. In the end First Light Theatre would prefer to reschedule and have two performances on consecutive nights so that is what we are doing. Dates as soon as we have them.

In June (Sunday 20 and Tues 22) Lucky Fin productions was to have been bringing The Frozen Heart to the Station but, continuing what has been six months of misfortune this has had to be postponed because of illness.

This means our next production will be on July 14th and 15th when Vesey Players, who took a rest from their traditional, annual pantomime last year, will be performing two one act plays, Last Tango in Little Aston and The Worst Day of My Life.

Meanwhile

Staffordshire's Opus Theatre Company are looking to bring a new production to The Station in summer - the company's Confessions of Honour, written by Opus founder Gerry Hinks made it to the West End and dates are currently being arranged.

Meanwhile, behind the arras if you are interested, I am involved in a new venture, a theatrical website, www.behindthearras.com which will be covering Midland theatres, both amateur and professional as well as pubs and clubs.

Lined up in talks we still have Two, Jim Cartwright's play set in a pub with 14 characters and a cast of two.

Also in the pipeline is Satin 'n' Steel which is a tale of dreams and hopes in clubland and we are hoping to stage Shirley Valentine if we can find a mutual date with our star.

Waitress for Godot by one of our own members Paul Bamborough, is also in the pipeline as is Frozen Heart next summer which was at the Lichfield Garrick this month. It is a musical tribute to Irene Nemirovsky who wrote Suite Francaise and the people who lived in occupied Europe in the Second World War.