ACTOR CHOSEN TO PLAY COLIN MILBURN IN NEW PLAY Actor Dan Gaisford has been chosen to play the part of Colin Milburn in a new play detailing the sad decline of the former England batsman. When The Eye Has Gone which is being jointly produced by the Professional Cricketers’ Association, Roughhouse Theatre and Live Wire Theatre, will visit all 18 first-class counties on a nationwide tour in November. All county clubs have agreed to support the PCA in putting on the play to help current players appreciate the importance of planning for life after cricket. The play has been written by former Kent and Derbyshire all-rounder James Graham-Brown, who writes under the name Dougie Blaxland, and Gaisford was cast in the role for the one man show following recent auditions in Bath. Gaisford is a stage and screen actor who trained at the Guildford School of Acting where he won the MA Prize for Acting in 2015. Most recently he has appeared in the critically acclaimed revival of Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park (Mercury Theatre Colchester/UK Tour), which was described as ” touring theatre at its best” by The Stage. His other credits include Dorothy (River Road Theatre), Flat Packed (Brass Works Theatre) and Henry Walker and the Wheel of Death (Rondo Theatre Bath with Roughhouse Theatre). ” In casting this one man show, it was important to me not to go down the route of producing a theatrical tribute act,” said Shane Morgan, director of ‘When The Eye Has Gone.’ ” In researching biopics, I turned to films Love and Mercy and Nowhere Boy. In the case of the former, John Cusack didn’t look anything like The Beach Boy’s Brian Wilson. What he did beautifully was capture the key elements of Wilson’s personality and energy and that is why the film succeeded. I want to focus on the same things for When The Eye Has Gone with Colin Milburn. ” Whilst Milburn looked as far from being an athlete as possible, when he stepped on the field, he came alive and was light on his feet, agile and could run rings around most of the players. ” We needed an actor who could transform, convey this form of agility and be able to switch between multiple characters at the flick of a switch. Having worked with Dan before and putting him through his paces at the audition, the creative team were unanimous about his ability to take on board this larger than life character.” Rehearsals for When The Eye Has Gone start at the beginning of October ahead of the nationwide tour. The play is set in the bar of The North Briton pub in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham on February 28 1990 during Milburn’s cabaret performance as ‘Jolly Ollie’, the character he had developed that concealed his insecurities and suffering. With songs, anecdotes and a large gin and coke, the story swings backwards and forwards through Milburn’s life as he raises a glass to his triumphs, including his first Test century against the West Indies at Lord’s in 1966 and his disasters, including losing his left eye in a car accident in 1969. When the Eye Has Gone, which is also supported by the Arts Council, will begin its nationwide tour at Somerset’s Taunton headquarters on November 1 and will visit all 18 county grounds before the final performance at Northamptonshire’s Wantage Road, Milburn’s old home ground, on November 24. Morgan, who is Co-Director of Roughhouse Theatre and Associate Director of the Rondo Theatre Bath, trained at The Royal Welsh College of Drama and his recent credits include Hands Up for Jonny Wilkinson’s Right Boot (Live Wire/Roughhouse Theatre National Tour), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Butterfly Psyche South West Tour) and Henry Walker and the Wheel of Death (Roughhouse Theatre) which he adapted for the stage from the Daniel Wallace novel Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician. Moira Hunt, the Movement Director for When The Eye Has Gone, trained at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst and trained and performed with Theatre is Moving under Leisa Shelton in Australia. Her credits include Glitz Dies! (Performance Space, Sydney as Director in Residence), The Sneeze (Director, Victoria and Albert Museum, London), The House of Bernarda Alba (Movement Director for Theatre Royal Bath) and Henry Walker and the Wheel of Death (Movement Director, Rondo Theatre, Bath). Moira is Co-Director of Roughhouse Theatre. When the Eye Has Gone is the PCA’s 2016 initiative to promote mental health and wellbeing and is part of the Mind Matters series. Further details of the PCA Mental Health Charter at: https://www.thepca.co.uk/health-and-wellbeing.html Dates: November 2016. 1 Somerset (The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton), 2 Gloucestershire CCC (The Brightside Ground, Bristol), 3 Glamorgan (The SSE SWALEC, Cardiff), 4 Worcestershire (New Road, Worcester), 7 Warwickshire (Edgbaston), 8 Lancashire (Emirates Old Trafford), 9 Derbyshire (The 3aaa County Ground, Derby), 10 Yorkshire (Headingley Carnegie), 11 Durham (Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street), 14 Essex (The Essex County Ground, Chelmsford), 15 Kent (The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury), 16 Sussex (The 1st Central County Ground, Hove), 17 Surrey (The Kia Oval), 18 Middlesex (Lord’s), 21 Hampshire (Ageas Bowl), 22 Leicestershire (Fischer County Ground, Leicester), 23 Nottinghamshire (Trent Bridge Inn, Nottingham), 24 Northamptonshire (County Ground, Northampton). Tickets cost £ 10 for adults and £ 8 for concessions. To book: Visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-professional-cricketers-association There will also be special performances of ‘When The Eye Has Gone’ at the following venues: October 28 & 29: Lansdown CC, Bath, 30 Dorchester Arts, November 12 Burnopfield CC, 19 Teddington CC, 25 West Hallam CC. {{ak_sharing}}
