ACTOR RELISHES CHALLENGE OF PLAYING COLIN MILBURN IN NEW PLAY Actor Dan Gaisford is relishing the challenge of playing the part of Colin Milburn in a new play which details the sad decline of the former England and Northamptonshire batsman. When The Eye Has Gone is being jointly produced by the Professional Cricketers’ Association, Roughhouse Theatre and Live Wire Theatre and 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. Gaisford, a stage and screen actor who trained at the Guildford School of Acting where he won the MA Prize for Acting in 2015, was chosen for the role of Milburn following recent auditions. The play has been written by former Kent and Derbyshire all-rounder James Graham-Brown, who writes under the name Dougie Blaxland, who has already done a cricket coaching session with Gaisford ahead of rehearsals which start later this month. ” I didn’t really know about Colin Milburn before hearing about the play so the first thing I did was to ask my dad because he’s a big cricket fan and Colin Milburn was his era,” Gaisford said. ” He knew his story straight away and told me all about Colin. He said he was the sort of batsman who would either go in and get out first ball or score a quick century, he was that sort of character. ” So, instantly I was interested in the character. From an actor’s point of view it’s fascinating to hear someone’s impression of another person, how they come across and whether you can get their character across to an audience. ” I’ve also worked with Roughhouse Theatre and the play’s director Shane Morgan before and they were people that I had enjoyed working with. ” The fact that it’s a one-man show also attracted me to the project. I’ve never done a one-man show before so it’s both nerve-wracking and exciting for me. ” I suppose all those factors combined made me interested to do it. Once I had done more research on Colin Milburn he seemed like an intriguing character to study, certainly one that can hold your attention for an hour-plus in a play. ” He was not just an interesting character to explore but also a tragic one. Losing an eye in a car accident ended his career – and something that he was passionate about – at its pinnacle.” Although there are no obvious physical similarities between Gaisford and Milburn, the actor believes that will be a help rather than a hindrance to the audience. ” One of the things that the director said very early on was that we are not doing a Stars In Their Eyes type of tribute. You could get someone who looks like Colin Milburn but, in doing that, there is a danger that you concentrate on the surface level of how someone looks and neglect trying to find out what it is about the person that makes them who they are,” Gaisford said. ” It’s about trying to get across what made Colin Milburn what he was rather than simply how he looked. Even though I don’t look like Colin Milburn I don’t think it necessarily means it makes the play less watchable. It’s an interesting challenge to find ways into being a person when you don’t physically look like them.” The play is set in the bar of The North Briton pub in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham on February 28 1990, the last day of Milburn’s life, during his 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 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}}
