I am a dreadful actor but it took me a little while to recognize this weakness. An early hint came in my first year playing a small roll in a production of Edward Bond’s The Worlds: I thank him for that. I knew very little about theatre before studying it at university and so found it difficult to get especially enthused as our department got excited about working with Bond on the world premiere of Jackets but a major part in that piece was played by Amanda Hadingue, who went on to become part of Stan’s Cafe: I thank him for that. As part of the arrangements around that production the playwright gave a lecture to the second year, it was tough going, intellectually rigorous and uncompromising. I struggled to keep up, which was a great experience: I thank him for that.

Now Edward Bond is @ A E Harris, working with Big Brum on the premiere The Broken Bowl, a new play for young people aged 9 – 13. His story is fascinating: how he left school early and educated himself, how his work was at the heart of the censorship storm as the law was changed, how he was championed by The Royal Court and National Theatre before a significant falling out, how he is revered aboard and in the UK concentrates on work for young people.

Previous experience with Bond’s bold and rigorous work suggests to us that it will be well worth visiting even if you are significantly older than 13 – a rare chance to catch up with one of the more significant figures in our theatre’s history. Performances are on Thursday and Friday at 7:30. Tickets are cheap and can be bought here.