Anna May Mangan’s Writing News

Last night I sat in the back of a theatre and squirmed at first and then smiled a lot as five professional actors took my words and transformed them into a real play. I haven’t been as nervous since my son had to solo sing Pie Jesu to a crowd of 200 people when he was eleven years old . Then I was in the back row crying with nerves for him before he’d even started. Yes, I am a wobbler during life’s big moments.

Seeing my play ‘Changes’ being performed for the first time in front of a sell out audience (and only some of them were my friends and family) was like standing naked under a waterfall !  Those wonderful actors took my writing and made it more, and made it real. And because including the cast and the director and me there were seven of us involved I felt like any bum notes weren’t all my fault. I was very happy to share the audience response and laughter with those on stage, too.It was pure writing happiness and for a change it wasn’t solitary. 

And then when I got home I learnt that I have been shortlisted for the London Fringe Short Fiction Award 2009 sponsored by the Times Literary Supplement and Waterstones. Exciting news.

Going back to my ‘premiere’ (which I have done in my head every 10 minutes since last night) I had my hair done for the occasion partly because I looked like an old English sheepdog yesterday morning and couldn’t see where I was going , and also to bring some glamoooooooooor to the proceedings. The hairdresser and I discussed how a lot of grey haired women end up with ’do’s’ that look like cabbages. Keen to avoid this we came up with something contemporary – naturally curly at the back and straightened at the front. I can’t say I looked like anyone you’d know because I admit this hairstyle was like nothing I have ever seen before. Leaning towards Lady GaGa  perhaps…….Anyway I got home to find my husband who is on a six week holiday busy watching Ray Mears . He never notices my hair – usually – but this time he did because he commented that he hoped the hairdresser had given me a 50% discount because she’d only done half of it.

I told him I was a playwright and shortlisted  in a prestigious writing competiton and that he should treat me with more respect, and then he smacked me on the ass with a plastic flyswat and informed me that he wanted strawberry jam on his soda bread  when I made the tea and could I hurry up ?