"Deep in the heart of late-1920s prohibition America,  tensions are brewing.

Come on down to the Solitary West speakeasy - the bartender here sure has a story to tell. One of loss, ambition, and betrayal. A recounting of his darkest hours, of his rise, and his fall. When his wife launches a plot to overthrow his boss, witness as he is caught in the midst of a vicious power struggle, one that grips both his life, and those of the city’s criminal underworld. Forgiveness may be impossible, and guilt is an untameable beast. But rest assured, his tale will be told. And his end... is inevitable."

The Unspoken was put on in a production with my theatre group, The Dark Slate Theatre Company, at York's leading Fringe venue, Theatre@41, in June of 2024. Following a successful run with the University of York Drama Society (DramaSoc) last year, it was incredibly exciting to get the opportunity to put the play on once again in an all-new version.

It was very important to us that this was a brand new show, and not simply a rehash of what we had already accomplished. To achieve this, we reopened all roles - both in the production team, as well as in the cast. As The Unspoken is a play so focused on world-building, this approach also allowed us to bring in an incredible ensemble team to help fill out the criminal underworld of 1920's New York City.

Drawing on the immersive elements that inspired both the first edition put on with DramaSoc, as well as the cancelled legacy edition from 2020, we worked closely with the venue to help turn the space into a prohibition-era speakeasy. This included taking out their normal seating rack in favour of a cabaret-style layout, as well as the creation of our own, custom drinks menu. As the drinks at the Solitary West speakeasy are referred to by the numbers one to sixteen, we made sure this was reflected through our custom design. We also worked with one of their trustees to come up with three brand new cocktails, to be served only for the run of our show. These drinks, labelled The Big Three on our menu, turned out to be incredibly popular!

The Dark Slate's goal was simple from the get-go: to put on The Unspoken the way it was meant to be seen, in a way that complemented the sheer scale of the story. In this regard, it was a resounding success. I am incredibly grateful to the now-over-sixty people who have believed in this passion project, and worked with me on it's 4-year development. It has been an honour to work alongside such talented individuals, and seeing the incredible work they each brought to the table!

While The Unspoken is a script I will likely continue to develop well into the future, purely because I love the world and the characters, it is a pleasure to say that I've had the chance to see it done the way I imagined it all those years ago!