Writer is Star of Wonder

A critically-acclaimed play written by an Edge Hill University academic is about to tour the north-west.

Writer and director Dr Helen Newall has penned the performance for Chester's leading professional community theatre company, Theatre in the Quarter, which is bringing the new production to the region.

Star of Wonder, which continues at the University's Rose Theatre on 13^th February, is the story of how, in 1899, the lives of a small group of music hall performers are affected by the introduction of a new act - an acclaimed female magician, Isis, the Star of Egypt.  The audience will see characters both on stage and off as they reveal their secrets, dreams and fears.  This rich musical feast is a glimpse into a world gone by - a world where magic is real.

It has been created by the artistic team Helen, composer and music director, Matt Baker, artistic director, and director Russ Tunney.  They have collaborated on a number of successful professional and community theatre productions, helping to keep theatre alive in Chester, while involving hundreds of school children, young people and adults in quality theatre experiences.

Talking about this latest project, Helen said: "We have produced something excitingly original and slightly scary and it received rave reviews before Christmas. It really challenged me as a writer and I feel that the show is packed with drama, music, comedy, tragedy, magic and mystery from start to finish. It blends all the Victorian theatre's preoccupation with illusion, melodrama and exotic cultures.

"I'm delighted that the Theatre in the Quarter's artistic success has been recognised by both Arts Council England and Cheshire West and Chester as they have awarded funding for a thrilling programme of work and it's great that we're able to bring the tour to Edge Hill University's popular Rose Theatre as well as other exciting venues across Lancashire."

Helen has worked with Jigsaw Musical Theatre; Cheshire Youth Theatre; Theatre in The Quarter; HTV Television Workshop; The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis; Action Transport Theatre Company; The Nuffield Theatre, Southampton and Off The Ground Theatre. She was writer-in-residence at Chester Gateway Theatre.

She is a co-editor of The Road to Somewhere: a Creative Writing Companion (2005, Palgrave Macmillan), and has chapters in How to Write Fiction (2007, Palgrave Macmillan) and Everything You Need to Know About Creative Writing (2007, Continuum). Her work is published in Pretext (UEA), Pool, (Headland Press) and Myslexia. Helen has also played the title role in Eddie's Izzard's 1984 production of Ben Hur in Edinburgh.

To book tickets online for the performance at the Rose theatre, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/rosetheatre.