Author Profile – Anthony Stamp
Our second Author Profile introduces the first of our new playwrights – Anthony Stamp.
Anthony began writing stories and books when he was about fourteen. Throughout his teens, twenties and early thirties he entertained himself by writing thirty-seven novels and collections of short stories. None of these were ever published. He sent one to a publisher but it was instantly rejected. He did however win several story competitions during the early 80’s, including one of five runners-up prizes in The Mail on Sunday’s very first ‘Start of a Novel’ competition.
In the late 80s he bought an early camcorder and, having always been fascinated by cinema and the film making process, he collected together a group of friends and made a short amateur film. Anthony based the screenplay on a short story he had written some time before (and which had actually been read on BBC Radio). More friends became interested and more films were made, totalling thirty between 1988 and 2015. In each case he would write the screenplay, produce, direct, edit and often appear in these films. None were ever publicly shown and were never intended to be: they were screened privately for the cast and friends and relatives.
By 2005 many of the participants had moved on and with a slight change of direction in mind Anthony joined a local amateur theatre group. He loved the experience instantly and, joining a second company in 2007, began performing in five or six plays a year. He has now appeared in about sixty plays and continue to do so. Anthony have also directed three plays.
Ironically his fellow actors learned of the earlier films he had made and expressed a great desire to appear in one. So he made three more films between 2011 and 2015, now with the actors from the theatre companies. The last of these was a ghost story called The Grey Mist…
The Grey Mist: a ghost story
The Grey Mist is the first of Anthony’s plays that we have published.
Set in rural England in the 1920’s, this play offers a mystery which will keep you guessing right up to the end!
When Dr Trent takes over the medical practice in a remote country area of England he finds the locals both suspicious and superstitious. They speak in hushed tones of a grey mist which descends without warning and with deadly consequence. He believes this is only natural in a rural area barely touched by the twentieth century.
But soon he senses something more. Why does he feel the presence of a patient he cannot see? Who is the young lady who waits outside the practice but never comes in?
And what exactly is the grey mist, so often whispered about but never explained?
Written for a cast of 12 (6M / 6F) with a single setting, it runs for approximately 2 hours plus an interval. Available for performance by both amateur and professional companies. For further licence information visit the page on our website: https://beercottbooks.co.uk/product/the-grey-mist