The new series of drama workshops at The Little Theatre, Dundee kicked off on Wednesday 27 February with a rehearsed reading of East Coast Story, a stage play by Dundonian writer Donald Gunn.
The play brings Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s timeless story of romantic love against a background of a violent feud between two families, to the streets of present day Dundee, using modern dialogue and settings.
The story has been adapted a number of times in the past, but Donald felt that setting it in Dundee would help it resonate with a new generation of theatre goers. This was its first public airing and he was happy with the feedback from a small but discerning audience.
“Engaging, fun and a great treat” was a typical comment!
The Writer
Donald Gunn is a founder member of Dundee Playwrights’ Workshop. Now living in Newburgh, Fife, he has professional credits for work in stage, screen and radio. His children’s show The Great Tayside Space Adventure premiered at the Gardyne Theatre, and his radio offering The Second Coming of Alvin Cholmondeley won a major international award when it picked up a gold medal at the New York Radio Drama Festival. His play The Rhymer’s Promise was a collaboration with the director Charles Nowosielski and the musician Richard Cherns of the Edinburgh theatre company Theatre Alba. Donald was one of the professional writing team of The Dundee Mystery Play, a milestone community drama produced by Dundee Rep in 1989. He is currently working on a number of new writing projects, both dramatic and otherwise.