by Patsy Payne

patsy.payne@essnmedia.co.uk

A Croydon-born playwright, returns to the town which set him on his career path, with a brand new play at The Warehouse Theatre.

Robert Farrar has enjoyed a successful career as a screenwriter both in America and the UK and his return to Croydon is pivotal.

It re-unites him with childhood memories of his grandparents and the large mansion called Coombe Corner where they lived in south Croydon.

"My memories of the house are wonderful - a beautiful house with fantastically large garden and a very high fence around it. It was here that I became close to my grandfather, who became my mentor."

Robert's maternal grandfather, Kenneth Horne, was a high profile playwright having written 13 West End comedies between the 1930s and 1960s.

"His plays are still performed and I still receive the royalties," said Robert who credits his family background for his love of theatre.

"I suppose I was fortunate in having such a good grounding in comedy which my grandfather was able to pass on. He certainly knew how to make an audience laugh," he added.

And Robert is hoping to do the same with his new farce, Relax, which contains references to Kenneth Horne's 1942 comedy hit Love in a Mist.

"It's a kind of thank you for the inspiration he gave me," he said.

Although the stage always interested him, when Robert first left school, after reading English at University and touching on writing, it was music that first occupied him.

"I was into pop music and had a band and a recording deal. We were called The Mystery Girls- we played the Hippodrome New York and Camden Palace."

But in his late 20's he was writing again, for the Edinburgh Festival and fringe theatre and never looked back, even scooping a London film prize for the screenplay Bedrooms and Hallways, a gay-themed British film which starred Simon Callow as a sex therapist.

A further screenplay success shot in London was the Hollywood film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1997) based on Farrer's novel 'Watch that Man' starring Bill Murray.

He also wrote the novel State of Independence and two short films Sunday Morning and Donut, which he also directed.

Robert's return to Croydon after many years away has slightly unnerved him. The town is very different to the early years being driven with his parents to see his grandfather in his mother's Morris Minor.

"It all changed so much but I love the trams. And I love some of the modern stuff, particularly that octagonal building when you come out of the station. They have lighting embedded into each level and it really makes that building work."

It's just a short walk from The Warehouse where Relax starts its three-week run on March 12.

He said: "I really like the Warehouse Theatre - it is perfect for us, but it's an emotional time so you can feel quite scared.

"I'm revisiting the town in a state of slight anxiety," he laughed.

When it comes to writing, how easy does he find it, I asked and again it is his grandfather to whom he refers.

"My grandfather taught me to write for the actors. Each actor is a comic genius in themselves. He would say if you write for each actor who always had their moment in the play you couldn't go wrong.

"Actors loved my grandfather's plays. and I find they love mine too as there's something to get their teeth into."

And although the first draft may take just six weeks there's then a couple of years developing and re-writing followed by readings with friends and actors before further refinement, until it's ready for the stage.

Relax is a bit risque and promises to be a riot of fun.

Set in the Gemini Lodge guest house near Weston super Mare where the guest house owner has a habit of seducing his unsuspecting male guests, but the next morning blaming it on his supposed identical twin brother.

Mix in a tarot-reading fifty-something stoned houseboy and a metrosexual mechanic and the scene is set for a hilarious tale concern post coital guilt, sexual compulsion and mistaken identity.

It stars James Holmes, currently in the television series Mirander.

His credits are many and include numerous plays, national tours, television and film appearances in shows including Catherine Tate, The Bill, Doctors, Peep Show and Love Soup.

Other cast members are Tony Bluto (film credits include Truly Madly Deeply, Nightbreed, and 102 Dalmatians) Nadia Kamil, Dominic Cazenove and Mark Leeson.

Book now at The Warehouse on 0208 680 4060 for Relax which runs from March 12 to April 4.