RICHARD THE THIRD AT THE RITZ

The world premier of a few bits of William Shakespeare, wilfully misused by Jasper Fforde, and now adapted from The Eyre Affair (published by Hodder & Stoughton, price £6.99 - and good value it is) for the drinking public by a lover of culture.

Presented by the Western Players Dramatic Society, 9pm Thursday, 6th May 2004, The Beehive, Prospect Hill, Swindon.

One performance only.

And what a performance it was. Organised by Peter Green, the event attracted a packed pub, lots of dodos in the dodo-making competition, a reader all the way from Canada and a Times reporter. The cast were often pre-empted by members of the public who shouted out the 'participations' before they did - surely a measure of the success of the evening! That's Peter holding the fluffy dog on the left, ready for the '..dogs bark at me as I halt past them..' section.

For me, this was quite an occasion. The first time I have ever heard any of my work performed. Photo by Gill Neal.