Tim Marks
Playwright

synopses

"Couldn't be more direct or less obscure... with virtually every speech and scene ringing painfully, bitterly true."

—Joseph Hurley (Irish Echo)

"I don't know how long it will be before I stop being Pete's widow and start being that loud mouthed hoor who's disloyal to the cause. When the time comes, will it be you who delivers the headshot, or will you be the one who orders the young 'uns to tar and feather me?"

—from Locating the Plant

More excerpts...

Refuge of Scoundrels

Plot Summary:

Stan Hurst, a poster boy for left wing causes, has two sons: Skillet and Stan. Stan the younger was seriously wounded in Northern Ireland as a result of a heroic act. He is in a vegetative state. Skillet, on the other hand, has become a player in the Albion movement, which advocates the repatriation of all non-whites from the UK. His father has to deal with looking after Stan, laying off all the workers at his factory, and trying to understand three day cricket. It's little wonder he fails to notice Skillet becoming all he detests.

A Comment by the Author:

The evolution of the skinhead movement has always fascinated me. The idea for the play came after I found an old Trojan ska album and it occurred to me that my foray into skinhead life was entirely to do with style. I didn't take part in the aggro - I never had the bottle. All the music we listened to was ska, reggae, and bluebeat. I missed the racist component. I'd love to say it was intelligent choice on my part, but it was merely youthful ignorance that saved me.
I acknowledge my debt to the Scots play. And to Mrs. Thanner's little girl.