O LITTLE TOWN is a new play set in a church at Christmas in a small commuter town in England.  Delighted that we have the opportunity to ask theatre maker Lee Lomas more about his work.

LPT: Firstly, please tell us about your collaboration with your co-writer DEMI LEIGH.

Lee Lomas: Demi and I have worked together for almost five years now, we have collaborated before and have similar tastes in styles and execution so now felt like a good time to fuse our writing together.

LPT:  O LITTLE TOWN has a lot of strands to it, could you tell us more about the story.

Lee Lomas: The play is in two halves, one written by me and the other by Demi, the whole play takes place over the course of a day. Although the play is in two halves there is a main crossover/plotline; the local car factory is closing and is having an impact on the local residents. The majority of the action takes place in a church so naturally there’s some exploration of God, faith & religion but the play isn’t dominated by this. I think Demi’s key themes are looking at how terminal illness affects relationships & a young woman wanting a baby. Where mine is more centred around addiction and whether or not a man has exposed himself purposely to his granddaughter in a swimming pool.

LPT: Why is social realism important to you personally?

Lee Lomas: How else are we to make sense of society if not through art? It’s an opportunity to create debate and discussion, something that seems to be dying in our current culture, in a productive and creative environment. 

LPT: Do the themes tie in with your work with THE WORKING ACTORS STUDIO?

Lee Lomas: The themes of the play are not intrinsically linked with the work I do at the Studio. However, at the Working Actors Studio our main objective is to develop actors who are fearless enough to show their own humanity through the characters they take on. And in showing who ‘they really are’ it allows the audience to relate to them and have a shared experience and that is what we’re also trying to achieve with O Little Town (and any other production we make.)

LPT:  The studio provides classes in Screen Acting and Practical Aesthetics technique. What exactly is meant by Practical Aesthetic techniques and how will these feed into the play?

Lee Lomas: Practical Aesthetics is a technique derived from David Mamet’s book ‘True and False’. The technique instructs us that there is no such thing as character (e.g you don’t become the character) and that the illusion of character is brought to life by the actors life being married with the writers words. What you should see when attending the play is authentic depictions of stories that are happening all around us all the time, to us and to people we know.

LPT: When you were writing O LITTLE TOWN, did you have specific actors in mind? 

Yes, we have written the characters specifically for all of the actors involved.

LPT: You, yourself are musician, writer and actor (Hollyoaks, Cold Feet, Casualty). Which of these elements was uppermost in the creation of the show?

Lee Lomas: Definitely the writing element.

LPT: Having been in the business since you were 12 years old, what has been your most formative work?

My play Sunrise for the Blind which explores racism in small towns, teenage pregnancy and the oppression of the working class.

LPT: You’re quoted as saying that you like to write 'Black Comedy' because you like to say things that everyone else is thinking but don't dare to say. Can you give us a small sample of this from O LITTLE TOWN. 

Lee Lomas:

Anna  See there you go again. Fuck it. You swore in a church, what’s going to happen?

Marc  It’s just a bit disrespectful.

Anna To who?

Marc  I dunno.

Anna Who?!

Marc  Religious people.

Anna They’re just people. ISIS are religious people.

LPT: Finally, we take it that O LITTLE TOWN is a reference to the first line of the Christmas carol ‘Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem’.  How is the play a ‘must see’ choice for the Christmas season?

Lee Lomas: It’s always nice to see something festive at this time of the year but we’ve seen all the films a thousand times haven’t we? This is an opportunity to see something that is in keeping with the season but is going to pack more of a punch than ‘Elf’ or the ‘Santa Claus’ whilst still providing plenty of humour to keep your spirits high! 

O LITTLE TOWN Winter Showcase at Etcetera Theatre in Camden 15 December

Two performances at 2:00pm and 3.45pm (run time approximately one hour)

Box Office

About Lee Lomas

Lee Lomas is an Actor, Writer & Musician originally from Manchester. He is also the founder of the Working Actors Studio in London, who provide classes in Screen Acting and Practical Aesthetics technique. His plays and film tackle current affairs, often from a satirical point of view with the emphasis often being on the Working Class.

Lee has been working in numerous creative fields since he was 12, his first professional tv credit coming at age 16 when he appeared as "Bonehead" in C4's critically acclaimed, Shameless.

He trained in Performing Arts at both Diploma and Degree level before joining the Manchester School of Acting. Here he discovered David Mamet and Practical Aesthetics, the technique that shaped his acting career.

He has produced theatre in London and Manchester since 2012, including enjoyed a sold-out run at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent

Garden in 2019 with his original play Sunrise for the Blind, Killing Nana (2019) at Hen and Chickens Theatre and Stretch Marks and Broken Hearts (2022) at Etcetera Theatre Camden.

His television credits include Hollyoaks & Cold Feet.