North-East humour is making the world laugh thanks to the plays of Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood... who have just returned to writing in tandem

PLAYS that started off in the North-East will be performed throughout the world this year, which marks 15 years since South Shields playwright Ed Waugh and his writing partner Trevor Wood, from Newcastle, burst on to the scene with their first show called Good To Firm.

The play, set on Grand National day, had a world premiere at the Customs House, in South Shields, and has been performed professionally in the UK as well as on the amateur circuit.

"We'd been talking about writing plays for a while," says Waugh. "Then, at our Christmas party, in December 2001, Trevor said he'd quit his job (both Trevor and Ed were journalists) so we could start."

Six months later, in June 2002, Good to Firm broke box office records and the duo were away. Their biggest hit to date, Dirty Dusting, followed in 2004 and that hugely popular show has made numerous professional tours of Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK.

In October Dirty Dusting – starring Leah Bell, Crissy Rock and original director Dolores Poretta Brown – tours the UK for the eighth time.

"There's barely a week goes by when we don't get requests from amateur groups to perform the show," says Waugh. "It's recently been performed in London, Spain and last year I saw an excellent production in... Sedgefield!

"It's is constantly being produced in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It's a phenomenon. While it's very funny, the storyline has resonance about unemployment, older people and job insecurity today. People ask why our humour travels to other countries. It's because it's working class humour and working people are the same worldwide."

Dirty Dusting will make its American bow next year with shows in Florida, in February, and New York, in May.

"We're really excited about that," says Waugh. "It will have taken 13 years for Dusting to get to the US. We've done an American translation and we know the Americans will love it. Being about office cleaners, the characters will be of foreign stock. We just hope Trump doesn't deport them."

The duo have scored big successes with Durham Gala Theatre-produced plays A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Durham, Alf Ramsay Knew My Grandfather, which transferred to Newcastle Theatre Royal, and Maggie's End, which transferred the Shaw Theatre, off London's West End.

Another comedy, Waiting For Gateaux, about the worst slimming club in the world, will be translated into Flemish for a professional run in Belgium, in spring. Gateaux is regularly performed by amateur groups in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The next run is in Dawlish, Devon, in March and there are Antipodean dates later this year. The show starred Lisa Riley on a professional UK tour, in 2010, and Riley gushed about the play over four pages in her 2013 best-selling autobiography.

Waugh, meanwhile, has embarked on a solo career. Two of his sketches, which started life at the popular Laffalang shows, in South Shields, can be found on the new Sunday for Sammy DVD. However, it was Hadaway Harry last year that opened the door to even more exciting projects. Hadaway Harry, about the famous Geordie rower Harry Clasper, started life at the North East Maritime Trust boathouse in Wapping Street, South Shields.

"We've has standing ovations at full, 2,000-seat capacity theatres in Dublin and Glasgow. That was wonderful and exhilarating, but the intimacy of the 80-capacity boathouse was something special. Truly unforgettable" says Waugh.

After a good reception in small venues along the Tyne, and at the Gala theatre in June 2015, Harry will transfer to Newcastle's prestigious 1200-seat Theatre Royal next month, preceded by a London run overlooking the River Thames in Putney, at London Rowing Club.

In May and June, Waugh is touring the region with Mr Corvan's Music Hall, a play with music by Ned Corvan, the first professional North-East singer/songwriter. Corvan, a forgotten music hall superstar, is credited with starting the Hartlepool monkey legend with his song Fishermen Hung The Monkey, O!

The show, which is produced in association with Gala theatre, will have its world premiere run at the Durham venue from May 25 to 27 and then visit other regional theatres such as the Whitley Bay Playhouse, Alun Armstrong Theatre (Stanley), Hartlepool Town Hall, Westovian Theatre (South Shields) and the Sage Gateshead.

"There will also be more Laffalang shows," says Waugh. "I love the Laffalang Gang. No two shows are ever the same."

Following the success of the first Joe Wilson night in November, a second Joe Wilson Night has been booked for November 29 at the Irish Centre in Newcastle, only ten yards from where the Bard of Tyneside was born.

"As a tribute to the 175th birth date of Joe we tested the water with his songs and poems and the response was phenomenal," says Waugh. "Newcastle City Council put up a blue plaque to Joe at his birthplace in Stowell Street (today's Chinatown) and all the tickets were sold by September. We'll be putting on another show by popular demand. Hopefully it will become an annual event. We're aiming for a 2018 tour. Joe managed a theatre in Spennymoor, was acknowledged as bringing music hall entertainment to Darlington and played his last show in Stockton."

Given Ed has penned 13 Laffalangs in the past three years and written and produced three successful solo plays (with three more ready to go in 2017 and 2018) he's often asked if he and Trevor will write together again.

"Sometimes it's good to have a break to re-charge your batteries and gain other experiences. While I've been writing and producing, Trevor managed to get on to the highly prized MA course in Crime Fiction, at the University of East Anglia, and has written two excellent novels. We have, however, written a very funny and poignant play called The Trouble With Men. We offered it to a well-known actor who came to see us last year, and she was very keen but her other commitments got in the way. She's back on our radar now, so watch this space!"

  • hadawayharry.co.uk/ mrcorvansmusichall.co.uk/ and joewilsongeordiehinny.co.uk/ offer more details on future shows and tours