“I saw these two monologue plays by Martin Paul Roche. Laugh out loud funny and also very thought provoking. Two excellent performances. Go and see it if you can. New plays on tour. Brilliant.” AND “Absolutely brilliant. Both performances did justice to your writing! Great plays, very poignant in parts but ‘laugh out loud’ comedic in others.”
Background
Martin has been writing for theatre for over 25 years. What began as an idea for a fundraising concert and a narrative for him to compere it, turned into a story, which evolved into a script and resulted in 'To Be Frank', a musical play which premiered in 2000.
Prior to this, singing and performance was his first love and kept him busy for over 30 years. He performed in stage productions spanning operetta to modern musicals including Kiss Me Kate, The Student Prince, Broadway Pirates, Guys and Dolls, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Mack & Mabel, in total taking lead roles in over seventy productions.
His vocal training introduced him to the classical repertoire and him performing principal soloist in a wide and varying range of sacred/oratorio works including Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation and Maria Theresa Mass, Beethoven’s Mass in C, and 9th (Choral) Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams Serenade To Music and Rossini’s Petit Messe Solennelle.
His recital performances included programmes of the works of Malcolm Arnold, Brahms, Strauss and Mozart to name a few.
His opera roles have taken in ‘Radames’ in Verdi’s Aida, ‘Don Jose’ in Bizet’s Carmen, ‘Bastien’ in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienna and ‘Kasper’ in Mennotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Despite his background, Martin has not performed for a number of years and instead, focuses on donating his time to writing and adjudication and importantly, supporting new writers and theatres in presenting new works.
In 2007, Martin began to focus more on developing works for the stage and script/lyric writing. His next project was a collaboration which resulted in 'Witchfinder the musical.' In 2009 it premiered to excellent reviews and received several awards including The John Blackburn Trophy from the GMDF for 'Best Book and Lyrics.' This was really the beginning of a continuing period of writing, predominantly plays, which to date have seen some 25 works completed and several projects in development.
In 2020, a collection of his works, 'The First Ten Plays' was published as a printed volume along with individual copies of his more recent plays. All are now available to acquire at cost from this website on the respective pages. Some of his published works are also available to perform through Stagescripts Ltd by CLICKING HERE.
In 2022, his play 'Gymnopédies' premiered in the north of England as part of a limited tour.
In 2023, a second volume of his plays, cunningly entitled 'The Next Ten Plays' was published and is now available.
Also that year, his two one-act plays 'Last bus to Whitby' and 'Ancient and Modern' were staged at a number of venues within the region to excellent reviews.
In the summer of 2024, all of his current plays are planned to be consolidated into a complete portfolio of his works entitled 'A Play For All Seasons.'
In 2024, 'The King's Orphan' will again be seen on stage at The Carver Theatre, Marple as well as 'Is there anybody there?' in Norwich. He returned to adjudicating that year and the GMDF One Act Play Festival.
In the summer of 2024, his latest play 'Opposites in Common' will tour a small number of venues in Greater Manchester.
Martin has spent his life involved with many charities regionally and nationally. He is very proud to be President of the award winning Children’s Amateur Theatre Society (CATS) based in Bolton.
In 2009 his work over many years with young people was acknowledged by the Greater Manchester Drama Federation (GMDF) when he was recognised with the Muriel Goodwin Trophy for '... an Outstanding Contribution to Youth'.
Latest News
'Where is the life?' Feedback from the audience (2023)
"We were there last night. It was absolutely brilliant. Sensitive, funny and absolutely heartbreaking. Moved us all to tears. Brilliant acting, brave choice of play. Loved it. Definitely not to be missed" ... "Congratulations guys. This play was brilliant. Such a rollercoaster of emotions. The cast and director did a great job" ... "Watched it last night and really enjoyed it" ... "Book now to avoid disappointment" ... "Utterly brilliant. Well done. Loved it"
Gymnopédies - feedback from the premiere (2022)
“Thank you to you and the cast for a fabulous evening. We all really enjoyed it and have booked tickets for another performance. What an amazing talent. Brilliant.”
“You’ve a masterpiece of a script.” “Loved it.” “It’s a smash.”
“Fabulous play ... loved every second.” “Absolutely amazing.”
“An excellent piece of work with an excellent cast.”
“A great play with a brilliant cast, quality acting, and a rich script.”
“We really enjoyed it. Very well cast. The actors did brilliantly, very convincing. Great work.”
“An excellent play by Martin Paul Roche. Well directed and performed by all three ladies.”
“Terrific play, wish you great success with it.”
“Congratulations on the play - it was excellent - a very clever and thought-provoking production. I thought the three ladies were all brilliant.”
"Thoughtful, contemporary and intelligent work. Great performances. Highly recommended!"
“A brilliant production. Congratulations ... this will be a play I remember. Bravo.”
The King's Orphan
Audience Feedback for 'The King's Orphan': "“What a gem! ‘The King’s Orphan’ at Guide Bridge Theatre. A script that moves an audience from tears to laughter and back again - not just once but again and again. A powerful piece of theatre from Martin Paul Roche.”
What the audience thought... "Is there anybody there?"
First night audience feedback on social media following the premiere:
"Pure brilliance" ... "Absolutely gripped" ... "Excellent script" ... "Brilliantly acted" ... “A very original and entertaining piece of theatre” ... “A really thought provoking play. I loved it … what a mixture of emotions” ... "Really enjoyed last night. Great play, funny and dark at the same time. Highly recommended" ... "Brilliant in every way. Totally loved it. Well done to all of you. Martin has such excellent writing skills; I actually couldn't wait to get back in the theatre at the interval to see how things panned out. Totally awesome" ... "Seriously, the play was fabulous. Get down there this week."