A completely unique Production Ready for Your Stage.

Proven. Produced.

I Am bastard i am war

Presenting: NEW Proven Play Production Ready For Your Stage.

Are you a theatre producer, theatre director, drama school, festival or creative organisation looking for an original production? I Am Bastard I Am War is now available for productions, licensing and artistic collaborations.

A Play By

Alan Forrest Smith

Produced by

Alan Forrest Smith Literary Foundation

Based in Wilmslow & Altrincham, Cheshire

Te: 07793069486

I am bastard i am war Production cast & creatives

Everything you need to know about staging I Am Bastard I Am War at your theatre, drama school or festival

I Am Tamara Forrest-Smith

Director, Producer & Curator of the Alan Forrest Smith Literary Foundation based in Altrincham and Wilmslow, Cheshire, UK.

I identify, develop and produce powerful stories, bringing them to new audiences. I am also a founder and producer behind the Altrincham Storytelling Festival,

Following its successful premiere at the Altrincham Storytelling Festival, I Am Bastard I Am War is now available for your theatre productions, festivals and artistic collaborations.

From the writing and artistic direction to the staging and audience experience, this production has already been developed and proven before a live audience. Now it's ready for your stage.

I Am Bastard I Am War - Your NEW Production at a Glance:

Running time: 60 minutes (readily adaptable as a full-length production)
Recommended age: 15+
Cast: 6 lead actors
Flexible staging: Adaptable from studio theatres to larger stages.
Suitable for: Studio theatres through to larger venues.
Creative collaborations: 6
Live chorus: British Sign Language choir
Produced by: Alan Forrest Smith Literary Foundation
Availability: Available for licensing and future productions
A New Play that will hold Your audience's breath
NEW Original script by Alan Forrest Smith
NEW thought-provoking drama that will stay with your audience long after the performance.
Professionally produced theatre production ready for YOUR audience
Flexible production designed to adapt to YOUR stage.
Proven before a live audience, now ready for YOUR audience.
Performed with great reviews at the Altrincham Storytelling Festival
Professionally developed artistic direction, ready to adapt to YOUR production.
Flexible staging, so you can easily stage the play at YOUR theatre or venue
Producer guidance available throughout the production process.
Licensing through the Alan Forrest Smith Literary Foundation
Experienced Producer support available to help bring the production to YOUR stage.

We're looking to work with you if you are:

Professional theatre
Studio theatre
Drama school
University
Festival
Creative organisation
International partner

to bring I Am Bastard I Am War to new audiences.

Powerful Theatre Starts with Powerful story, because Stories Are What Your Audience Remembers

I've seen productions with remarkable stages.

Beautiful costumes.

Outstanding actors.

Yet by the following morning I'd forgotten almost everything about them.

Why?

The story simply wasn't there.

But your audience will remember a powerful story long after the final curtain has fallen.

People don't leave a theatre talking about the lighting.

They don't leave talking about the sound.

Your audience leaves talking about the story.

That is exactly why I Am Bastard I Am War is a story-led production.

Every artistic decision begins with the writing.

Every performance serves the story.

Every creative collaboration exists to deepen the audience's experience.

Your audience will remember the story long after they leave your theatre or venue.

But first, I want to encourage you to read the play synopsis. Once you’ve read that, I know you will understand the strength and the power of the story.

"WOW... Alan's words."

— Audience member, Altrincham Storytelling Festival

I Am Bastard I Am War

Synopsis & Production

Governments and leaders are happy to see your children killed in support of their big idea. It’s a mental illness they call WAR and dress in glory and medals. The reality is very different.

I wrote this piece in reflection for all of humanity. The main character is you, me it is everyone. History will never change. The insane will always see war as a sane route to glory.

After reading and seeing the endless horrors against humanity in Syria a few years ago I wrote a single poem called ‘Tears of a Mother’. As time moved forward these Wars seemed to progress to the state they are as I write today. The history of humanity and war never changes and neither does the outcome. As quickly as war arrives peace follows for a period of time once the nation and armies become tired, jaded and exhausted. The soldier regrets his war if he survives only to be followed by a new angry generation that never saw what their fathers saw. War is BASTARD, BASTARD is war.

Is there any excuse for WAR?

My WAR piece attempts to look at WAR from the perspective of a father a mother a son and a leader. They all come under the control of BASTARD and that BASTARD is WAR.

Alan Forrest Smith

The Characters & The Production

Lead Characters

The Narrator - The voice of memory and human conscience. Observing, guiding and bearing witness as the story unfolds.

The Leader - A persuasive man who has convinced himself that necessity justifies morality. Calm, intelligent and controlled, his greatest fear is not opposition—but doubt.

The Father - An ordinary man shaped by duty and obedience, forced to confront the devastating consequences of the system he once believed would protect his family.

The Mother - The emotional and moral heart of the production. Faced with unimaginable loss, she must decide whether grief will lead to vengeance or forgiveness.

The Son - Young, searching for purpose and belonging. Through one actor portraying opposing sides of conflict, the audience discovers that beneath different ideologies lies the same humanity.

The Priest - A man caught between faith, power and conscience. His certainty slowly gives way to uncomfortable truths he can no longer ignore.

Artistic Collaborators

The Chorus - Performed by a British Sign Language choir, the Chorus transforms language into powerful visual storytelling. Through movement, rhythm and sign, it becomes the collective voice of society—embodying public opinion, propaganda, grief, fear and ultimately our shared humanity.

Real Voices - Community participants who bring authentic voices into the production, reminding the audience that the story belongs not only to the stage, but to real life.

Live Artistic Collaboration - During the production, artists create live drawings inspired by the performance, capturing moments as they unfold before the audience. Inspired by the tradition of artists documenting conflict and history in real time, each drawing becomes a unique visual record of the performance itself.

The Production

Designed as a story-led production, I Am Bastard I Am War places the writing and performances above spectacle. Carefully integrated artistic collaborations support the story, allowing the actors and the words to remain at the heart of the audience's experience.

Its flexible staging makes the production equally suited to intimate studio theatres and larger venues without compromising its emotional impact.

★★★★★ “As lyrical as it is poignant”

A Powerful NEW Theatre Production Ready For YOUR Stage

As a theatre, you are probably used to being approached with scripts. Few arrive as complete productions.

I Am Bastard I Am War is a complete, professionally produced theatre production, developed to help YOU bring a powerful NEW story to YOUR audience.

The story has already been written.
The adaptation has already been developed.
The artistic direction has already been created.
The production has already been staged.
Tickets have already been sold.
The performances have already been proven before a live audience.
The audience has already responded.
The hard work of developing the production has already been done.
NOW it's ready for YOUR stage.

Your Theatre, Your Audience, Your Powerful New Production on stage

Just imagine YOUR theatre. Your stage. Your next production.

Imagine your audience holding their breath as powerful performances, compelling writing and carefully crafted artistic staging unfold before your stage. That is the production we have created. Already proven before a live audience and now ready for your stage.

Powerful characters.
A moving story.
A production designed to stay with your audience long after the final curtain.
Already written.
Already developed.
Already produced.
Already performed.
Tickets already sold.
Already proven before a live audience.
Now ready for your stage.

Our Awards?

We don't have any Olivier Awards to show you. But they are coming.

We have a production that has already been written, developed, produced and performed before a live audience.

Between myself, the cast and the creative team, we bring well over 100 years of combined creative experience across theatre, writing, directing, production and the visual arts.

I am also a writer, producer and custodian of Alan Forrest Smith's extensive body of original writing, developing and bringing his stories to new audiences through theatre, film, publishing and future productions.

I have also spent over two decades building publishing, marketing and creative businesses, combining practical business experience with a commitment to developing and producing powerful stories.

I understand what it takes to bring a powerful story from the page to the stage.

Now we're ready to bring it to your audience.

An Exciting New Production for You

The successful premiere of I Am Bastard I Am War at the Altrincham Storytelling Festival proved something important.

Audiences continue to respond to theatre with powerful story.

Theatre that challenges.

Theatre that provokes conversation long after the final curtain.

The production proved its ability to engage audiences, bring together outstanding creative collaborators and successfully move from the page to the stage.

Why Bring I Am Bastard I Am War To YOUR Stage?

Give YOUR audience an unforgettable theatre experience built on powerful original writing that continues long after the final curtain.

• Bring a proven production to YOUR stage with the confidence that it has already been written, adapted, produced, performed and connected with a live audience.

• Strengthen YOUR programme with powerful new writing that offers audiences something fresh, meaningful and thought-provoking beyond entertainment.

• Present YOUR actors with emotionally rich characters that challenge performers and create memorable theatre.

• Adapt the production to YOUR venue with flexible staging designed for studio theatres through to larger performance spaces.

• Build on Arts Council England supported development and a production that has already earned public investment in its artistic vision.

• Join the continuing journey of an original British production and help bring I Am Bastard I Am War to new audiences, new theatres and new creative collaborations.

“If this doesn’t make you think about war & life deeply, you might want to check you have a pulse.”

What’s Next?

Bring I Am Bastard I Am War To Your Stage

If you're looking for a professionally developed, story-led theatre production that is ready for its next audience, let's start the conversation.

Whether you're considering a professional production, festival programme, educational performance or artistic collaboration, I'd be delighted to discuss how I Am Bastard I Am War could become part of your programme.

Let's arrange a conversation.

Email: tamara @ alanforrestsmith.com

Phone / WhatsApp: 0044(0)7793069486

Tamara Forrest-Smith

Producer
I Am Bastard I Am War
Alan Forrest Smith Literary Foundation