Grass, Snitch, Nark, Blabber.

Grass by Mark Whiteley

When I was 20, I witnessed an horrific beating in a pub in Nottingham.  Two young, alcohol fuelled, angry men on a Friday night out, I knew both the victim and the perpetrator.  What followed was one of the scariest times in my life. I was threatened, stalked and even arrested. 

After the fight I was asked by the Police Officer what I’d seen, we all know what can happen to a grass on the council estates of England.  What would you do?  I did what I thought was right and decent and ultimately, I ended up paying a high price for being a snitch. 

Before the Crown Court case I was regularly visited by gang members wanting to know “what I was going to say” in court, under oath.  As the date loomed I didn’t know where to turn or what to do, so on the morning of the case I ran away.  Of course as a 48 year old I look back on that ridiculous decision with mature eyes, but I was caught between a rock and a hard place.

On the run from the Police and living on friend’s sofas I battled between my conscience and my fear for my safety.  In the end, Iaughably, I was “on the run” for just three nights. I had a chance meeting with an old lady on a park bench, who had far more life experience than I did at that time.  She listened and told me about her brother, a conscientious objector, who ran away for six months during WW2 then bravely returned to face the music. 

The next day I walked into Nottingham Crown Court and was arrested for Contempt on entry.  I gave evidence and the accused was found guilty and given 12 months, suspended for 12 months.  I left Nottingham pretty soon after that.

25 years later and the ghosts of my past are back.  GRASS is a new British crime drama from award winning Manchester theatre company HARD GRAFT. 

Venue -  KAVA 17 - 21 Mumps, Oldham, OL1 3TL
Tickets from £6*
Dates 30th Sept. - 17th October 2015
Time 7.30pm

*£6 preview tickets on the 30th September

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20 odd years ago filmmaker Julian Kemp left the London drama school RADA. After three years training to be an actor with the likes of Michael Sheen, Mark Benton and James Dreyfus, Julian decided he wanted to work behind the camera. In his final year at college he wrote a screenplay and over the next few years went about trying to get his dream into a reality.

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Actor is slammed for burglar story

If you read yesterday's post this is what the Nottingham Evening Post thought about my stories.

THEATRE groups in Notts have criticised an actor from Carlton for making up a life story to gain publicity for one of his plays.

Mark Whiteley told media across the UK, including former BBC Radio Four programme Home Truths, that he was a reformed burglar.

Now, Mr Whiteley, 44, says he made it up so he could promote his play called Thick as Thieves which tells the story of two Nottingham burglars.

Howard Whitehurst, one of the directors of the Bonington Players in Arnold, said Mr Whiteley's actions reflected badly on the acting profession.

"I have no problem supporting people who are using their life experience. but if the whole thing is based on a lie, that's just deceitful and dishonest."

David Goatham, member of the Bonington Players, described Mr Whiteley's lies as "unethical" and "shocking".

A spokeswoman for the All Hallows Dramatic Society in Lady Bay said: "It's unfair to all the honest authors and playwrights out there.

But Mr Whiteley said: "I'm a story teller. That's what I do for a living. I'm not a liar."

A BBC spokesman said stories on Home Truths were checked much as possible.

Read more: http://archive.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Actor-slammed-burglar-story/story-12221195-detail/story.html#ixzz2vCoOPYuO