Barry Lowe – May 3 2020

Anniversary of J M Barrie’s birth – May 9 1860

Barry is a playwright, short fiction writer, and journalist. He edited Campaign magazine, plotted the erotic comic strip Bimbo Beach illustrated by John Dobie, and has written numerous reviews and conducted interviews with entertainers for various Australian publications. Barry worked in stage management and acting and managed a small theatre space before turning to writing for the stage. His produced plays include The Barricade, Writers Cramp, Ego Positioning, Lettuce Cutlets, Finishing School, Elbow Grease, Rosaleen – Wicked Witch of the Cross, Lyrics for a Lost Love Song, Homme Fatale, The Extraordinary Annual General Meeting of the Size-Queen Club and Teleny and his other published plays include Sal, Dragon Fly, Relative Merits, Seeing Things, Indecent Exposure, The Great Gatsby and Rehearsing the Shower Scene from ‘Psycho’. Barry has published eBooks, novels and anthologies. His first published print book was Atomic Blonde, a biography of 1950s blond bombshell Mamie Van Doren. Barry has also written a Steampunk novel, The Extraordinary Victorian Clockwork Derriere and a fantasy, Guys & Trolls. He currently writes weekly for SX magazine and is rewriting the final chapters of his Australian historical novel, The Major and The Miners as well as extending his first m/m romance novella, The Min Min Lights, also an Australian historical novel.

The Death of Peter Pan
Lydian Press, 2014, Kindle Edition
Also Australian Script Centre, 1995
150 minutes, 1 female, 6 male
Renowned Scottish playwright, James Matthew Barrie, lies abed, unable to sleep, dreading the anniversary of one of the most tragic moments of his life. Lulled by the persuasive power of the syringe, he falls into a fitful sleep as the events play out in his mind. It’s Armistice Night in London and Michael Llewelyn Davies, one of Barrie’s adopted sons and one of the models for Peter Pan, celebrates with friends when he runs into the mysterious Rupert Buxton. They meet again in Paris, and later at Barrie’s retreat on the Scottish island of Eilean Shona where the relationship between the two men becomes passionate. Will their love survive the censure of 1920s England, and will it destroy James Barrie’s reputation? Love sometimes has tragic consequences. Based on a true story and explores the relationship between J M Barrie and his adopted son who drowned in a pool at Oxford in 1921.

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Tokyo Rose
Australian Script Centre, 1989
45 minutes; 3 female, 9 male
Young adult
Tokyo Rose was the name given to the female announcers who broadcast propaganda over Radio Tokyo, which was beamed to the Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War Two. U.S. born Iva Toguri, however, was the only one charged with treason in an orchestrated witch hunt by journalists and politicos to increase their power and prestige. Using the Andrew Sisters and Uncle Sam as counterpoint, the play explores the gross miscarriage of justice which led to her ultimate tragedy. Tokyo Rose can be performed as a musical or a straight play.