Live Theatre's Three Acts of Love brings talent home

Passion, obsession, betrayal - this is not your typical love story.

And in one of Newcastle's most intimate of venues, is it a theme being explored through three new short plays.

Three Acts of Love, penned by a trio of female writers, is making its world premiere at Live Theatre.

Making her debut on that stage is Imogen Stubbs, one of the country's most established and respected actors, who was born in Rothbury, Northumberland.

She spent most of her childhood holidays at her grandmother's home between Cambo and Rothbury, in a "magical place" called Rothley.

She plays a heartbroken heart surgeon in the show's first short play, The Start of Space, written by Laura Lindow.

"The story is about going from the science of it to understanding how it feels to be a heart surgeon, and how it feels to be a human being and what exactly the heart is," she said.

"It is an extraordinarily complex thing the heart, and you can't just say it is two atriums and two ventricles and a few valves."

A stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and London's West End, Stubbs' career spans four decades across stage and screen.

She said she was excited the spotlight is now shining in the Live.

"I was born up here and a lot of my family come from up here, and I thought it would be a lovely place to come back to and see them, apart from the fact that I knew the reputation of this theatre," she added.

"And so I thought it would be a lovely thing to come here and play in this gorgeous space. It holds you in the palm of your hands. It is nerve-racking, but it's exciting."

Also making her debut at Live is actor Laila Zaidi, from Washington, near Sunderland, who is looking forward to seeing her family.

She is known for her roles in hit shows Benidorm and Ackley Bridge.

Here, she appears in the second play, Fangirl, written by Naomi Obeng, in the role of a young woman obsessed with a pop idol.

"I just love working here because it champions new writing, telling stories that we might not necessarily hear," she said.

"It is such a privilege to have the writers with you in the process. You really get to the nitty gritty details.

"As an actor that is such an honour to be able to have that conversation and hopefully portray exactly what they want on the stage every night."

The final play was written by Vici Wreford-Sinnott, from Saltburn, near Redcar, Teesside, who has devoted her career to championing disability in the arts.

"My play is called 'with the love of neither god nor state' and tells the story of a young neurodivergent woman leaving the care system and looking for a home," she explained.

"It doesn't quite go according to plan."

The writer said she was "passionate" about bringing new disabled protagonists to the stage, and telling authentic stories.

"My whole career has been about creating new work that gives a voice to disabled people," she added.

"As a disabled woman, I experience exclusion.

"Traditionally, the arts haven't been terribly welcoming so this has been a brilliant opportunity."

Tyneside actor Rebecca Glendenning-Laycock was cast in the role of neurodivergent character Greta, who described it as a gift to take on.

"As a neurodivergent person, to be able to play a character that is canonically and explicitly neurodivergent, in a play which explores that, was something I was really excited to do, and something I am excited to do every single night."

Music has been composed and is performed live by Jayne Dent, aka Me Lost Me, which is the experimental Newcastle musician's first long theatrical run.

Three Acts of Love runs until 16 December at Live Theatre, Newcastle.

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