John Taylor has not taken the sartorial world by storm. Nor has he lived up to the family legacy –– something his father is keen to remind him of, at every opportunity. The worst part? His father has been dead for quite some time.
The Tailor’s Ghost is a Dickensian yarn set in the coal-black heart of a fever dream North. With pin-sharp wit, and a voice both hurt and human, the tailor takes us on a dark, rattling misadventure through the threatening backstreets of his tormented soul –– all the while haunted by a spirit who most certainly has his measure.
Performed by Lee Bainbridge and written by Gareth Durasow.
Contains strong language, and themes of grief and suicide. And mannequins.
Meet the people
Lee Bainbridge is a Yorkshire actor. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama and Columbia College Chicago. He has worked extensively on both the stage and screen. Select theatre credits include Razing Eddie, Heroin(e) for Breakfast and Shellshocked by Philip Stokes, Bouncers and April in Paris by John Godber, Stand and Loaded in Harrogate by David Bown. Select screen credits include Mike Leigh’s Peterloo, Coronation Street and Muppets Most Wanted. Lee is a former Royal Marine Commando and the Building Operations and Facilities Manager at the Leeds Playhouse.
Gareth Durasow grew up in Castleford and lives in Huddersfield. He holds an MA in Theatre Studies from the University of Leeds.
His poetry and fiction have appeared in literary publications across the UK, Europe and the US, including The Rialto, Dead Ink, The Fiction Desk, and Neon. His plays have been produced by the award-winning theatre company Horizon Arts and South Asian arts organisation Manasamitra. He is a STORGY flash fiction and Ilkley Literature Festival prize winner. His poetry collection Endless Running Games is available from Dog Horn Publishing.