FRINGE festivals are all about producing something a little different, be it a play, a comedy routine, or, for that matter, any form of expressive art.

One such production which looks like it will stand out when it makes its début next week is the stage performance created by Colchester playwright Paul Davies, who has written a story about a young man who takes up ballroom dancing after being paralysed in an accident.

If the storyline for the play, Jacky, sounds novel, it’s because it is.

With the leading actor being Colchester born and bred, it is hoped the play will exhibit the best that Colchester Fringe, now in its second year, has to offer.

Playwright Paul Davies, who has been part of Colchester’s arts scene for 30 years, explained the inspiration for the play was Harry Bowen, who studied drama at Colchester Institute, and then at Essex University.

Harry was seriously injured when a tree branch fell on him when he was 11, killing one of his friends and injuring two others.

Mr Davies said: “As a result of an accident, Harry has to use walking sticks and a wheelchair, but that’s never got in the way of his performances or his abilities.”

Mr Bowen plays the lead role of the character Antonio, whose love of ballroom dancing is undimmed despite being confined to a wheelchair after an accident.

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But how can he even attempt to ballroom dance when he is unable to walk?

That, of course, is what Jacky is all about – and Mr Davies described how the idea came to fruition.

“I had seen an article on wheelchair ballroom dancing not realising it was a thing; I got in touch with Harry and said I had this idea of writing a play about it.

“Harry learned how to ballroom dance from scratch through someone called Jane Hambling, who runs a wheelchair dance group called Cha Cha Chairs.”

Incredibly, the seeds for this play were being coaxed towards the light before Covid-19 became a universally recognised term, but next week, on Thursday, October 20, Jacky will finally be performed on stage.

“It’s been a long wait but the show is finally going to be presented next week – that in itself is quite a story.

"It's about disabled people who overcome what happens to them – it's not Harry's actual story, but his experiences drive the story.

“It’s a play for our times – it’s about resilience and triumphing against the odds.”