The first half of a life with many vicissitudes and two obsessions: the live theatre and writing. The author looks back from a vantage point 50 years later, offering the reader an historical record based on personal experience: * poverty in the 1920s and 1930s* the blitz in war-torn London*National Service in the Merchant Navy* journalism and magazine editing* golden years in 1950s London* writing plays and poetry* am dram in the East End of London* professional theatre, weekly rep, summer seasons, touring, schools* the ultimate goal on the West End stage