WHETHER you love or loathe the game of golf, it will never be the same again after you see Peter Gordon’s new play Par For The Course, promises the Copmanthorpe playwright.

Writer-director Peter will stage his world premiere at the Alan Ayckbourn Theatre, York College, from Thursday to Saturday, when the comic results of Captain’s Day at the fictional Seven Lakes Golf Club will unfold on a set design of a patio and putting green.

“Captain’s Day gets off to a bad start when the men’s captain phones in sick,” says Peter, a member of the Pike Hills club, near Copmanthorpe.

“Club secretary Simon (Paul Stonehouse) relishes the chance to take over, but is soon thwarted by the arrival of vice-captain Nick (Terry Moran) and his girlfriend, Tiffany (Anne Whinfield). Lady captain Fran (Beryl Nairn) and the enthusiastic but hopeless Barry (Richard Easterbrook) add to the confusion as a series of disasters mount.

“With the unexpected arrival of Simon’s wife, Laura (Libby Wattis), tensions build and things go from bad to worse.”

This premiere will form the first production by Piggyback Theatre Company, the new company founded by Peter. “I’d like things to get started with a bang,” says the artistic director. “It’s now getting close to the performances and rehearsals are going really well.

“I’ve even taken the cast to Pike Hills to soak up the atmosphere and practise their golfing techniques, though I stress that the characters and the situations they get into certainly did not have their origin in my local club.”

To thank York golfers for their help, Par For The Course will be performed at Pike Hills and Fulford golf clubs in dinner/theatre nights on April 16 (sold out) and 23. Both these clubs are regular supporters of St Leonard’s Hospice, to which all proceeds from the play will be donated. Looking ahead, Peter, above, has plans to put on new work by fellow local writers.

Meanwhile, a national tour of Peter’s play Murdered To Death – part of his Inspector Pratt trilogy – will begin in June, featuring a cast led by Sandra Dickinson and Graham Cole, alias PC Stamp in The Bill.

“It’s being staged by Ian Dickens Productions, and though the full tour details are still being firmed up, some dates have been announced, but more will be released in the coming weeks and months,” says Peter.

A separate professional production of Murdered To Death will run at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, from August 9 to 14 as part of a classic thriller season.

“I also have a five-week professional run of Secondary Cause Of Death coming up in October at a dinner theatre in Little Rock, Arkansas, so, all in all, I have quite a lot of things happening this year – thankfully,” says Peter.

• Par For The Course, Alan Ayckbourn Theatre, York College, Sim Balk Lane, York, April 8 to 10, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Tickets: £9, concessions £7, on 01904 623568.