Lesley Bruce is not a playwright in a hurry. Five years ago, the London writer first discussed with Stephen Joseph Theatre literary manager Laura Harvey the possibility of a premiere in Scarborough.

"They'd read a previous play of mine, Keyboard Skills, which was done at The Bush in Shepherd's Bush Green, London in the mid-1990s," Lesley recalls. "Laura said 'Phone up, come up and see us, bring an idea with you'. Eventually I came up with Bedtime Stories, they liked it and that's how this production came about."

Bedtime Stories, only Laura's third stage play in a diverse writing career embracing television and radio, opened in Scarborough last night to complete an 18-month journey from commission to stage.

She is thrilled at the invitation from the Stephen Joseph Theatre, the home of Alan Ayckbourn's plays.

"It likes to think of itself as a new-writing theatre and I believe the percentage of new plays each season is something like 80 per cent, which is amazing" says Lesley. "That reflects Alan Ayckbourn's own beginnings as a playwright when he was encouraged by Stephen Joseph himself. He feels indebted to him and wants to give others the same opportunity."

Lesley has been impressed by the all-inclusive attitude to mounting a play at the theatre. "Everyone who works there is welcome to attend the read-through: it's the only theatre that does that, and I've never encountered that before, but it means everyone feels like it is their play," she says.

Bedtime Stories is a comedy of quirky character that involves one woman, her mother, four men, a bed and a handful of memories in a story of distorted history, strange men and even stranger demonstrations of superiority.

The woman is Joni, who returns home to find a massive new bed in her bedroom with an unexpected guest inside it. The bed - a memory of her mother - sparks a chain of bizarre events with somersaulting strangers, punctured lilos and ten haunting songs about the moon, prompting recollections of the romantic tales of youth that Joni's mother used to tell her.

"It is absolutely the archetypal situation where someone says 'I'm going to tell you a story', as I think storytelling is the basis of good theatre," says Lesley. "Sometimes that can be forgotten about and you can feel the audience concentration slipping away if there's no sense of what's going to happen next."

A sting lies in the mother's telling of these tales. How truthful were those stories, and will Joni be held back by the memories passed down to her?

"That's something I'm interested in, that thing of having your own dreams and hopes and not idealising someone else's life," Lesley says.

Where do ten haunting songs about the moon fit into the story, 34 years on from the lunar landing in 1969.

"Around that time, we thought we would be fulfilled as a human race and the landing gave us a feeling of expansion, and yet the dream has not been fulfilled. It is clear now it wasn't going to change humanity; it was more about one-upmanship than expansion," says Lesley.

"What's important is to look inside yourself for your dreams."

Bedtime Stories, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, various dates until July 12. Box office: 01723 370541.

Updated: 10:14 Friday, June 06, 2003