PLAYWRIGHT Nigel Forde is celebrating the success of a new concept TV play which was written, rehearsed and performed live in less than a week.

Mr Forde, who has lived in Pocklington, near York, for 11 years, collaborated with his friend and former York University student turned art critic Victor Lewis Smith on the Play In A Week project for Channel 4, and his contribution was aired last Friday.

Nigel, who has won an Emmy Award for his writing, jumped at the chance of taking part in the "mad idea", especially as it was to be directed by Norman Stone, who won a BAFTA for TV's Shadowlands.

He said: "We met on Monday morning, got out some newspapers and searched for stories.

I've known Norman for years, but never worked with him until this year and we fit together like jigsaw pieces, and had great trust which, on a project like this, is essential."

The story centred on a Romanian who wanted revenge for four years' imprisonment by the Germans, for which he received £1,400 compensation, or £1 for each day in captivity.

The cast included some of TV's big-hitters. Among them were Jean Boht, best known for playing the matriarch of the Boswell household in Carla Lane's sitcom, Bread, Caroline Paterson, who played Mark Fowler's wife Ruth in EastEnders, David Hayman and Russell Hunter. Each member of the cast agreed to take part at a moment's notice.

Nigel wrote the script on Tuesday, the actors arrived on Wednesday and rehearsed and learnt lines until Friday, when they were thrown before the cameras and the viewing public.

Five cameras filmed continuously, there was little room for mistakes. Nigel said: "The first half was brilliant and the second half was fun. There were a few little slip-ups, but I don't think anyone noticed.

"At one point, we had some cables in shot, and we also had a boom in shot at another point.

"It overran by 15 seconds, which meant there was no time for the credits. But I think it gained a kind of theatricality which you don't usually get in TV. There's a safety about TV and film, but you haven't got that edge you have in theatre. This was actually more edgy than theatre and was a bit scary because this kind of thing hasn't really been done since the early 1960s."

Nigel Forde's next project, Beauty And The Beast, can be seen at the Polka Theatre, Wimbledon, at Christmas.

PICTURE: Nigel Forde: good fun