Here I Belong (NHB Modern Plays)

Matt Hartley's moving, funny and charming play, Here I Belong, takes you through decades of history seen through the eyes of one village resident. It's Elsie's ninetieth birthday. Come and join us in the village hall to celebrate. There will be cake. Elsie has lived in the village for sixty years. She has seen elections, weddings, wars, people coming, people going. The village is where her daughter grew up, it's where her husband died and it's where she's going to stay. Travel through time from 1953 to the present day in this play about village life and the right to grow old in your own home. First produced on a UK tour by Pentabus Theatre Company and performed by two women, Here I Belong provides ideal material for amateur companies for up to eight female performers - especially those performing in their own village halls.

Matt Hartley grew up in the Peak District and studied drama at the University of Hull. His first play Sixty Five Miles won a Bruntwood Award in the inaugural Bruntwood Competition and was produced by Paines Plough/Hull Truck. Other work for theatre includes: Deposit (Hampstead Theatre Downstairs); Microcosm (Soho Theatre); Horizon (National Theatre Connections); The Bee (Edinburgh Festival); Punch (Hampstead/Heat and Light Company); Epic, Trolls, Life for Beginners (Theatre503). Radio credits include: The Pursuit (Radio 4). Television credits include: Hollyoaks.