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