Ipswich-based Eastern Angles’ latest show I Heart Peterborough went down a storm at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival earlier this year.

Suffolk audiences will get the chance to judge for themselves when it comes to the town’s Sir John Mills Theatre this Thursday and Friday before transferring to London’s Soho Theatre.

The story charts the unfolding relationship between a recently reunited father and son living in Peterborough’s suburbs. Written by Leiston playwright Joel Horwood, it stars Jay Taylor, who viewers will know from a particularly memorable episode of the E4 TV hit Misfits.

Going into acting was something he always wanted to do.

“I must have had a screw loose. I started a Saturday drama club when I was 11 and loved it. I guess it all just grew from there,” says Jay.

Inspired more by film than theatre when he was young, he loved James Bond films; thinking Sean Connery was awesome. He got into theatre a little later, becoming obsessed with Olivier, Gielgud and all the greats.

“I took part in a few school plays, but I was pretty awful when I was young; very wooden and I was more concerned with what my hair looked like than my performance. I was a typical teenage boy and was fairly convinced that acting in the school play wasn’t cool,” adds Jay, whose family all work behind the camera in TV.

He trained at RADA and loved being surrounded by people who were as passionate about theatre and film as he was. He also enjoyed the discipline it taught him.

“Up until I went to RADA I was quite lazy and thought that I could just wing it, but you can’t wing it at RADA. My favourite role was John Hinckley in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. It’s a brilliantly funny and dark musical for people that hate musicals like me!”

Edinburgh was a fantastic experience.

“It was my first Fringe Festival, we had a very hectic time. I enjoyed it immensely, but after a month I was ready to return to normality. Luckily the audiences seemed to really respond to the play and feedback was great. That’s a testament to Joel Horwood’s brilliant writing.”

Jay’s equally excited about taking the show to the Soho Theatre.

“I love the Soho and we’re very excited to be going there, but we love this play so much that we would perform it in a cattle shed and be happy. We’re looking forward to all of the venues on the tour.”

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