Thank you to all the good teachers, brave editors and generous readers for your support then and now. One of the most horrible moments of the book, especially for me as a teacher, was Barr's shocking experience of Article 28 - an item of UK law passed by Thatcher's conservative Government which made it illegal for schools to promote homosexuality. Because of this, the reader can have no trouble indulging in this lovely piece of writing, supporting its hero all the way, taking the extreme brutality of those early days with a grave nod, and subsequently grinning wildly at the knowledge that Barr is writing it from the life he always wanted.

TRNSMT Festival has announced 23 more acts to the already star-studded lineup for this summer’s three-day Glasgow Green extravaganza. On the one hand Damian Barr despises her, her removing of even the smallest things that might help the poor - she earned the name Milk Snatcher for stopping free milk in all schools, for the strikes that hurt so many in her years as PM, including his father, and her attitude towards homosexuals. His shrewd observations of the people who inhabited his small world are offset by his young mind’s love of fantasy and far off worlds.I wanted to snatch mini Damian away from his troubled life and tuck him into bed in an immaculate house under a perfect Laura Ashley duvet cover. Damian Barr sifts through the wreckage of a horrific childhood and manages to extract humour, generosity of spirit and ultimately joy. The book has a fantastic sense of time and place, and the sort of Scotland you don’t often read about (a particular treat for me as I grew up there at the same time as him).

Following another huge successful Rewind last year, we are thrilled to announce Rewind is back for 2024 bringing the 80's and beyond to Scone Palace this summer! Adapted for stage by Damian Barr and James Ley, and directed by Suba Das, this bold and explosive new production is coming to Scottish stages in 2024. Despite the harshness of your hometown and the misery and inner confusion, the hope and the beauty shines through.As a memoir of growing up in the West of Scotland amidst poverty, abuse, alcoholism and bullying, while realising from a young age that he was gay, this was riveting. By turns funny, tender, and heartbreaking, it is also a useful primer for anyone too young to remember what life was like in the industrial areas of Britain enduring the changes wrought by Thatcherism.

Barr thanks Diana Athill, who told him “There is no point in describing experience unless you try to get it as near to being what it really was as you can make it. Last year, as part of a wider strategy announcement, STV confirmed ambitious plans to grow STV Productions into a world-class production company. You Will Be Safe Here is as unexpected as it is unsettling, both in the telling and in the way that telling works to reveal hidden trails through the points of light and darkness. Not til I turned the final page in this book with a smile of satisfaction I realize that I've seen this author in real life.

Chapters 7 and 8 are particularly finely crafted: the former recounts escaping from his mum’s boyfriend, Logan, and is a perfect full circle of a narrative; the latter is about his Auntie Cat’s mental breakdown. Heat up your Valentine's Day celebration this year with Pizza Punks limited edition heart-shaped pizzas and Love Heart cocktails! Director Suba Das is one of the most exciting theatre makers in the UK so I am thrilled he’s lending us his unique and uniquely engaging vision. Not just about the mechanics and process but also about the spirit and soul of what it means to move from page to stage.