Writing is the hardest thing I’ve done. It’s a grind. You see me up here and you think I’ve made it. But it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

The Beacon, Buttershaw 1990. Andrea Dunbar, acclaimed writer of Rita, Sue, and Bob Too, mum, sister, best friend, is struggling with her latest work. Her aching head is full of voices, stories from her past which have to be heard…

A bittersweet tale of the north/south divide, it reveals how a shy teenage girl defied the circumstances into which she was born and went on to become one of her generation’s greatest dramatists.

Adelle Stripe’s ‘outstanding debut novel’ of Andrea Dunbar’s life is adapted for the stage by Lisa Holdsworth. This edition was published to coincide with the stage premiere at the Ambassador Theatre, Bradford in May 2019.