Former heroin addict from Colwyn Bay writes drugs play

Jun 4 2009 by Sarah Lewis, North Wales Weekly News

A RECOVERING heroin addict is writing a play to persuade the younger generation to stay away from drugs.

Marcus Fair, 36, of Colwyn Bay was trapped in a dangerous cycle of drug use for more than two decades, but he has now found a new direction in life thanks to a ground-breaking drama project involving a group of former addicts.

The Choose Life Cymru project has been inspired by a similar scheme that started in a prison, HMP Liverpool. Through this project, the new group is creating a short, hard-hitting play drawing on their real life experiences with the script being written by Marcus.

Marcus said: “Collectively, we have a few thousand years of addiction and the challenge for me was how to distill so many years of addiction into a 45-minute play.

“For me, this is not about the generation who are already on drugs – about five per cent of us will get back to having a productive life – but about the next generation so that they can hopefully learn from our mistakes.

“The story is based on a family who have a set of twins, Dan and Jay, and their elder sister, Zoe.

“It all goes back to choices – you can see how one choice has a direct impact on your life and you have to live with those consequences.”

Marcus’s addiction problems began when he was as young as 12 years old.

He was introduced to heroin after a spell in a young offenders’ institution for dealing in drugs.

He said: “I was 18 at the time and working for my father’s company, which was the largest fireguard manufacturer in the UK at the time, so I was earning a lot of money for a kid.

“All the money ended up going on heroin.

“Today, I am clean and when you are clean things come into your life.

“When somebody suggests something to me I will give it a go and Choosing Life is a good example of that.”

Katy Playle, Regional Manager for the Drugs Intervention Programme, said: “The idea is to offer the play to schools as a way of enhancing their curriculum and providing a platform for learning and discussion about the issues faced by young people exposed to substance abuse in their families and their communities.

“As well as offering a valuable insight to young people about drug and alcohol abuse, it also gives those involved in the play the opportunity to tell their stories.”

The play, also called Choose Life, will be premiered during National Tackling Drugs Week, June 8-12, to an invited audience only at Tape and Community Music and Film, a non-profit-making company in Old Colwyn, where the group meets every week.

The project is funded by the Community Justice Integrated Services (CJIS), which is a partnership between the North Wales Probation Area, the Drugs Interventions Programme.