FORGOTTEN works by one of the region's best-loved playwrights have been published for the first time.

Tom Hadaway's The Prison Plays, two full-length and two short plays, were inspired by his time as the first writer in residence at Durham Prison, in 1986.

Though widely performed, the four plays - Yesterday's Children, Long Shadows, The Vicious Circle and Postcard from God - have never before been published.

They have been brought to print by lifelong fan and friend, Val McLane, the Auf Wiedersehen, Pet actress and University of Sunderland lecturer.

She said: "I have a lot respect for Tom's writing, and I noticed that a lot of his work had not been published, which is criminal for such an important North-East playwright.

"Tom's prison plays are important contemporary works about the prison system, which were inspired by his experiences as a prison tutor.

"Tom felt compelled to write them, and they are compulsive and compelling reading."

She worked extensively with Mr Hadaway to compile the book, often working from the playwright's original hand-written notes, making these the first definitive copies of the plays.

Mr Hadaway is known for his work on the classic 1970s series When the Boat Comes In, and received both critical and popular acclaim for his stage plays, such as The Filleting Machine, God Bless Thee Jacky Maddison and Seafarers.

The Prison Plays is published by the University of Sunderland Press, in association with Business Education Publishers Limited and costs £12.95.

Published: 04/12/2004