The world's oldest playwright? Gareth, 82, takes tour on the road in south Shropshire

Ludlow-based poet and novelist Gareth Owen, 82, has revived the first play he ever wrote especially for the tour and will perform it himself as he takes to the stage for the first time in years.

In contrast, the second play, titled The Unkindest Cut (Friends, Romans, Marlon Brando) and performed by Peter Hayter, who also lives in Ludlow, is Gareth's most recent work.

"I am delighted that I have managed to write and finish something new," said Gareth.

"Thinking back I seem to write only under deadline pressure. A deadline is a benevolent scourge.

"I was having a coffee with Peter and he began telling me about his life – he is a great talker. Somehow, I don't remember how, the idea to turn these events into a play came into being.

"If Peter hadn't agreed then this play would never have come about. I am very grateful to him.

"When I gave him the script I felt like a schoolboy handing in his homework, but he seems happy with it. However the final arbiter is the audience, and Wednesday will be the first time this play has been performed."

That is far from the case for Gareth's other play, The Confessions of Jon-Jak Crusoe, which he thinks he penned in 1973.

It came about in a similar way – with a deadline to work towards and no idea where to start. Over the years it has impressed critics and audiences in Edinburgh, London, Rome, and most recently Birmingham.

"I haven't acted for years, but it's like riding a bike," said Gareth.

Gareth and Peter, who together make up Ad Hoc Theatre, begun a three-night run at the Regal in Tenbury yesterday evening. Further shows will be put on at Ludlow Brewery on November 21 and 22, Castle Farmhouse in Clun on November 26 and 27, and The Underground in Bishop's Castle on November 28, before closing the tour over the border at Presteigne Assembly Rooms on December 2. Tickets are available from the venues.