Writer Jesse Armstrong returns home to Oswestry for sell-out show
Two of Britain's most talented scriptwriters were in Shropshire today as part of Oswestry LitFest.
Jesse Armstrong, best known for the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show and the BBC Four political satire The Thick of It as well as the Oscar nominated In the Loop, was returning to his home town tonight for a sell-out talk at Kinoculture cinema.
Earlier in the day Oswestry LitFest patron Frank Cottrell Boyce was visiting schools in the town, delivering workshops to pupils at the Marches School and also at Packwood Haugh school in Ruyton-XI-Towns.
The man who co-wrote the script for the London Olympics opening ceremony, is also a celebrated children's author.
He has praised LitFest saying: "It brings some wonderful authors to Oswestry and also brings visitors to the town who, like me, might never have visited the place and now ranks it as one of my favourite towns in Britain.
"Festivals like these are great for authors. It is a very solitary profession and it gives us the chance to step out of our bubble and meet members of the public and find out what they think of our work."
Mr Boyce first visited Oswestry when he reopened Oswestry's refurbished and extended library.
The festival, which officially ends on Saturday but has a finale event on April 8, has proved a huge success attracting hundreds of visitors to the daily events.
It started in 2010 and was the idea of local businessman John Waine, from The Best Of Oswestry, inspired by reading a short book, Wilfred Owen: Poet and Soldier by Helen McPhail.
Since then the festival has grown to run over two weeks. The breadth of literature celebrated at the LitFest continues at the weekend when Llanymynech Amateur Dramatic Society will present Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew on Friday and Saturday.
Before then historian and broadcaster Marc Morris will talk about his best seller King John on Thursday at Booka Bookshop while on Friday best-selling author Matt Haig talks candidly about his book Reasons to Stay Alive, which looks at his struggle on the brink of suicide at the age of 24.
