THE PLAYS

Critics have often said that Michael's work has the extraordinary ability to bring history to life.

So with the enouragement of many friends in 2009 he wrote 'The Turning Point' for the Sky Arts Theatre Live! series. It was his first play, and starred Benedict Cumberbatch and Matthew Marsh. It proved to be a sensational success.

The play is built around a meeting in 1938 between Winston Churchill and Guy Burgess, at a point when the world was falling apart. They were both lonely men. A few years later, one had come to be regarded as The Greatest Briton, the other as The Greatest Traitor. But were they so very different?

'Watching those two great actors perform my work was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life. I still shudder with excitement when I remember it…'

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Everyone involved loved the play so much they encouraged Michael to write a full length version for the theatre. This is now underway through The Company Presents, who produced the SKY series, and Malvern Theatres, and you will have the opportunity to see it on stage. Can't promise when, the theatre business has an endlessly flexible timescale, but it will be soon.

Michael has also written a play for BBC Radio 4 about another great figure – Margaret Thatcher.

'It's often said that all political careers end in failure. I'm not so sure.  Who would be bold enough to dare suggest that Margaret Thatcher was a failure? Not I…'

'A Family Affair' is a play about Margaret and Denis Thatcher's last few days in Downing Street, a period of torment and tears as a long and extraordinary career filled with many triumphs came to its bitter end.

Click here to listen to Michael discussing with Mark Lawson on BBC Radio 4's 'Front Row' how Margaret Thatcher has been portrayed on film and radio by more than twenty different actors.

Click here to read his view of Meryl Streep's acclaimed portrayal in The Iron Lady.