A FULL-TIME nurse with a lifelong passion for writing will see her unique Western drama premiere in Liverpool next month.

Make It Writetheatre's production of Helen Jones' The Barn Swallows will be staged at The Hope Street Theatre from Wednesday, March 6 – Saturday, March 9.

It is the tale of an empty coffin waiting to be filled and a body snatcher on the loose.

There is a stranger in town, a bounty hunter, a widow and dysfunctional sheriff. Little do they realise their fates are intertwined as they seek to escape past lives and a lawless town.

There is one sure thing, on the twisted road out of hell, you just might find out who you really are. Who will make it out of there alive?

Summing up the play Helen, from Crosby, said: "I like the unexpected and had always want to write a gothic Western mystery.

"It is a genre that is under represented in theatre which tends to be musical or comedic if it is done at all."

Helen was researcher and script editor of the musical play Twopence to Cross the Mersey which had several successful runs at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, she also co-wrote the book Julia's Banjo with Wirral's Rob Fennah, which was translated to stage at the Epstein Theatre in 2018.

Helen works in the NHS as an advanced nurse practitioner in critical care at the Walton Centre, Liverpool.

On her creative new career she told the Globe: "Even though I have worked in the health service for many years, literature is a massive part of my life.

"I trained as a nurse in my teenage years, but before that I'd write.

"I didn't resort to books for the kids, I'd write for them.

"Being creative is important to me, although I work full time in the NHS I will always make time to write.

"I occasionally perform spoken word and have even performed comedy improvisation in the past as a regular attendee of Liverpool Comedy Improv.

"Play-writing is new to me, but it is certainly something I would like to pursue further.

"I'd like to retire at 55. My life has been defined by the fact that I'm an advanced nurse practitioner, but I would like to think a career in writing will open out further afterwards."

Producer Sharon Colpman has a history of writing for community groups and started an all-female theatre company in the South of England.

On returning to her roots in the North West she realised that writers were not getting that first step on the ladder needed to launch their careers.

At the beginning of 2018 she started a writer’s support group with James Gaskin called 'Make it Write' and began production with Virago, a showcase of four plays with strong women as the theme which received excellent reviews.

Sharon explained: "For our first full-length production I wanted to find something original and close to my heart.

"Growing up in a predominantly male family, Westerns, and in particular John Wayne, seemed to dominate my TV viewing.

"However, the grittier Westerns became firm favourites.

When I read The Barn Swallows it struck a chord with me as the idea of a female led gritty western would make an intriguing scenario, certainly a memorable one for all the right reasons."

Directing the production is Liverpool based Meg McFarlane from Jack Of All Trades Theatre, which she runs with fellow director John Smith.

It specialises in unearthing stories form the past, making them accessible and relatable to a modern audience.

Realism is important to Meg, she said: "It's really unheard of, a real and authentic Western drama.

"The script is so exciting, and the cast are a talented bunch, this will be like nothing Liverpool has seen."

The Barn Swallows comes to The Hope Street Theatre from Wed 6 – Sat 9 March.

Performances start at 7.30pm.

Tickets are from box office on 0344 561 0622 or www.hopestreettheatre.com