Helene Hanff, originally from Philadelphia, inevitably settled in New York due to her passion for theatre and the desire for a writing career. In pursuit of her ambition to widen her literary knowledge she was advised to contact  a London bookshop, Marks & Co, in Charing Cross Road, a potential source of esoteric second-hand books and there followed an epistolary relationship  with  Frank Doel,  chief  buyer at the shop.

Over the years Marks & Co closed down, although a plaque was attached to the wall indicating the place where the bookshop had been. Sadly, changes in the businesses in Charing Cross Road have meant  that the shop has had a variety of uses since it was the focus of Helene Hanff’s book buying.

Marks & Co  took its name from the two original  owners, Leo Marks and Simon Cohen.  Leo Marks had other  careers  as a screenwriter (of the film Peeping Tom, for example) and as a cryptologist working on code-breaking during the war. The back page of the November issue of Whitwords has a photograph of the shop as it looked  in the 1940s, like many of its neighbours in Charing Cross Road, its windows filled with books and with racks on the pavement on each side of the central door, placed to catch the eye of passers-by.  In recent years, however,  the bookshops have given way to the other attractions of the new millennium, which certainly aren’t books. There are still two or three bookshops in that quarter of central London but 84, Charing Cross Road in the era of the Kindle seems now to be a wine bar.

Helene Hanff’s original  letters to the shop, together with the replies, was a best-seller when it was first published  in 1971. James Roose Evans recognised its quality and created a stage version. At the first night the real Helene  was in the audience and she took a bow with Rosemary Leach  who played her on stage. In the later film version  Anne Bancroft played Helene with Anthony Hopkins  as Frank Doel. It retains its charm and will admirably fill that anti-climactic post-Christmas period.

BILL  BRAY

A true story, the play spans 22 years, from 1949 to 1971, seeing us through post-war rationing and all-round austerity, the gloomy 50s and into the swinging 60s. It takes us through the lives of the employees in the bookshop, at number 84 and Helen Hanff, an aspiring writer, in her New York apartment.

I have assembled a strong cast to play these warm and compassionate characters. Gaynor Griffin, is our Helene Hanff. Gaynor's most recent performances include parts in  Promises Promises and Time and the Conways. Previous leading roles in Boston Marriage, The Miracle Worker and Children Of A lesser God, confirm her status as a fine actress.

Returning to our stage to tackle the other leading role of Frank Doel is Nick Gasson, last seen in the 2006 production of Pinter’s Betrayal. Nick's other memorable performances at the GWT include Bennett's A Chip In The Sugar and as Alan Turing in Breaking The Code.

The supporting cast includes Helen Gaston, Gill Grubb, Tony Donnelly, Dominic Clarke, Justine Greene and Cath Bateman. This play is literate, funny, poignant. Book early to avoid disappointment.

JOHN  WILSON, Director