Books by David Barry

Why has life suddenly become so complicated for affable Freddie Weston? He supplies bouncers to London clubs and always puts his family first. But his daughter's involvement with a rock guitarist ignites an anger in him that could endanger the family home, and his life becomes ever more complicated as he seeks retribution, not only for his daughter but for a father who was killed by an East End gangster more than 40 years ago. Determined to get the truth, Freddie dives deep into London's dark and dangerous gang world. But will the awful truth mean closure after all these years, or will it torment him for the rest of his life?

A group of seven actors have devised and are rehearsing a play about the 18th century precursor of hypnosis, Mesmer. Things start to go wrong when one of the actors has to drop out and the director steps into her shoes. Not only that, but the leading actor playing Mesmer, was once a well-known television actor, and resents her direction and stirs up trouble with the rest of the cast, and when the play within a play develops, not only does this lead to some hilarious mishaps, the Mesmer play also parallels some of the actors' lives, resulting in some entertaining revelations. As the Mesmer play progresses, showing Mesmer's dramatic cure of a blind pianist leading to a scandal that rocked the Viennese court, and Mesmer's escape to Paris in the throes of the French Revolution, the rehearsal becomes more fraught as the leading actor's past catches up with him. Because The Franz Anton Mesmer Show is a two-act play set in a real-time rehearsal, it is possible to perform the play in almost any venue, using a simply staged setting.