poet playwright performer
Welcome
Welcome to my website. I hope you’ll find all sorts of things to amuse you with links to some of my poems (“Poem of the Week”) and projects as well as my history and publications (“About”)and, if you are a booker, information under the heading “Press” that you can use directly for publicity. Any events that I’m taking part in or rehearsals or shows with dates and so on in the “Events” section but if there’s anything you would like to know then just go to “Contact”. Check out videos of projects on YouTube, Vimeo . You can find various bits and pieces on Facebook - Peter John Cooper Playwright - and Twitter .
From the West Cliff
Escaping the Storm – All Over
Sadly the tour has come to an end with an extraordinary evening at the Pavilion in Weymouth. A packed house saw Jane McKell, Phoebe Sharman, Sorcha Martin and Eltjo DeVries deliver my words with intensity and commitment. They made beautiful stage pictures as I had directed them but then made the play their own. Thanks also due to Kevin Butcher for the projection and to Annette Sumption for such a brilliant set that reflected exactly my vision of a 1920s painting by Harold Williamson and Sophie Fretwell for the puppets. This was probably the most charged play I have ever written, it demanded everything from those taking part and from the audience. I am very proud or their achievement.

A review from Sheroes
Escaping the Storm Review – Dorset Echo 20th October 2018
ESCAPING THE STORM
Pennsylvania Castle, Easton, Portland
STRONG women are currently being celebrated in our society and nobody fits that description more than Dr Marie Stopes, a remarkable academic, writer and controversial campaigner for the promotion of birth control.
This production, written by Peter John Cooper and commissioned and performed by AsOne Theatre, examines the life and times of Dr Stopes, focussing on her association with Portland and the Old Lighthouse which was her haven for peace and tranquillity while her role as a fossil fuel scientist and her support of the Portland Museum are also touched upon.
The cast of four, led by the winning Jane McKell as Marie Stopes, take on a variety of roles in an informative and stimulating drama that tells of one woman’s fight to give freedom of choice to couples and to women in particular by initiating controlled family planning.
Telling a story about such a passionate and eccentric woman is no easy task and Cooper has handled it with great skill and tact, in particular by addressing Stopes’ obsession with eugenics and the darker side of her beliefs. The author does this by bringing into the drama a young quarryman and his awkward love life which talks about some of the worrying aspects of genetic inheritance that Stopes strongly supported.
Eitjo De Vries makes a marvellous job of portraying the rustic Portland character as well as taking on the role of being the author himself and even being Stopes’s pet dog, an amusing and lovable pooch.
Publications
Recent work available to purchase online





Peter John Cooper