Decision time in It Started With a Touch at Rosie's Vineyard in Southsea

Written by local playwright Roger Goldsmith in 2010, the play has recently been put on in Columbia, Missouri by Talking Horse Productions – and he flew out at their invitation to catch a couple of performances.

But he is now bringing it home for the first time in six years for three nights at Rosie’s.

‘The idea came from this piece I saw on GMTV. Andrew Castle, who was then one of the presenters, interviewed this woman from Chichester called Carol Saldinack. She had reported her two sons to the police when they had beat up this guy and he was almost blinded.

‘I thought it was an interesting idea. The play takes that as its starting point and it’s really about a woman in her 40s, she’s married to a successful East End businessman and he controls her.

‘She’s more or less a trophy wife when she sees this incident and she’s faced with this dichotomy: what to do? Should she tell the police? Should she tell her husband?

‘It’s about making decisions. We make decisions every day and those decisions can be far-reaching.

‘A lot of my stuff is about that point where someone is faced with a decision.

‘It’s about her journey where she discovers other things about herself as the result of this decision.’

And although it’s weighty stuff, Roger promises: ‘It’s quite dark, but even in those moments there is comedy. People will laugh their heads off at some parts of Touch.’

Roger is looking forward to bringing the play home, too.

‘It’s been on in London twice and in America, so it’s good to bring it back here to my home.

‘Steve Pitt is directing it and he’s doing a very good job of it. He understands the play and understands the characters and he’s getting the best out of them. There’s a lot of commitment from them.’

It Started With a Touch

Tickets are £10, £8 for concessions.

Call 07951 750165 or email [email protected]Rosie’s Vineyard, Southsea

October 17-19