Blast is a contemporary urban musical set within the colourful burlesque world of an illegal North London cabaret club. The eponymous club is housed in a Victorian church situated in the middle of a deserted area of the city, which has been fenced off and earmarked for large-scale regeneration. The area is known locally as the Ring Of Steel.

The club's owner, Golda, though forced to sell the church to developers, refuses to leave until she is physically forced to. She and her husband, Ted, have invested too much into the place to leave without a fight. The club, though hugely successful in its hey-day, has fallen out of fashion and is now attended by just a handful of Golda's loyal friends, who under the cover of darkness, creep into the deserted streets within the Ring Of Steel, via a secret gap in an otherwise impenetrable fence.

Blast tells the story of one of the club members. Jack is a gifted photographer, who is struggling, against the odds, to remain the partner of an ambitious gay politician. Jack has a history of drug abuse, known only to the other club members. He worries that this could hinder the already-faltering political career of his partner, Charlie. On top of this, Charlie has made it clear that he doesn't like Jack's friends and doesn't approve of his hanging out at an illegal cabaret. Believing his future is with Charlie, Jack makes the difficult decision to sever links with the club.

The piece begins with Jack and Charlie entering the Ring Of Steel on a bitterly cold January night. Jack has decided to attend the club one final time to say goodbye to Golda. Charlie tags along because he doesn’t think Jack will be able to leave Blast without his encouragement.

Jack leads Charlie through the eerie, ice-covered streets within the Ring Of Steel. The Church Of St Mary Magdalene (home to Blast) glows surreally in the darkness. Jack pushes at the door and iridescent light streams out onto the pavement.

Entering Blast is like stepping into another world. Rich velvet drapes hang from the ceilings; futurist murals and countless rows of candles stretch high into the roof. Golda, a middle aged Jewish lady with black eyes, sings jazz music in a thick Polish accent, bathed in a dramatic shaft of light. She is thrilled to see Jack and it is clear there is a strong emotional bond between the two of them. Golda was instrumental in helping Jack to overcome his drug addiction. She took him in and would often hold him in her arms for long, painful nights during the process of "Cold Turkey." His desertion will devastate them both.

Charlie's appearance in the club causes much consternation and inadvertently triggers a chain of events that irreversibly changes the lives of everyone present.

The developments begin with the arrival of Joe: a young, handsome, part-time drag queen from Leeds. Charlie shamelessly begins to flirt with him but Joe is hopelessly (and very secretly) in love with Jack.

It soon becomes clear that news of Charlie's presence in Blast has spread beyond the confines of the regular club members. A variety of unwanted guests begin to appear.

The first is Tony Baggio, who arrives with his brother Paul (a legitimate club member) and a young Asian girl called Moona. Tony is one of Charlie's greatest political enemies and is bitterly jealous of the speed with which his Parliamentary career has developed. He has used his platform as a local councillor to take pot-shots at him ever since and was delighted when recent stories of Charlie's infidelities emerged in the press and began to erode his career. His arrival causes Charlie a great deal of embarrassment.

Next to arrive is Wizz, the dangerously schizophrenic Greek Cypriot drug dealer: the man responsible for Jack's addiction. Wizz wants to meet Charlie to extend his circle of celebrity clients, and if that fails, to blackmail him with his knowledge of Jack’s past.

Wizz immediately sets about trying to interest Charlie in a variety of drugs and potions, which he says, will help him with his political career. He subjects Charlie to an unrelenting stream of homophobic double entendres, which focus on the "ins and outs" of Westminster Politics.

Wizz's dark schizophrenia, which oscillates from the highly comic to the deeply threatening, is highlighted by the music, which constantly changes genre and pace. Charlie is disgusted by Wizz's advances.

The evening's entertainment begins. Joe takes to the stage, dressed exquisitely as a Greek Goddess to sing a hysterical torch-song-cum-ode to gender confusion.

Music is provided by Blast's resident DJ, Gemma (J’aime-A), whilst Golda's husband, Ted, an erstwhile theatre designer fills the church with breathtaking lighting installations, which astonish and amaze.

As club members dance, Wizz approaches Moona from behind. Moona is an AS-level student in a local school, bored by life and even more bored by Wizz, who attempts to seduce her by giving her the gossip on Charlie and Jack. When this apparently fails to impress, he pulls out a wallet, which is lined with small bags of countless illegal substances, and hands it to Moona. He empties the wallet of money and suggests Moona might like to have some fun for the evening "on him." He tells her to give it back to him when she's finished, and if she's enjoyed herself, they can discuss an "appropriate" form of payment.

Charlie and Jack are in the toilet cubical in the middle of a heated argument. Charlie, utterly humiliated by Wizz and Tony, lays into Jack for bringing him to the club. Their argument is interrupted by a knock on the door, and the appearance of Moona, who has obviously already begun to sample the joys of Wizz's drugs.

Charlie angrily storms out of the cubical. He sees Joe leaving the stage and climbing the steps into the belfry and decides to follow.

Jack attempts to leave the cubical but finds his exit blocked by Moona, who becomes flirty and demands a kiss. When Jack refuses her, she gets angry and says she'll go to the press and tell them she saw Charlie in the toilet of an illegal club making out with a drug addict. Jack is stunned. In the heat of the moment he decides he has no other option than to do as she says, and half-heartedly begins to kiss her, but eventually withdraws, unable to continue.

Undeterred, Moona removes a parcel of drugs from her cleavage and announces a new deal: She won’t go to the press if Jack shares some of the drugs she has. This becomes almost unbearable for Jack, who throws Moona against the wall and rushes out of the cubical. Moona sits on the toilet seat, dejected, and prepares to inject herself with smack.

In the meantime, Charlie has followed Joe into the belfry and is watching him take his makeup off. Feeling uncomfortable, Joe tries to leave but Charlie grabs him and moves in for a kiss. Joe is shocked and angry. Charlie becomes embarrassed and speedily leaves the club without saying goodbye to Jack.

Jack feels a sudden pang of guilt about Moona and heads back to the toilet cubical to sort things out. On entering, he discovers Moona, unconscious and lying on the floor, having overdosed on the drugs that Wizz gave to her.

Jack panics, picks her up and screams for help whilst carrying her into the main part of the church. The others gather around and attempt to revive her. Wizz frantically searches through her pockets and when confronted, grabs the Baggio brothers and demands they carry Moona out of the club, through the Ring of Steel, and onto the road outside where he has arranged for two of his henchmen to meet them.

The rest of the club members remain in the space and a long night passes where they wait for news and discuss the horrors of what happened. Jack attempts to ring Charlie but his calls are constantly ignored.

Just before dawn, Joe and Jack decide to take a stroll around the empty streets of the Ring of Steel. Jack is devastated and desperate to talk to Charlie.

Joe encourages Jack to talk about his past and learns that the now-deserted housing estate enclosed within the Ring Of Steel was one of Jack’s childhood stomping grounds.

Jack leads Joe through a twisting, concrete, rabbit warren of stairwells and footpaths, which he calls the "corridors of death," on account of the variety of overdoses and attacks that happened there. Joe uses a coin to scrape a picture onto a frost-covered window. It glows magically in the early morning light. Jack takes a photo of it and finds himself, momentarily, at peace with the world.

Back at the club, they drift off to sleep. Jack dreams.

Disturbing images from Jack's past collide with his fears for the future. He sees himself taking drugs for the first time. He sees a newspaper headline which describes him as a junkie. He watches Charlie’s resignation from office and sees Moona Shah in the toilet cubical. The images are accompanied by Joe's voice. Jack's walk with Joe has stirred feelings that he wants to suppress. He feels confused. He loves Charlie. He lives a lifestyle with Charlie that enables him to mask the pain of his past, but Joe makes him laugh, and takes an interest in his work and makes him feel alive.

"Wear Me Like A Ring," although physically sung by Joe, is actually sung by Jack's subconscious. It is a song about Jack saying no to Joe. It portrays Joe in the worst light: as a camp, two-faced, cheating, viciously seedy, sex-crazed individual, who'll stop at nothing in search of cheap gratification. In short, everything that Jack himself feared he'd become before he cleaned up his act.

Jack is awoken by a phone call from Charlie, who, when told about Moona, agrees to meet Jack in the club.

ACT TWO:

Upon his arrival, Charlie is ushered into one of the church's annexes where the club members are watching a local TV news-broadcast, pale-faced and terrified.

Moona has become headline news. Apparently she was dumped outside a hospital in the night and now lies in a coma. Demonstrations across London are calling for tougher penalties for those who supply drugs to youngsters.

The conversation turns to the club, and Golda is urged to pack her things and leave before she gets arrested for possession, or running an illegal club. Surely the time has come to close Blast and move on.

Golda angrily accuses them all of being traitors. She built the club from scratch. It’s her life: her home. Without Blast, she is nothing.

Golda storms out of the room and rushes to the belfry where, attempting to calm down, she grabs a gramophone and starts playing Klezmer music. She attempts to dance but gives up and throws herself into a chair. She looks down at the club below and remembers what the place was like in its hey-day. She weeps bitter tears.

She rushes down the stairs and locks herself in the toilet cubical, where she discovers Moona's handbag next to Wizz's wallet. Realising that it proves Wizz's involvement in Moona's condition, she hastily stuffs the wallet into her pocket and contemplates how she might use the information to save the club.

Charlie and Jack are once again arguing. Charlie is berating Jack for jeopardising his career by associating with "worthless" people. In a moment of white anger, he even claims that it was Joe who made a pass at him the night before. Jack is devastated by Joe's apparent betrayal.

Charlie's phone rings, he looks at the number and his face drains of colour. He leaves the church and takes the call sitting on some crates outside the front door.

Minutes later, the call is over and Charlie is shell-shocked. Jack appears from the church and hands Charlie his coat, smiling, saying he thinks it’s time to leave. He tells Charlie he loves him, and that things will work out because they’ll always have each other for support.

Charlie stares at Jack for some time, before telling him that he feels their relationship isn't working. He explains that the call was from his press office and that somebody had phoned them anonymously to say that he'd been in the same club as Moona last night. Moona is one of his constituents, and her parents have asked to meet him in his professional capacity. He doesn’t know what to do. He lets it slip that the press office are willing to find him an alibi if he is prepared to play ball... But can't bring himself to reveal what this might entail.

Jack breaks down and tells Charlie that he wants to go to the police, but is too scared for fear of what Wizz might do as a result. He finally tells Charlie about his past and about the drugs but Charlie merely shakes his head and walks away. Jack is devastated.

Jack storms angrily into the church and grabs his camera and coat. Golda tries in vain to stop him leaving and he retaliates with a vicious stream of hurtful home truths. She urges him not to go after Charlie but he retorts by telling her that he came to Blast the night before to tell her that he wasn't coming back and that the club was no longer part of his life and that he is with Charlie now, and he won’t let anything stand in his way.

Joe rushes to Golda's defence but Jack immediately slams him for betraying him the night before. Joe is gob-smacked and attempts to re-assure Jack that it didn’t happen the way Charlie described. But Jack punches him in the face, and rushes out of the club leaving Joe heart-broken.

Jack rushes through the Ring of Steel trying to phone Charlie. Charlie, marching down a north London Street, sees Jack's number flashing on his mobile and angrily throws it into a nearby dustbin. Wizz is following Charlie. He smiles to himself.

Ted rushes to Golda and suggests that maybe Jack was right. Maybe they should find somewhere else. Maybe they should retire from their beloved club. Devastated, Golda tells Ted she no longer loves him. That he must leave the club and that she never wants to see him again.

Ted sighs, and leaves the church.

Jack marches angrily through the streets towards one of the anti-drug demonstrations. On arriving, he's shocked to see Charlie, immaculately dressed, talking sympathetically to a group of young Asian men holding banners. Jack negotiates the crowd and nudges Charlie hopefully. Charlie repeatedly refuses to acknowledge him and after a while disappears. It starts to snow and evening draws in.

News of Moona's death spreads through the crowd like wildfire. Some people cry, others become angry. From within the crowd Wizz stares at Jack.

Wizz wanders up to a group of young men and starts talking to them in hushed tones. The men listen and shake their heads in disbelief. One by one they excitedly break away to talk to other members of the crowd. Wizz smiles and disappears. Jack is suddenly aware of an animated conversation in front of him. He tunes in to hear a group of young men discussing the Ring Of Steel and the possibility that Moona took the drugs in an illegal club somewhere inside. The men become angry and swear vengeance. Restlessness engulfs the crowd and breaks into small-scale violence. A makeshift placard is thrown through the window of a local shop. Heavy snow.

Jack rushes home to his flat, wracked with guilt. He disappears into his darkroom and stares miserably at countless, bland photographs of politicians. Anger builds and he starts to rip the photos apart. He regains his composure and hastily begins to develop the film in his camera.

He sticks a piece of paper into a tray of developing fluid and very slowly the image of Joe's ice drawing appears. It glows magically in the red light.

Jack begins to cry and heads into his living room where the walls are filled with sunny, hopeful images of Golda, Joe and the other club members.

Jack leaves his house and stumbles through the blizzard to return to the club.

ACT THREE

Jack arrives to find the club members ashen-faced and angry. He explains about the conversations he overheard and urges them all to leave the club as soon as possible.

The church doors open and the Baggios storm in.

A huge argument erupts. Club members scold the Baggios for their irresponsible behaviour. The Baggios retort by blaming Wizz and remind everyone that it was actually Jack who found Moona in the cubical. Insults fly thick and fast and Tony smugly reveals that it was he who had contacted Charlie's press office. Jack becomes irate and the Baggios taunt him further by listing Charlie's alleged infidelities.

The tension increases ten-fold with the flustered re-entrance of Wizz, who rushes into the toilet cubical in search of his wallet. Once inside he violently begins to turn things over. It seems even the underworld is beginning to turn on him for supplying drugs to someone so young and he is keen to distance himself from the blame for Moona's death.

Jack runs into the cubical and launches a tirade of physical and verbal abuse at Wizz, but soon finds himself overpowered and pinned against the wall. Wizz demands his wallet back, assuming that Jack, as the last person to see Moona alive, is using it to somehow blackmail him. When a confused Jack refuses to acknowledge the existence of a wallet, Wizz assumes he is playing games and stuffs a bag of cocaine into his top pocket to help "jog his memory." He disappears from the club vowing to sort things out once and for all on his return.

Confused, angry, exhausted and hallucinating, Jack rushes into the belfry and takes his frustration and rage out on the church bells, which he insanely and repeatedly rings whilst shrieking for the return of Charlie. The deafening noise sends him plummeting to the floor. He blocks his ears and hastily takes the bag of cocaine from his top pocket. He pours it onto the floor and cuts himself a line, which he snorts keenly. The sound of the bells slowly grinds to a halt and Jack regains his composure.

Golda rushes into the belfry and throws her arms around Jack, weeping bitterly to see him in such a state. Jack pushes her away and attempts to snort another line. Golda bravely stays his hand, and after a short tussle, Jack bursts into tears and curls up like a child on Golda's lap. They sit for some time in silence. Golda gently strokes Jack's hair. She pulls over the gramophone and sings an old Jewish lullaby. They watch the record spinning round and Jack wipes his tears away. Golda blows the cocaine into the air and it sparkles magically.

"The Morning Always Comes" is an anthem of hope and a major turning point in the plot. Jack accepts that Charlie has left him and begins to realise that their relationship wasn’t built on strong enough foundations. Golda similarly realises that she has lost the battle to keep her club alive. Both decide to move on and both vow to support one another in their quest. Their closeness and love for each other becomes increasingly apparent and at the close of the number Jack finally acknowledges his thanks to Golda for steering him through the bad times.

Golda's battle is far from over. Without Blast or Ted, she has no options. She says she wants the other club members to leave, but that she'll have to stay in the church. Jack says he'll never let that happen.

Back in the main part of the church, the conversation turns to how club members are going to escape, and how they are going to convince Golda to leave with them. The blizzard outside has intensified and huge snowdrifts are piling up in the deserted streets around the club.

Jack receives a message on his mobile phone from a number he doesn't recognise. It urges him to meet him at the entrance to the Ring Of Steel to "sort things out once and for all."

The message sends a chill around the club. Is it from Wizz? What does he want? Club members warn Jack about Wizz. His name has been linked to countless murders in the capital and the earlier incident in the toilet cubical, although seemingly bizarre, could mean that Wizz, for some reason, is out for Jack's blood.

The club members, once again, begin to argue. One of them, a deeply troubled young man called Sam, has been drinking heavily over the course of the two-day period. He shouts at Jack for ringing the church bells, and when his potentially-soon-to-be girlfriend, Maggie, leaps to Jack's defence, he freaks out and fires off a stream of unnecessary abuse in her direction. Maggie rushes to the toilet cubical and locks herself inside, crying.

All hell breaks loose once again. The club members turn on Sam whilst Golda rushes around the church angrily smashing things. Jack runs after her and attempts to calm her down, but his fragile mental state; a combination of sheer exhaustion and drug flashbacks, makes him unable to do anything but helplessly watch the unfolding pandemonium. The song "Fall Out," is the scene as viewed through Jack's confused eyes. As he walks zombie-like around the club, he overhears various snippets of panicked conversation. Sam crouches outside the toilet cubical frantically apologising to Maggie, who sits within, wondering whether or not to forgive him.

Joe, traumatised by the arguments, rushes up to the belfry and stares miserably out of the window. Towards the end of the song, Jack, Joe and Maggie sing a reprise of "The Morning Always Comes," – urging calm to return to the club and everyone to stick together to find a way out of their predicament.

Jack discovers Joe sitting in the belfry. They talk about the past, the present and their hopes for the future, and Jack begins to suspect that Charlie may well have lied about Joe coming on to him. Joe promises to defend Jack against Wizz. Jack is deeply touched by Joe's relentless support and their friendship continues to deepen. Joe confesses his love for Jack. Jack is stunned.

The tender mood is broken by the ear-shattering sound of a brick smashing through the window of the belfry. Shards of glass fly across the room and Joe and Jack cower in terror. A string of text messages immediately bombard Jack's phone, all bearing the same message: "Meet me now."

Jack throws his phone down and rushes down the stairs to find the other club members terrified. The sound of a gunshot echoes around the Ring of Steel.

Joe, still in the belfry, takes Jack's phone, and with trembling hands, responds to the text message.

The alarming sound of countless windows smashing and young men yelling grows outside the church. Club members extinguish all the lights and throw church pews against the main door in a state of desperate panic. They huddle in darkness underneath the church altar and hold their breath as the noise from outside gets louder and louder.

Joe cowers underneath a blanket in the belfry.

The sound of shouting and smashing glass climaxes, and suddenly all the upper windows of the church cave in. Glass rains down from the ceiling in a cascade and club members grab onto one another and gasp in horror. Some mutter prayers. The horrifying noise continues close by and then begins to dissipate before disappearing entirely.

Joe emerges from his blanket and peers out of the window. All is still outside. He takes a deep breath and toys with Jack’s phone before creeping down the belfry steps, manoeuvring his way around the makeshift barricade and disappearing out of the club.

The club members finally dare to re-open their eyes and notice with great relief the deep blue light of early dawn creeping through the windows of the church. Could it be that their ordeal is almost over? Jack looks at his friends and smiles weakly before jumping to his feet to ask where Joe is.

He darts up to the belfry whilst the other club members search the rest of the church. Sam notices the main door ajar and rushes into the street to look for Joe.

Wizz, once again bursts through the church door, this time agitated and brandishing a gun. He sees Jack and immediately aims the gun at his head before striking him in the stomach and winding him badly. Maggie and Gemma urge him to stop but Wizz explains that he wants his wallet and that he’ll kill Jack unless he gets it back. He begins to taunt Jack and asks him where Charlie is. He hands him a mobile phone and tells him to dial his number. Jack fumblingly taps Charlie’s number into the phone. A pause. Another mobile rings in Wizz’ pocket. Jack gasps. He begs Wizz to tell him where Charlie is and why he has his phone. Wizz laughs and repeatedly asks for his wallet. Jack says he doesn’t have it. Wizz punches him in the stomach again and cocks his gun. Jack asks where Joe is. Wizz smiles knowingly.

Golda rushes into the main part of the church holding Wizz's wallet and begging him to drop the gun. Wizz tells her to hand him the wallet. Golda says she will, but only if he puts the gun down. Wizz says he's not playing by anyone else's rules. Golda takes a deep breath and tells Wizz, very calmly, that if he lets Jack go, he has her word that not a single one of them will go to the police about Moona. She hands Wizz the wallet.

Wizz laughs and disappears.

Jack, collapses, greatly relieved and hugs Maggie and Gemma. Golda slips out of the door.

Joe appears in the doorway of the church. Club members are thrilled to see him alive and gather round excitedly. Joe explains that he left the church, because he wanted to sort Wizz out himself. He wanted to try to get him off Jack's back once and for all, so responded to the text messages and arranged to meet the sender at the entrance to the Ring of Steel. He had been expecting the worst, and was terrified by the time he reached the perimeter fence. The surprise of all surprises came when he discovered Charlie waiting outside. The messages were from him. He'd got angry, and thrown his phone away earlier in the day, and this is his new number. He wants to see Jack. He wants to sort things out, but doesn't dare go back into the Ring Of Steel, so Joe has become his reluctant messenger.

Jack is shocked that Joe would do something so utterly selfless. He seems deeply moved by the gesture and thinks for a moment in silence.

Meanwhile Golda stops Wizz in the empty street outside the church. The orange light of dawn begins to stretch across the sky. Golda attempts to explain her situation. She knows that now the dawn has come, the other members will leave the club and she will have nothing. If she stays in the church, she'll be arrested, the club will be demolished and her life's work will go for nothing. She refuses to be a burden to Jack. She believes her only option is to die and she wants Wizz to shoot her; primarily because she knows he will, and because if he doesn't she'll go to the police to tell them everything she knows about him. Wizz looks into her frantic but defiant eyes and coolly holds the gun to her head... Before dropping it at her feet, telling her to "do it yourself."

Wizz calmly turns and walks away. Golda, with trembling hands picks up the gun and raises it to her head. She shuts her eyes. Music. "The Morning Always Comes." Golda hears Jack's voice singing softly.

Back in the club, Joe and Jack are standing looking at each other. Joe speaks: "Charlie said he was only gonna wait for five minutes... go on, Jack... what are you waiting for?" Jack thinks, smiles, and very simply whispers: "you..." He walks to Joe and hugs him passionately.

Club members hear the shot of a gun. Jack looks around and instinctively screams Golda's name.

Golda stands motionless outside the church with a smoking gun pointing towards the sky. Wizz hears the shot and smiles to himself before turning round to find Golda pointing the gun at him. He laughs. Golda tells him to get on his knees. He panics. She cocks the gun. He begs. She tells him he doesn't deserve to live.

Club members dart out of the church. Wizz sees Jack and begs for mercy. Jack calmly walks across to Golda and gently takes the gun from her shaking hands. He looks at Wizz, and gestures for him to go. Wizz skulks away, thanking Jack under his breath.

Ted appears from the direction of the perimeter fence.

Golda sees him and stares in disbelief. She rushes to him and slaps him across the face. Ted says that he has found somewhere for them to go to. It’s not much, but there is a spare room for him for when he snores! He apologises for leaving her for so long. He had no idea things would go so badly wrong. She looks at him for a time before saying, "Don’t ever leave me again," and bursting into tears. He responds: "Will you come with me?" Golda nods.

Ten minutes later and the club members have gathered in the main part of the church. Some of them hold keepsakes: paintings from the walls and such. Golda and Ted hold suitcases. They stand in a circle and look around the church. Jack is holding Joe's hand. He moves across to Golda and kisses her cheek: "Are you ready?" Golda fights back the tears and nods.

One by one, the club members take a last look at the church before leaving Blast forever. The last to go are Golda and Ted. Mirroring the last lines of "Never Had That Much To Say," Golda puts on her coat and hat, takes one of the candles from the wall and carefully lights it. She contemplates leaving the club with it, but decides instead to place it in the middle of the dance floor. It sputters and burns. Golda and Ted exit the space and close the door.

The candle blows out.