''I Found My Horn'' is a book by British columnist
Jasper Rees, first published in hardback in 2008, and adapted for the stage later in that year.
The book
It is a
semi-autobiographal story that follows Rees as he turns forty and decides to reunite himself with his
French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
, an instrument he gave up upon leaving school, along with his mentor
Dave Lee.
Rees was already writing a regular arts column for the ''
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' and the early beginnings of his book can be seen in a 2005 article. Soon after publication it was adapted for radio and broadcast as Radio 4's ''Book of the Week''. It was also released in the United States, under the amended title of ''A Devil to Play''.
The play
After his wife heard and recommended the
Radio 4 broadcast, actor and
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
Jonathan Guy Lewis
Jonathan Guy Lewis (born 20 May 1963) is a British actor known for his role as Chris Hammond in ''London's Burning (TV series), London's Burning''.
Early life
Lewis was educated at St Dunstan's College, After attending university, Lewis was an of ...
approached Rees about a stage version. The two writers teamed up with director Harry Burton, and the one-man show premiered at the
Aldeburgh Festival. It then opened at the
Tristan Bates Theatre, where it was reviewed as 'very funny' and 'a celebration of the joyous, life-affirming power of music' by ''The Times''.
In 2009 the show transferred to the
Hampstead Theatre, where a four-star review from the ''
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'' called it "delightful", "wryly funny" and "infinitely touching",
before it appeared in the 2009 Autumn season of the
Chichester Festival Theatre.
The show was lit by
Jeremy Coney, the former
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
cricketer
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
.
The horn Rees plays is by
Josef Lidl.
References
{{Reflist
External links
I Found My Horn
2008 non-fiction books