This is the current synopsis of Girlie Pirates.
Obviously it will change, develop and evolve as it grows, but this is my start point.
Anyway any comments greatly appreciated.
Girlie Pirates
Synopsis
Girlie Pirates is a contemporary comedy set in a traditional pub and barge boat on the Grand Union Canal.
Cardigan an edgy, quick-witted young barmaid wants to be a pirate. She has the clothes, the hair and the eyeliner, but with no boat and stuck in the Midlands, nowhere to sail it if she did.
Caught in the right light, Cardigan a curvaceous girl, just the right side of dirty, has the look of a pirate from the past. It`s a strange phenomenon, that catches people unawares. A fleeting glimpse of the past, then it`s gone.
Customers put it down to the ale in the Travellers End Pub where Cardigan works and maybe it is.
The Travellers End is a traditional old drinking pub, set next to the Grand Union Canal. It has its own curious customs together with a tight-knit group of eccentric locals, who view other punters as the enemy and passing trade as prey.
Top of the Travellers End pecking order, is the happily miserable Old Ted, who religiously props up the bar.
Old Ted has a soft spot for Cardigan and openly encourages her pirating ambitions. Having lived on the river all his life, Old Ted has resigned himself to seeing out his final years in his barge moored alongside the pub.
Ted`s barge, the Twenty Nine Steps, is the stuff of local legend and named after the number of steps Ted has to stagger before he hits the deck.
One dark night, after supping the last drops of his ale, Ted slides off his bar stool onto the floor.
Without a thought, Cardigan immediately rushes in to give Old Ted the kiss of life, but it`s no good, Ted is dead. When the paramedics arrive, they have to prise a devastated Cardigan away from Ted, assuring her that at least he died happy.
Old Ted and the rest of the locals are the closest thing to family Cardigan`s ever known and she can`t image life without the miserable old bugger and his continual moaning.
As Old Ted`s body is finally taken away, one gnarled, weather-beaten hand still clutches his precious silver tankard.
Determined even in death that Cardigan won`t give up on her pirating dreams, Old Ted leaves the Twenty Nine Steps to Cardigan in his will.
Overwhelmed by Old Ted`s generosity and encouraged by her best friend, the ever chirpy, but somehow scantily dressed student nurse Della, Cardigan decides to step up to the challenge.
Not one for being alone, Cardigan asks Della to barge-share. Della`s more than up for it, as moving in with Cardigan means life will be one lovely, lush, continual party.
As Cardigan and Della arrive with their guitars strapped to their backs, hauling black bin bags filled with their belongings and enough booze to sink a ship let alone a barge, Cardigan declares The Fist Chapter of the East Midlands Girlie Pirates open.
The Girlie Pirates are up for it, onto it and hot. Their mission to spread the word, party hard and have fun.
But as Cardigan and Della walk down the stairs to the living quarters, they find the bright white light streaming in from the windows temporarily dazzling.
As Cardigan and Della drop their belongings and rub their eyes, they find Old Ted has left a final surprise.
There in the lounge, from the top of his black perfectly formed quiff, to the tips of his blue swede shoes, stands Elvis Impersonator and sitting tenant Colin.
Cardigan and Della freeze. There`s something peculiar about Colin. Caught in the right light, from the right angle, he looks just like Elvis. It`s a strange phenomenon that catches them unawares. A fleeting glimpse, then it`s gone...
