Squaddie parades life story

YOUNG EDINBURGH heroin addict Paul

Boggie was at death’s door but pulled back from the brink and ended up as a soldier guarding the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Actor and playwright Tony McGeever has turned Paul’s acclaimed autobiography Heroin to Hero into a one-man play to be premiered during Army@TheFringe.

It’s an unsparing, inspiring rollercoaster ride through the struggles of a man wanting to escape addiction in a system that hinders rather than helps.

The play (also called Heroin to Hero) aims to raise issues, bring hope and potentially change lives.

Tony grew up in Bonnyrigg, worked at Dundee Rep and has appeared in TV shows such as Doctors, In Plain Sight, Accused and Shetland.

Having seen the impact drugs on Scottish communities he saw that Paul’s story offers a way forward.

Tony said: “When I read the book the light bulb went on. It leapt off the page like a theatre piece. It had to be told to a wider audience.”

Hepburn House (Venue 358), 5-28 August, tickets www.edfringe.com