Writer turns hair loss shock into play

A WRITER and actor from Newcastle has brought the play based on his alopecia back to the North East at Laurels in Whitley Bay.

Sam Macgregor, 29, lost his hair suddenly in November 2019 and used the experience to write his first play, titled ‘Truly, Madly, Baldy.’

He was turned on to the idea of performing at the Edinburgh Fringe by colleagues at the theatre he works at in London, and felt like it was time to put on his own show after having small roles in other people’s. Now Sam is bringing the show back to his native North East.

Speaking about his hair loss, Sam said: “It only took a couple of days for my hair to fall out completely, I was shocked originally and didn’t feel like doing anything creative. One of the few people I could speak to was my mum, who also has alopecia.

“When I decided to create something out of it, it started with a monologue that I used to get down all of my thoughts and feelings. I spoke to other people about their experiences and was able to adapt it into an hour-long show.”

Sam has brought together a team of creatives from the North East, many of whom he has worked with before, to bring a new adaption of his piece to the Laurels’ stage.

Sam said: “We are working in a different sized space with a larger stage that thrusts out into the crowd, so we have had to adapt the play to work with this.

“I feel ready to go out there and do it now, and I want to say to people that if they have already seen ‘Truly, Madly, Baldy’ then they will certainly be seeing something different this time around.”

Truly, Madly, Baldy started its two-week run at the Laurels theatre on Tuesday this week.