Alcoholism wrecks lives. How many people have been lost to it? The tragic and untimely demise of Amy Winehouse only last year brought the message home to many. Now playwright Rebecca Russell brings her latest play, The Colours of Kenny Roach, based on a friend’s real life struggle with the demon drink, to The Maltings Arts Theatre.

“I was approached by a friend who is a recovering alcoholic and he wanted his story to be told,“ says Rebecca. “I’ve used events from his past to build the story of how this disease affects families and relationships.“

To understand her characters’ motives, Rebecca talked to a lot of people about their experiences.

“I read accounts by the wives and children of alcoholics to see how they cope when the person, who they love, is not there anymore and alcohol has become their most important relationship. I didn’t want to tell a story about a drunk but to show how people’s lives are devastated by alcohol and how they can come out of that.

“The play is about an artist who could have been a great but he lets alcohol take control of his life. At first, he has lots of projects and exhibitions on the go but feels he doesn’t have to try anymore and eventually he sinks about as far as a human being can go.“

Born in Birmingham, Rebecca trained as a pharmacist and moved to Berkhamsted 30 years ago. A member of The Company of Ten, she first became interested in writing scripts when looking at potential plays to perform at the Abbey Theatre. Her first play, The Ladies, co-written by Jenny Wafer, was set in the ladies’ toilets at a village hall.

“I decided to write because I wasn’t impressed by any of the women’s roles that were on offer. My husband Jon and I then formed Tidemark Theatre and we pulled in actors from local groups such as OVO, Peppermint Muse and the Company of Ten.

“In 1996 we took Ladies to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Even now, when I’ve got a new piece of writing that’s how I test it out. Our children’s play, Odysseus and the Really Freaky Monsters sold out.“

A mum of three, Rebecca is now in her second year studying part-time for an MA in creative writing at Kingston University. She has won numerous awards for her play writing and is also a published poet. Her poem, Let History Be Our Judge, was shortlisted for the Live Canon 2011 International Poetry Competition. Methuen published her 2004 play, The Regina Monologues in 2009 and will be re-releasing it this year along with five of her other plays. The anthology will include Falling Off A Log about a couple trying for a baby, which won best play at the Welwyn Drama Festival last year as well as Rebecca’s previous works: The Vow, Delicates and Smoke, as well as her current work, The Colours of Kenny Roach.

Since the subject of this play is about an artist, Rebecca is using the works of local artists Claire McInnerny from St Albans and Alice Maloney from Berkhamsted to illustrate the scenes.

“It’s a multi-media show using projections of art on three screens on the stage. I wanted to show the different shades of his personality from deepest black to brighter colours. I’ve used Claire’s paintings to depict Kenny’s work and Alice’s for his wife Lisa, who is also an artist. She’s been in the background during his career but then suddenly her work takes off and Kenny is jealous of her.“

Rebecca says her work is principally about human relationships.

“It’s things I’ve heard, seen or lived through and perhaps not taken notice of at the time. My plays are either very funny or very dark and even when they’re very funny there’s a lot of pathos there. I like to make them laugh but I really like to make them cry. If you can move an audience to tears it is so empowering.“

The Colours of Kenny Roach is on Friday, January 13 and Saturday, January 14 at 8pm at The Maltings Arts Theatre, The Maltings, St Albans. Details: 07807 521436, www.ticketsource.co.uk/ovo