Alfred Roach

Fire in My Belly - the Play Alfred Roach

"In most countries, once a person passes his or her seventieth birthday, he or she is looked on as old. And many people tend to accept that rather dismissive, denigrating view of themselves. Not so with Al Roach. He is one of the most alive, daring, energetic and passionately experimental human beings it has been my privilege to meet, to speak with, to marvel at, and to enjoy. He is the dreamer and man of action in one. He delights in being challenged, hungers for new ideas, revels in difficulties. If every day was an Everest, he would climb and conquer with methodical genius and laughing determination. This play is about that genius and that determination. It is a dramatic hymn to the creative youth of a so-called 'old man'. There is nothing 'old' about Al Roach. Fire In My Belly is really about one man's genius to inspire others, to rouse them to fresh achievements. The decision to cast a play based on Al Roach's life with actors over sixty is itself a brilliant idea. It floods the drama with a new youth, it reveals a complex wisdom and vitality, and it affirms the talent and underutilised capacity of senior citizens to make a substantial and necessary contribution to our lives.