The first sentence is the most important and the most difficult to write.

It must draw the reader in and introduce the characters, setting or the theme in one neat package.

Emily Goode captures this difficulty perfectly in her two-character, one-act play showing at the Progress Theatre's new writing festival, Progress Premieres, this week.

'The Writer Bird' makes the author think, laugh and jump out of their seats in 45 minutes of thought provoking and entertaining genius.

Despite being disqualified from the Progress Theatre's annual WriteFest for being too long, the fast pace, special effects and surprising twists means the play is over in a flash and the audience is left wishing it was longer.

Progress Theatre did not show this play alone and after a 20 minute interval the audience was transported to 1940s London during the height of the Blitz.

Reading Chronicle:

Stephanie Gunner, Emma Wyverne, Megan Turnell, Samantha Bessant in 'The Swastika Party'. Credit: Richard Brown

Music plays, bombs crash, and Kitty Reynolds (Stephanie Gunner) is drinking tea and reading the paper in the classic English style whilst her three housemates seek safety in the bomb shelter.

'The Swastika Party' is a play of hidden identity and a series of clues, strange behaviour and repressed fear tells a story of the Second World War from the perspective of three ordinary working women.

Despite some minor issues involving a couch that did not want to stay still and an Irish woman who claims she had never been to Ireland, the play was a huge success.

Progress Premieres will be showing these two plays from Monday, April 24 until Saturday, April 29. Tickets starts at £10 and can be bought at www.progresstheatre.co.uk/progress-premieres