YORK actress Victoria Delaney has done "only little snippets of writing" until now, when she makes playwriting debut with the one-act comedy Fine Dining at the Upstage Centre Theatre from Wednesday to Saturday.

"My motivation is that there's a real lack of strong female characters out there, especially for my age group," says a frustrated Victoria. "I tend to be typecast as the mother role, the wife role, and that's why I wanted to write a character that stood apart from a family and just stood in her own right. So, I thought, 'why don't I start creating them?'.

"I actually wrote this play two years ago and have been editing it since then, and I've been putting out feelers because it's my first play in terms of producing it, and I knew nothing about that side of it."

Fellow actress Anna Rose James suggested contacting Matthew Wignall's York hub for new writing, Off The Rock Productions, thinking "they might be a good fit for you", and so it has proved. "I was happy to surrender all of the responsibility for the production to Off The Rock, with Matthew choosing the director," says Victoria.

"It's good to step back and listen to the way that the director has read it, with the caveat of me saying 'please could I play one of the parts?'!"

Alison Young is directing the 70-minute premiere, casting herself in one of the five roles – waitress Sarah – and Victoria in the lead in the culinary clash otherwise known as Fine Dining, wherein Teej Jackson, Clancy McMullan and Andy Love complete the cast.

The setting is Bistro Belle, a sleepy little eatery with big ideas, where, out of the blue, an unannounced visitor shows up and suddenly the future of the bistro hangs on a knife edge. Will the dysfunctional team, led by Delaney's bistro owner, Antonia Belmont, keep their egos in check long enough to rise to the challenge?

Inspiration for Fine Dining came in part from Victoria's family past. "My grandparents on my paternal side were in the restaurant business; they always had coastal restaurants from Frinton-on-Sea to Cornwall," she says.

"And I remember being able to choose anything from the menu, like my favourite, an orange sorbet that came in a frozen orange skin, which blew my mind!"

Much of the terminology in Fine Dining was derived from Victoria's father, Douglas, who passed away earlier this year.

"When I say the words of Antonia, they could be words that my father used and of course we're all use words our parents say. The play will now be dedicated to him," she says.

Victoria decided a bistro was a natural fit for a stage show. "It's creative; it's fast paced; it's frantic," she says. "I've done silver-service waitressing, where some chefs can be so crass and it's a baptism of fire at 16.

"There's so much synergy for theatre: all the egos; all the different characters; plus cookery and dining are so current. I have to admit I was watching a lot of Master Chef when I was writing the play."

Fine Dining is a comedy in the manner of a certain John Cleese television classic. "It's very much on the theme of Fawlty Towers in the way that it's farcical, it's fast, there's desperation and the need to impress," says Victoria.

"I'd say the style is farce; it's certainly not dark, so I hope it's life affirming. We all love food, don't we...and I do recommend people eat before they come because there are so many references to food."

Off The Rock Productions presents Victoria Delaney's Fine Dining, Upstage Centre Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, July 13 to 16, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Tickets: £10, concessions £8, at ticketsource.co.uk/offtherockproductions. Please note: this production contains language not suitable for younger children.