Work in Progress:

The Hat Shop of High Town
[A musical feature film]

Characters

Demi Regenaire [Mother] A hat-shop owner

Percy Regenaire [Daughter] Helps her mum in the shop

Harry [Percy’s love interest] Cycle Courier

Jim [Harry’s Dad] Semi-disabled

Tash [Works in a Cafe and cleans for Jim] In love with Harry

Frankie [Natasha & Harry’s young son] 

Lucian Brown [Marries Percy]

Synopsis

2002 and England totters on the verge of the Iraqi war. Demi Regenaire sells up-market hats from her struggling little hat shop in High Town, Luton. Her daughter, Percy, 17, although still at school, helps her.

Percy’s passion is painting.  Despite her mother’s discouragement, she dreams of being an artist and living by the sea. She is in love with Harry – a handsome but troubled young man. Harry has rebelled against his father, Jim, refusing to listen to his demand that he ‘learn a trade’ and work his hat factory.  Instead, he works in a ‘dead end job’ as a bicycle courier. Jim harangues Harry continually to ‘make something of himself.’ Bitter at the loss of his wife, he struggles with his mobility, due to a factory accident. He is cooked and cleaned for by a young woman, Natasha (who works in the café nearby). Natasha is in love with Harry, although her affection is not returned. 

After increasing pressure from and a row with his father, Harry signs up on impulse to join the Army. He quickly regrets his actions, but too late. With the commence of the Iraqi war, Harry is unexpectedly called up.  The night before he leaves, he and Percy make love for the first time. They make their plans to live by the sea together one day. Harry leaves, still not on speaking terms with his father. 

After he is gone, Percy realises she is pregnant, and feels abandoned, as she hears nothing from Harry. Unbeknown to her, her mother has intercepted his calls and told him that Percy doesn’t want to speak to him.  Harry phones Tash and asks her to tell Percy that he loves her, but Tash fails to pass on the message and tells Percy that there is no news. As the months pass, Harry does not return. Percy does not know it, but he has been injured in action. Percy’s mother tells her to consider marrying thirtyish Lucian Brown, a quietly handsome exporter of high class hats and frequent visitor to the shop. He has fallen in love with Percy and asks to her marry him, even though she is carrying another man's child. 

Percy and her mother leave High Town. Before Lucian drives them away in his smart car, Percy hugs Natasha. She tells her that she will write to Harry every week and asks her to keep the letters safe and give them to him, when he comes back.

Harry returns from the war. He discovers that the hat shop is boarded up. Natasha tells him that Percy has got married and gone away, leaving no forwarding address. She does not give him the letters. Harry runs to the church, where there is a wedding taking place. He sees the bride – who from a distance looks like Percy. She turns towards him – it is not her.  

Harry attempts to ease back into his old life, but finds this hard and suffers post traumatic shock from the war and is devastated at the loss of Percy. One day, he quits his job after an argument with his boss, argues with his father and spends several nights out drinking.
When he returns, Tash tells him tearfully that his father has died of a heart attack. Harry realises how much Tash loves him, and cleans up his life with her encouragement. With an

inheritance from his father, he buys the hat shop. He tells Tash that he needs her and asks her to stay and she accepts happily.

We jump forward in time to December 2010. Harry is now managing the Hat Shop, which is flourishing. He is with his new upbeat and loving wife, Tash and their little son, Frankie. It is Christmas and they are about to close the shop.  Natasha laughs at her husband’s strange request to always be by the sea for New Year – why? And every time - a different seaside! 

Harry, Tash and Frankie walk on the beach in Great Yarmouth.  It is a beautiful day – cold but sunny. Harry suddenly thinks he sees a figure, standing on the cob. He looks again and the figure is gone. He says he’ll get them some coffee.  He glimpses the figure again and follows it up a cobbled street. He is arrested by the sight of a painting in a gallery window. It is familiar somehow. Intrigued, Harry goes into the shop.  A little girl greets him. She fetches her mother. It is Percy. Percy and Harry talk. He asks why she never replied to his calls and messages. She replies that she never received any calls.  She asks why he never replied to her letters. He tells her that he never received them. They both realise that Tash (and Percy’s mother) lied to them.

Percy tells Harry that she is now an artist. She is doing well and owns the gallery. She introduces him to their daughter.  She tells him that she and Lucian never married and are no longer together.

Harry and Percy say goodbye.  Dan rejoins Tash on the beach and gives her a coffee. He runs around in the sand with his son.