Category: Quick Q&A

Quick Q&A: Red Peter

Published on by Liz

Where and when: VAULT Festival / 6 – 8 March at 6 pm/ 8th March at 3 pm

What it’s all about… A stage adaptation of the short story A Report to An Academy by Franz Kafka, is a monologue from a captured West African ape who has “become” European.

An African ape has been captured in the jungles of West Africa and brought back to ‘civilization’ by his European captors. To escape a life of incarceration, he ‘evolves’ into a human being. Red Peter mimics human habits from the crew of the ship upon which he is imprisoned, masters human speech and eventually decides to embrace human society rather than languish in a zoo as an ape. He presents to an academy to give a report about his former life.

You’ll like it if…

  • Audience members with a multicultural background and those who are interested in changing cultural norms in society.
  • Animal lovers and those interested in animal rights.
  • Lovers of physical theatre, Franz Kafka, and original stories.

You should see it because… the audience will be engaged from the moment they sit down not only by the theme of the play but also by its interest in how this humanised ape will appear on stage and what it will say to them.

Anything else we should know…: Critics’ Choice of Best Shows 2019 – London Pub Theatre Magazine
Nominated / Finalist for Off West End Fringe Festival Award
★★★★★ “An outstanding performance” -Broadway World
★★★★★ “A thought provoking piece”, “Barnes is excellent as the gifted ape” -The Upcoming ★★★★ ½ “Superbly acted and directed”, “A well thought out production” -London Pub Theatre Magazine

Where to follow:
Twitter: @chrisyy67
Instagram: @gridtheatre
Facebook: @GridTheatre

Book here: https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/red-peter/

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Quick Q&A: She Is A Place Called Home

Published on by Liz

Where and when: 3rd – 8th March, 6.20pm (matinee: 8th March – 3.20pm). VAULT Festival

What it’s all about… The show follows two British Nigerian sisters as they navigate their Dad’s decision to get another wife (as in, in addition to their Mum), and what this means for their faith, family and future. It explores several difficult topics including clashes between culture and faith, the experience of eating disorders by black women and non-physical forms of domestic violence.

You’ll like it if… you’re a fan of afro beats, traditional Nigerian dance and a show with more plot twists than a Nollywood movie.

On a more serious note, sisterhood is at the heart of this show, so if you have a sister or close female friends, it really explores that relationship and how it endures in the face of tragedy.

You should see it because… when was the last time you saw a play about bigamy?

Anything else we should know…: The play was developed as part of the VAULT Festival New Writers Programme 2019, led by award-winning writer Camilla Whitehill (Freeman, Where Do Little Birds Go?), and showcased during VAULT Festival 2019 in a sold-out show. It was also shortlisted for the Untapped Award, a partnership between New Diorama Theatre, Underbelly and Oberon Books.

We’re also partnering with Solace Women’s Aid, an innovative and grass roots charity that supports women and children who have experienced domestic and sexual violence to build safe and strong lives. At the end of each show, we will be collecting both monetary donations and donations of toiletries to support their work.

Where to follow:
Twitter: @sheisaplace
Instagram: @sheisaplaceplay
#sheisaplace

Book here: https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/she-is-a-place-called-home/

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Quick Q&A: The Pelican

Published on by Liz

Where and when: Young Actors Theatre, 22nd and 23rd Feb, 19:30

What it’s all about… The Pelican is a merciless study of human nature – with surgical precision cutting deep into the psyche to explore the effects of fostering false illusions.

Written by August Strindberg – one of the major pioneers of modern drama, it deals with issues that are only too contemporary.

You’ll like it if… you like to think. If you like to question not only the world and others around you but first and foremost – yourself – what drives you to act the way you do? If you like to project your experiences onto the characters on stage, to compare and reflect upon the causes and effects.

You should see it because… All of us are trapped in our own minds, within the confines of our worldview that determines how we see the world.

Theatre allows for an opportunity to escape this entrapment – if only for a short while – to see, understand and compare different worldviews, different modes of being – and the results to which they might lead.

The Pelican, in the essence, is about this inability – even more so – an unwillingness to understand how someone else perceives the world and the tragic effects this blindness inevitably leads to.

Anything else we should know…: Director Saulius Kovalskas: “Strindberg, influenced by Swedenborgian philosophy, mercilessly dissected his own personality and experiences, exposing the timeless subconscious processes that govern our daily existence and expressing these invisible forces through concrete forms in this intimate household drama.

The main antagonistic force in this play isn’t any particular character – it’s the weaknesses and flaws that the humanity struggles to overcome on a daily basis: from pleasuring themselves with flattering illusions – to inventing endless justifications that enable the avoidance of responsibility – to falling prey to liberating belief of victimhood and through the self-proclaimed martyrdom becoming the executioners of others.”

Where to follow:
Twitter: @ChalkRootsTC
Facebook: @ChalkRootsTC
Instagram: @chalkrootstheatre
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/574112013172636

Book here: https://yati.corsizio.com

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Quick Q&A: Vessel

Published on by Liz

Where and when: Stratford Circus Arts Centre, Theatre Square, London E15 1BX 26, 27 March 7pm

What it’s all about… Vessel is a play about choice, about rebelling and of course about women. I began writing Vessel in 2014 when the idea of Irish women having the right to choice seemed almost impossible. Immediately after the vote on abortion in Ireland I redeveloped it for an Edinburgh run and the ‘Vessel‘ that goes on tour has been redeveloped to not just provoke new conversations or to document that Irish referendum but to ask why we needed a referendum in the first place.

You’ll like it if… Anyone interested in feminist, female led, funny and powerful work, and of course if you like Irish dramas. Vessel is very ‘Irish’ in the sense that it combines humour and drama. The characters are forced to find laughter because their situation is so epic.

You should see it because… Vessel‘s lead character, Maia, starts out on a journey to get abortion after it has been legalised in Ireland but by the end of the play she is forced to ask much more complex questions like why we don’t have equality yet? Who has the power? And who has the right to take it?

Anything else we should know…: I am the great grandniece of soldier and politician Michael Collins, who fought for Ireland’s independence and brokered the peace treaty with the United Kingdom so Ireland and its political structures really inform the show.

I worked with some amazing people on Vessel. Bryony Kimmings who also co-wrote the hit film Last Christmas mentored me with it before the Edinburgh run, the Olivier award winning company Fishamble and award winning playwright Sonya Kelly developed the show with me in the Everyman in Cork.

Where to follow:
Website: www.lwok.co.uk
Twitter: @vesselplay @LauraWOK

Book here: https://stratford-circus.com/event/vessel

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Quick Q&A: Tell It Slant

Published on by Liz

Where and when: Hope Theatre, 25 Feb-14 Mar, 19.45

What it’s all about… Tell It Slant is a (black) romantic comedy about what happens in a press office when a crisis hits, how people react (or don’t), the choices they make and the stories they choose to tell about what’s gone wrong and why.

With a gender-switch built into the script, as the actors playing the central couple swap roles, changing our sense of the show and how the story unfolds with every performance.

You’ll like it if… If you’ve ever wondered how the news gets made, how a story spirals out of control, or how social media can drive a crisis, Tell It Slant will give you a brand new perspective. If you liked the Thick of It or His Girl Friday, you will like Tell It Slant.

You should see it because… Tell It Slant gives you an insight into every crisis, every news story that’s ever blown-up across your twitter feed, that you won’t get anywhere else. Knowing how the news happens and how people react to it, how stories are framed and told, underpins many of the most complicated problems we all face.

And it’s also fun, funny and a little bit sexy. There’s also that.

Anything else we should know…: Tell It Slant is Maev Mac Coille’s debut production. She has previously been longlisted for the Papatango, Verity Bargate and Bread & Roses playwriting awards, and nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. She has had short plays performed at Theatre503, the Arcola (Miniaturists), Hackney Showrooms, Camden People’s Theatre, and the White Bear.

Where to follow:
Twitter: @MerrySpinsters (also @maevmac – writer – and @EricaTheatre – producer)
Facebook: @merryspinsters
Instagram: @ merryspinsters

Book here: https://www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/tell-it-slant/

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