Category: Quick Q&A

Quick Q&A: Fit for Work

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Where and when: Chapel Playhouse, 24th-25th August, 8pm

What it’s all about… Fit for Work follows Terry, an ex-plasterer who suffers from physical and mental health conditions, as he applies for the benefit Employment and Support Allowance. Terry meets Mrs Smith, a Healthcare Professional who is determined to make sure that only the most deserving claimants get awarded ESA. Is Terry fit for work?

Show image credit: Wellcome Collection

You’ll like it if… you like Ken Loach’s award-winning film I, Daniel Blake.

You should see it because… Fit for Work made a West End debut at the Tristan Bates Theatre in March, then had a sold-out performance at the Assembly Rooms Theatre’s ‘Spare Room’ Festival in Durham in June.

Peter Lathan of British Theatre Guide gave Fit for Work an extremely positive review, calling it “a very political play” which makes the audience “feel as if real life is unfolding before our eyes”.

Where to follow:
Twitter: @louise__powell

Book here: www.chapelplayhouse.co.uk/whats-on.html#event=31195005

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Quick Q&A: No Limits

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Where and when: The Hen and Chickens Theatre, 23rd – 25th August

What it’s all about…“Seems like everybody’s getting married / having babies / getting promoted / moving elsewhere”
No Limits is a brand new Musical Theatre Song Cycle by Sam Thomas.
From confessing your dreams of becoming a rock star to catfish-ing your neighbour, the show explores stories of 20-somethings discovering how to tackle life and become an adult.

You’ll like it if… you love Musical Theatre, New Music, New Writing, British writers. Character driven songs and stories. If you feel a bit lost sometimes and you’re looking for answers.

You should see it because… it has so much heart and passion behind it, whilst interjecting comedy and truth. It’s a gorgeous piece of new British writing that is currently under developed and under appreciated. It’s time we start showing people the talent we have on our doorstep.

Where to follow:
Twitter: @RedJayTC / @NoLimitsMusical
Instagram: @redjay_theatrecompany / @nolimits.songcycle
#KnowNoLimits

Book here: www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/no-limits-a-song-cycle/

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Quick Q&A: The Society

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Where and when: St Augustine’s Tower, Hackney – 6th-9th September 2019

What it’s all about… The Society of Satanic Spirits is holding an Open Evening in St Augustine’s Tower, Hackney’s oldest, oddest building. They’re inviting you to join them – they’d like to help you awaken your own Inner Demon.

Merge with a strange crew of witches and demons, denizens of European folklore and the backwaters of our cultural subconscious, as they struggle up through the cracks in Hackney’s modern façade.

The Society is a mix of interactive theatre/audio-installation/game, as part of a series of residencies facilitated by Hackney Historic Buildings Trust at the uniquely atmospheric 16th-Century St Augustine’s Tower. It asks individuals to examine the ways in which myths and archaic images persist in the contemporary subconscious, much as the 16th-Century St Augustine’s persists as a shout back to our cultural heritage on Hackney’s commercial Mare Street.

Brought to St Augustine’s by Don’t Be Absurd after performances at GAS Station (ZU-UK) and the University of East London, with audio-installation by Sebastian H-W Live Artist. Project supported by Hackney Historic Buildings Trust, ZU-UK, University of East London and Anima Theatre.

You’ll like it if… you like Buzzfeed quizzes, myths, witches’ hats, old buildings, narrow staircases, Django Reinhardt, irony, playing pretend, audio-installation, demons, surprising panoramic views of London.

You should see it because… it’s an unprecedented hybrid in terms of form, and offers a new way of understanding ourselves and our surroundings through story and play.

Plus, St Augustine’s Tower is only occasionally open to the public, so it’s a rare chance to see inside this often overlooked gem in the centre of Hackney.

Anything else we should know… The staircase is steep and narrow, so unfortunately not the most accessible.

Be prepared to introspect.

Where to follow:
Twitter: @dontbeabsurd1
Facebook: @dontbeabsurdtheatre
Instagram: @dontbeabsurdtheatre

Book here: ticketlab.co.uk/events/society

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Quick Q&A: Phoenix

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Where and when: Pleasance 10Dome, 31st July to 26th August at 13:20

What it’s all about… Phoenix tells the story of a wannabe rock star, Ash Phoenix, who unintentionally becomes a dad. But being a musician is a really hard career to combine with looking after a small child. It’s noisy, it’s unsettled, the hours are terrible. Which is also true of music.

Ash’s dilemma is a very specific one (that allows him to sing a lot of banging songs) – but all parents face a similar problem: you’ve got to earn money to look after your child, but earning that money takes you away from that child. It’s a universal story, told in a unique way: as a one-man musical.

Although it’s all performed by one person, you get big songs with a full band as Andy loops himself to build huge tracks despite being along on stage. He not only arranged all the songs himself, he also learned to loop during rehearsals for the show. The man’s ridiculously talented.

Photo credit: Rosemary Rance

You’ll like it if… you have ever been a parent or a child.

You should see it because… Phoenix is comic, it’s uplifting and ultimately it’s a fiercely hopeful story. Let’s be honest, the world is not in a great place right now. I think we need all the hope we can get.

Anything else we should know… Our star, Andy Gallo, plays four instruments as well as every part in the show. He’s virtuosic – I’ve never seen someone play two (sometimes three) instruments at once, while at the same acting the show. I like to call him a rocktopus. So far, he seems OK with that…

Where to follow:
Twitter: @richardbmarsh
Instagram: @speckywiththegoodhair
Website: www.richmarsh.com

Book here: www.pleasance.co.uk/event/phoenix#overview

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Quick Q&A: Pericles, Prince of Tyre

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Where and when: Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate – August 28th-31st

What it’s all about… Pericles is a Shakespearean epic —an exciting and exotic adventure of mystery, marvels, and mayhem— now brought to life in a bold new production by Idle Discourse.

Having discovered a dark secret in the court of Antiochus, Pericles is forced to wander a world filled with captivating characters. It’s an odyssey of life and death, morality and depravity, civility and barbarity, and, most of all, of the everlasting endurance of love.

You’ll like it if… If you love your Shakespeare brought to you with irreverence, humour, and maybe just a little bit of silliness, then you’ll love this production! Idle Discourse brings Shakespeare’s storytelling to the fore -presenting his grandest epic adventure in an energetic, accessible interpretation that is suitable for all. Audiences of our previous production of The Comedy of Errors called our production “Brilliantly bonkers!” and “Super-fast and super funny!”

You should see it because… this show will allow you to go on a journey around the ancient Mediterranean alongside Pericles, to discover the magical, mysterious lands of Tarsus, Ephesus, Antioch, and Pentapolis… all from the comfort of your theatre seat!

Anything else we should know… after our run Upstairs at the Gatehouse late in August, this production will transfer to the Baroque castle theatre at Valtice, in the Czech Republic. In 2018, Idle Discourse became the first English company in over 200 years to perform at the venue, and we’re delighted to have been invited back this year!

Where to follow:
Facebook: @idlediscoursetheatre
Twitter: @idle_discourse
Instagram: @idlediscourse

Book here: www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/pericles

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