An extravaganza of unfinished, one-off works-in-progress of varying artistic disciplines with the unique opportunity to react and give feedback to the artists and theatre companies in the early stages of developing new work, to help shape it – presented by The Wardrobe Theatre
Come along and support the following shows on the night!
The Cultural Decay Project
Sedated By A Brick (SBAB) are Fraisia Bruist-Papazian, Gareth Mayer and Neil Puttick. They create by putting their minds and bodies together, usually a protracted and tortuous process, but somehow a lot of fun. They draw audiences into the specific world of each show they make with enjoyable confusion.
In The Cultural Decay Project a librarian and archivist introduce themselves and the strange collection of information they work with. In this potential future world The Machines have infiltrated the written word and culture, skewing and simplifying meaning. Attempting to preserve culture and halt this decay through creating hand written versions, they begin to realise that The Machines are infiltrating this too. What is left? Oral traditions, presenting and performance are the only safe human methods of communication remaining “Which is why they are here, telling you some of our stories…”
(Re)Tired
Sam wants to retire early, and no not mid-50s early, they’re talking late-20s kind of early. But can it really be called retirement if you’ve done barely a decade’s worth of work? With retirement age being pushed further and further back, and not even considering the state of the planet, Sam figures she won’t get the opportunity to enjoy her retirement so she’s decided to have it now. But when she starts on a corporate volunteering scheme at Another Life Care Home, the residents and staff surprise and challenge her in ways she never expected.
Written and performed by Florence Grieve with creative captions.
OUT OUT
Toeing the line between the provocative seriousness and the ridiculously silly, 7or8 Theatre delve into human mental and emotional states to bring thoughts and feelings to life.
Musicality and physicality are at the core of their latest creation “OUT OUT”.
Charlie and Shiquerra love to dance and let loose and the numerous closures of night clubs in the UK got them reflecting on just how necessary and energised these spaces are for people.
Important for social connection that goes deeper than conversation and the chance to find and reconnect with your own body & spirit, whether you’re coming of age, or a seasoned groover, coming together is what matters.
Join 7or8 Theatre on the dance floor for some infectious poetic rhythms, measured moments of reflection and a whole lot of rhythmic silliness.
The Rainbow Witch
She is a habitat. She grows, she eats, she photosynthesises. She is slime mould, jackal, satellite. A collection of songs, stories, soft things, hard things, shiny things, living things and dead things.
The Rainbow Witch spins us a tale of how she came to be, that celebrates the diversity of our planet. It is a joyfully silly celebration of the unknowable, chaotic mess of plants, animals, people and things they call home. The cloud of gasses in the far nebula, and a party of bacteria in the gut. The micro and the macro, and how they need both. How they ARE both. It calls on us to notice and protect what’s around us, and see the tiny hidden living worlds on our doorsteps, in our bodies and out across the universe.
This will be an intergenerational show, and will ultimately have 2 versions – the narrative version for community spaces and smaller theatre settings, and a more interactive/immersive experience for audiences who struggle to follow a complex narrative (nurseries, care homes etc).
Artistic team:
Tomasin Cuthbert (Performer/Designer of The Rainbow Witch) Creative Producer/Designer/Performer
Lead artist of Soap Soup Arts, and freelance Theatre Designer for over 20 years. Created 10+ shows with Soap Soup including Minny Stynker (touring now), The Snow Baby, and The Selfish Giant (Co-Pro with Tiny and Tall Productions) and The Pixies’ scarf. Toured nationally to venues including The Lyric Hammersmith, Bristol Old Vic, The Tobacco Factory, & Brighton Dome. Minny Stynker will be going to The Showay Arts Space, Shanghai, China this coming September.
Soap Soup specialise in Visual Theatre, puppetry and combined arts projects.
Ed Rapley (Director of The Rainbow Witch) has worked as a performer, director, outside eye, actor, writer, and workshop leader since 2005. Director of The Snow Baby and Co-Director of The Pixies’ Scarf, his practice is rooted in humour, and draws from his training and experience in the art of clown and fooling. He trained with Holly Stoppit and Philippe Gaulier, the two biggest influences on his work. Collabs include Karla Shacklock, Judie Boom, Angus Barr&Sarah Corbett (Publick Transport).
At Least You’re Both Safe
Stephanie Richards is an actor, singer and writer based in the South West.
She’s also a Mother.
Last year, in her quieter moments as a jobbing actor, she started to write a play.
The subject of birth trauma has long been important to Stephanie, having gone through two traumatic births herself. What you will hear tonight is an extract from a 4-hander play (a work in progress) and is a monologue from the main character.
It’s not precisely Stephanie’s lived experience, though there are some parallels. Since she gave birth over a decade ago, the conversation around birth trauma, subsequent mental health struggles (and the ripple effect on those around the mother and baby) has opened up. But there is still a way to go.
The Woman’s story is more common than you’d think.
Stephanie wants to thank The Wardrobe for allowing her to be part of ‘Itch’, and thank all of you for watching and listening to her work tonight.
Interesting fact… Stephanie only writes at night. Try as she might, she cannot write in the daylight!
**TW this piece has graphic descriptions of a traumatic birth, surgery and mental health struggles
