The Cave by Mervyn Peake
19th October - 6th November 2010.
Blue Elephant Theatre, Camberwell.
In one cave, thousands of years of history are played out. A history marked by conformity and the persecution of anyone who dares to speak out. One family struggles to live their day-to-day lives. Then one day a young girl enters the cave and throws their belief system into question.
This unsettling and powerful play by Mervyn Peake - author of Gormenghast - is a dark, inquisitive look at the nature of authority and its effect on the human condition.
"It has streaks of the angry postwar nihilism of Anouilh and Sartre: the hopeful theme of rejecting fear and social coercion leads only to amoral fragmentation in the last act. But it is extraordinary: a howl, an imperfect and painful philosophical struggle, part of a remarkable artist's testament. Honour to the little theatre."
– Libby Purves, The Times
Checkout
15th - 20th September 2009
Etcetera Theatre, Camden
Checkout, a new comedy by Janey Lawson, unravels the fertility phenomena taking over the Snellbury branch of NAMRO supermarket. The story is all over the Galaxy Local News Hour and now the Daily Mail has its hands on it the headlines are going to grow and grow. A bittersweet comedy taking a peek at celebrity, camaraderie and the cut-price supermarket, it is set to have audiences laughing in the (discount frozen produce) aisles.
The video shows the pre-recorded scenes that were projected during the performance.
Why Are Clowns?
31st August 2009
Arcola Theatre
The premiere of a new miniature musical, in which the Arcola Theatre is transformed for a night of sawdust, spangles, song and insanity. Join the ambitious ballerina and the world-weary clown as they share their final dance and discover just what it costs to make the world laugh.
Havisham
10th May 2009
Camden People's Theatre
This scratch is a further exploration of form and content, looking towards a larger final production based on the character of
Miss Havisham from Dickens' Great Expectations. The work seeks to examine themes of power, love, relationships and loneliness.
It was rehearsed during the day, then shown as a one-off performance the same evening.
Havisham
2nd October 2008
Battersea Arts Centre
This rough footage was filmed during the only showing of this scratch performance created in five hours with a cast of forty. It is inspired by the character of Miss Havisham from the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
This is not a finished piece but a sort of sketch on scale and form for a final production.