Urania, in association with The Bread & Roses Theatre, presents
Constance & Eva
by Kimberly Campanello - directed by Luke Davies
Constance Markiewicz and Eva Gore-Booth were two aristocratic Anglo-Irish sisters who relinquished their privileged upbringing to dedicate their lives to a range of causes. Constance was a suffragette, a labour activist, an instrumental figure in the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, and the first woman to be elected to Westminster (though as a member of Sinn Fein she did not take her seat). Eva was a suffragette, a women's workers' rights advocate in Manchester, a publisher of a pioneering journal on gender and sexuality in London, and a pacifist. Both women were famous - even infamous - during their lifetimes, but history has largely forgotten them.
Constance and Eva is an hour-long multimedia play derived entirely from prison letters and archival text, alongside contemporary reflections on the lives of the sisters from the creative team and historians. The play examines the potentialities and complexities of social and political activism so relevant in a post-Trump, post-Brexit context. Praise for director Luke Davies' most recent production, The Chemsex Monologues (King's Head Theatre and Adelaide Fringe, 2017): ★★★★★ 'An evening full of emotionally explosive monologues' - Plays to See ★★★★★ 'Quality entertainment... A must-watch" - What's on in Adelaide ★★★★★ 'An extraordinary tapestry of pleasure and pain' - Gay Times ★★★★★ 'An amazingly well written and performed insight' London Theatre 1 ★★★★★ 'Engrossing, strikingly thought-provoking work' - Act Drop ★★★★★ 'An awesome production that definitely deserves to be seen at least once' - Tezza's Theatre Place ★★★★ 'Hard hitting and tough to watch' - West End Wilma ★★★★ 'The cast excel ... a thought provoking production' - British Theatre ★★★★ 'Each performer shines' - Islington Gazette ★★★★ 'An insightful view into the destructive reality of some parts of LGBTQ social culture' - Pub Theatre 1 Constance and Eva
Playwright: Kimberly Campanello was born in Elkhart, Indiana, and is a dual American and Irish citizen based in the UK. Her poetry books include Imagines (New Dublin Press), Strange Country (The Dreadful Press), Consent (Doire Press) and Hymn to Kālī (Eyewear Publishing). MOTHERBABYHOME is forthcoming from zimZalla Avant Objects. She has been awarded residencies at the Fundación Valparaiso, the Heinrich Böll Cottage and The Studios of Key West, where she began writing Constance and Eva. She is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at York St John University. Director: Luke Davies is artistic director of Dragonflies Theatre. Recent directing credits include The HIV Monologues (Theatre 503, Ace Hotel), The Chemsex Monologues (King's Head, Adelaide Fringe), Superficial (The Glory), Queers (King's Head), The Clinic (King's Head), Journey to Sex Colony 01 (Teatre de L'Enjòlit, Barcelona), The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (Théâtre de la Poulie, Avignon) and King Ubu (Zoo Venues, Edinburgh). He trained at Lamda. Design and lighting design: Clancy Flynn is a theatre designer and technician based in London. Previous lighting credits include: Piece of Silk and Victorian and Gay (Hope Theatre), Portia (Theatre 503), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Pleasance), The Awkward Ghost, The Signal-Man, Best Served Cold, and Valkyrie (The Vaults), Fire Burn (international tour), Dorian Gray (King’s Head Theatre), Click (Ophelia Theatre), and Little Red Riding Hood (Gaiety Theatre and Swansea Grand). Sound design: JP Thwaites is a songwriter, guitarist, drummer and experimental electronic artist. 2016 saw him performing live electronics with Sarah Sarhandi’s ‘Both Universe’ project, composing alongside Yaniv Fridel for Dante or Die’s theatre production ‘Handle With Care’, writing and releasing with home-grown alternative rock band Lunacre, composing the score for Chris Anstey’s award-winning short film 'The Victorious' and cowriting, producing, touring and releasing Alxndr London’s debut EP ‘A Long Time Ago’ amongst many more. This wide variety of work has gained him support from the likes of The Southbank Centre, The Guardian, NME Magazine and Annie Mac/BBC Radio 1. Film: Sandeep Gill is a film director and editor with over seven years of experience in commercial, theatrical, and narrative film. His most recent work includes the theatrical adaptation of the epic film, The Fall (Theatro Technis), and filming and editing the entire video projection component of the play, The Clinic (King's Head). |
Sunday 17th September at 7.30pm
Monday 18th September at 7.30pm Tuesday 19th September at 7.30pm Wednesday 20th September at 7.30pm Thursday 21st September at 7.30pm Friday 22nd September at 7.30pm Sunday 24th September at 2.30pm Monday 25th September at 7.30pm Tuesday 26th September at 7.30pm Thursday 27th September at 7.30pm Tickets: £12 | Concessions: £10
Running Time: 60-70 minutes Age 13+. Ticket purchases are non refundable. Concession prices apply to students; under 18s; pensioners; those on disability and unemployment benefits; Equity, BECTU & SDUK members; Portico Places cardholders. As a young venue we are still upgrading and developing the space, any additional donations are much appreciated and will be used towards improving the theatre even further and keeping the venue going in the long-term. |
