The Bread and Roses Theatre will host a theatre festival of new writing that celebrates and champions imaginative concepts, spaceflight, fantasy, time travel, just to name a few. The genre of speculative fiction, also known as Sci-Fi is about to go centre stage from March 22 – 25.
Cyborphic presents Talos Theatre Festival 2018 and our newly appointed Marketing Manager,
Roman Berry, speaks with the Festival Director Christos Callow Jr to find out more about the origins and the excitement in the lead up to the Festival.
​
RB: Tell us about this year’s Talos Theatre Festival?
Christos Callow Jr: Talos: The Science Fiction Theatre Festival of London was founded in 2015, taking its name from the earliest robot in Greek mythology (well, a giant made of bronze but he was still an automaton, like Hephaestus’ servants). I don’t think there can be a Talos without some good robot plays! The festival is back this year, featuring plays with robots, unicorns, Frankenstein’s monster, clones, feminist utopias, and so many fascinating characters and visions!
 
RB: As the Festival’s Artistic Director what was the motivation to use Science Fiction as the vehicle/ theme for a theatre festival?
 Christos Callow Jr: I’ve been interested in science fiction theatre since I started studying theatre at a drama school in Athens. I have worked before at The Bread & Roses Theatre, staging a fantasy play of mine, Voice, in 2015, and directed the science fiction play, SUM, by Susan Gray in 2014. I have founded with Susan the first international conference on science fiction theatre in 2014.
If the question is why I believe science fiction belongs on stage, the answer is, I think nothing belongs on the 21st Century stage more than science fiction; how can theatre-makers not engage with the same concerns and themes that film and literature are obsessed with?

The team behind 'An Abundance of Tims' tell us all about their production, company and Tim!

Tell us more about the play you're producing? When and how was it written and/or developed?
 The original idea for the show was simple: what would it be like for Tim to perform a one-man show, but with two other versions of himself on stage? Tim acts on stage telling a story with two audio speakers - each with recordings of his own voice. We wanted to create a show in which the form and content of the performance cannot exist apart. With a story about mistaken identity involving multiple Tims, there was only really one way to tell the story.
 
And what's the background of your theatre company?
 Well, ‘Shepard Tone’ is a brand new company (of two people!). This is our first performance to a wider audience that will not be solely made up of our friends and Mums. We want to make theatre that is playful, unpredictable and performed above a pub. 

The Bread & Roses Theatre is thrilled to announce Velenzia Spearpoint as their new Artistic Director. As of April 2018 she will take over from Tessa Hart, who is moving on to work for the Astrid-Lindgren-Bühne in Berlin whilst also staying involved as a Co-Executive Director of The Bread & Roses Theatre. Velenzia will be working alongside current Managing Director Rebecca Pryle.

Formerly already the Associate Producer of the The Bread & Roses Theatre since 2016, Velenzia will be programming the theatre’s main seasons from December 2018 on. A director, producer and actor, she has over ten years experience both on and off stage and is also a co-founder of all-female theatre company Get Over It Productions. Notable work includes ‘The Balcony’ (The Bread & Roses Theatre), ‘Britain’s Got Fashion’ (The Cockpit), ‘Us’ (SLAM Kings Cross), ‘dirty butterfly’ (The Bread & Roses Theatre) and Macbeth (The Roundhouse).

Furthermore, the theatre has also appointed two new part-time staff members: Artistic Associate Roman Berry is being promoted to Marketing & Production Manager whilst Ella Gamble is joining the theatre as their new Associate Producer. Sassy Clyde is also joining the team as a theatre Artistic Associate.

The Bread & Roses Theatre is a 40- to 60-seat innovative fringe venue developed since 2012 and officially launched in November 2014 by Rebecca Pryle and Tessa Hart, located above The Bread & Roses Pub in Clapham. Artistic quality, equality and diversity are at the forefront of the theatre's programming, which features visiting companies as well as in-house productions, with a focus on new writing, underrepresented voices and distinctive work. Having seen over 35,000 audience members through its doors to date, the theatre has worked with award-winning ensembles with decades of experience but also frequently welcomes emerging companies taking their first steps and supports theatre-makers by providing box office split deals with no hidden fees. In every full year of its existence the theatre has been a recipient of the ICWP 50/50 Applause Award for Theatre Gender Parity and the press has described it as 'one of the most exciting ones amongst the London pub theatres’ (RemoteGoat), 'an extremely ethical organisation' (London Pub Theatres Magazine), and 'a new wave of venues (....) – all on the sort of sweetheart deals of old.’ (The Guardian).

London Live television recently featured actor Natali Servat and director Roman Berry speaking about our latest in-house production ‘Little Did I Know’ by Doc Andersen-Bloomfield! The powerful one-woman-show is told from Yarl’s Wood Detention and Removal Centre (for Women Asylum Seekers) in England. Aaneseh recounts her horrendous and sometimes amusing journey as a teen refugee, pretending to be a boy, and all those she meets along her journey from Syria to England. The play came top 3 in The Bread & Roses Playwriting Award 2016/2017 and runs from 6th to 10th February 2018. Book Now!

On January 4th 2018, critically acclaimed new play The Passion of the Playboy Riots returns for three more nights at the Bread and Roses Theatre in Clapham – where the play was originally developed, cast and premiered.  Every important stage of the play’s initial development took place at the Bread and Roses: early excerpts were tested at the regular playwrights’ forum, the very first full script-in-hand read-through took place there, as did the auditions, and its very first performance to a paying audience.  Since then the play has been performed all over London, to audiences that have included Henry Hitchings (Evening Standard), the new Irish Ambassador, and a host of eminent academics - all of whom have been lavish in their praise.
 
It’s no exaggeration to say that the Bread and Roses was instrumental in the idea becoming a play, and the play becoming a successful and critically acclaimed production.  “The Bread and Roses is not simply one of the best places in London to enjoy high quality fringe theatre;” says to Playboy writer Neil Weatherall; “it is simply unique in the generous and practical way it supports new writing.  The Bread and Roses reaches out to prospective playwrights, encourages, nurtures and shares skills with them, and then provides a first class venue under terms which make it easier or young companies to take risks.”
 
The Passion of the Playboy Riots is set backstage during performances of ground-breaking Irish plays: Cathleen ni Hoolihan in 1902, The Playboy of the Western World in 1907 and The Plough and the Stars in 1926.   It is based on the published writings of W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, who founded the Irish Literary Theatre, and Patrick Pearse, a charismatic but troubled schoolteacher and the first of the leaders of the Easter Rising to face the firing squad. 
 
Yeats and Lady Gregory want to raise the profile and status of Irish culture in support of the campaign for Home Rule, and to support the best new Irish writers.  They are shocked when Pearse and others accuse them of being unpatriotic and insufficiently Irish.
 
The Passion of the Playboy Riots examines the relationship between art and propaganda, the role of the theatre in the genesis of 20th century Irish nationalist feeling, and the balance to be made between ‘good patriotism’ and ‘bad nationalism’.  As the world waits to see the effects of Brexit on the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Scottish independence movement, and we see the rise of popular nationalism across Europe, the lessons of the Irish experience a century ago could hardly be more relevant.

Runs 4th to 6th January at 7.30pm!

In the lead up to our London debut at The Bread & Roses Theatre, this is the place to learn all about our cast and crew, the play itself and keep up-to-date with rehearsals and preparation for the production itself (18th-22nd December).

After a run at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where Fringe Review made the production one of its ‘Recommended Shows’ and called it: 'A brilliant, tightly crafted piece of writing, full of belly-laughs but with an undercurrent that chills', we are bringing it to London with a brand new cast and an adapted script from the original.

Milo, Hayley and Alex go about their lives thinking they have it tough. Milo’s neighbour has died, Alex is gay and Hayley is raising a child on her own. What's worse is that no one cares. Then in walks Ruth, a woman who unquestionably has it worse, and they realise why no one cares. Unless your burden becomes your identity, you’re no one. The impact Ruth has on their lives is colossal, building inexorably towards a bitter confrontation over whose life is truly the worst.

Having brought you up to speed with the production itself, we thought we’d start our blog with the original writer-directors of The Oppression Olympics, as I interview Mark Bittlestone and Will Dalrymple a few days after our read-through (photos below):

WP: So Mark and Will, hello! So quite simply, to start off, what's the play about?

M: The play is about three individuals who believe their lives are worse than they are, and they want people to know it - Hayley: a single mother of a one year old, Alex: a gay twenty something obsessed with the idea the world is out to get him and Milo: who nothing interesting has ever happened too.

​In the play's first act, these characters all meet Ruth, a bereaved mother, and are immediately bowled over by her suffering. Her son committed suicide a few years ago and no one knows why. They're curious as to how this woman can continue her daily life, they're angry that she gets more attention than they do and they all want to prove how worthy they are by offering her help that she doesn't necessarily want. As their offers of help become more and more absurd, Ruth becomes increasingly frustrated at their inability to treat her like a normal person and lashes out in return, which leads to a festive showdown at the finale of the show.

WD: The play is really focusing on the relativity of suffering, sentimentality and that millennial obsession with indulging in self-pity. And in The Oppression Olympics exploring these themes leads to humorous and slightly pathetic interactions between characters as they genuinely seek to find 'who has the worst life?' 

WP:Where did the idea come from?

M: Well, the title of the play comes from a phrase used in identity politics about people who try to put their oppression on a pedestal, which we thought was apt for a play where characters try to place their suffering above others.

WD: I met a lot of people at university who were obsessed with telling people how bad their lives. Everyone says that we use social media to promote the best aspects of ourselves but I find that a lot of people use it to boast about how bad their lives are, and claim some kind of currency from that. So, we wanted to take a bit of a humorous side-swipe at that kind of indulgence. 

WP: You previously had the production run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival earlier this year, how was that experience?

WD: Very good although our late time slot made it difficult to shift tickets as we were competing with the bulk of the prime-time comedy offerings. But it was great to see the play performed by some brilliant actors and we got a wonderful review from Fringe Review out of it. If anything, the run there only gave us the confidence to take it further and make it say more.

M: Where the version in Edinburgh was caught between farce on the one hand and drama on the other, the version coming to the Bread & Roses downplays the outright attempts at humour from the characters and focuses more clearly on their stories and their lives. I think what we have now, really excitingly, is a richer and more engaging play, and I we can't wait to see it performed.

WP: How have rehearsals been going actually?

M: It's been brilliant to hand over the direction of the show this time round to the wonderful Millie Foy, who's kept us up to date with it all, and from the rehearsals we've seen the cast have really quickly picked up on the tensions in the play but have also been able to find the humour in each of their characters - which is exactly what the three of us and Millie wanted to do.

WP: What are you looking forward to most about the production?

M: As we're not directing this run, it'll be great to sit in the audience on opening night and see how the new cast take on the show and each of their characters in a different way to what we have seen before.

WD: Yeah, absolutely, and it's something of a passion project for us too. We've spent a lot of time writing and editing different versions of this play over the last year, and to be able to stage another iteration of it is a real treat for us. We just can't wait to what audiences think of it, especially now that it's got its festive flavour!

The Oppression Olympics runs 18-22 December at 7pm.

Post by Will Penswick
StraightUp Productions
will.penswick@straightupproductions.com

It’s not very often an opportunity comes along to make a difference. An opportunity to put culture at a community’s heart, and one that will benefit generations to come. The London Borough of Culture award does just that, by offering a huge investment into the cultural life of Lambeth. Inspired by the UK City and European Capital of Culture Programmes, the Mayor of London has invited all London boroughs to bid for £1.1 million to create and host cultural events. The winner will be crowned the London Borough of Culture for a year.

As a believer in our cultural strength and potential, The Bread & Roses Theatre is firmly behind Lambeth’s bid to become London Borough of Culture. We know we already have an incredible wealth of talent, but we also recognise that investment is needed to help it grow and to reach out to those who don’t currently have opportunities to engage with cultural activities. We have become a partner of the bid, to show our support and spread the word in the communities that the bid aims to benefit. Not only would the investment enable the cultural needs of residents to be put at the forefront for a whole year, it would leave a legacy that would continue to benefit Lambeth for years to come through building the cultural economy and ensuring access to cultural activities for all. Lambeth are putting local people and organisations at the centre of the bid, and want to hear your ideas for what Lambeth should be doing in its Year of Culture.

So we’re asking you to put your support behind the bid too. You can do this by pledging your support at the website www.ourlambeth.London, suggesting any ideas that you have for Lambeth’s Year of Culture, and by sharing everything cultural you love about Lambeth by using both #OurLambeth and #MyLocalCulture on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Broken homes, broken lives, the cold blooded hunter thrives. Writer G C Clarke tells us more about his production On The Street Where You Live, coming up this December.

​Tell us more about the play you're producing? When and how was it written and/or developed?
I wrote this after witnessing for far too long the attitude of most people towards the homeless on our streets. It appeared to me that very few considered the reasons behind their plight but merely saw an aberration that caused them discomfort. So, it was time to try and tell the victims side of the story. I set down to writing this play at the beginning of the year 2017. As an actor, I continuously examine every aspect of life I encounter and I used this facility to develop my story. 

And what's the background of your theatre company?
Faroutman Theatre was established by myself several years ago and since then has produced five plays, a short film,  and a feature length film. All the work covers contemporary social issues: plays have been set in a Women's refuge, a mental hospital, a brothel, and, the streets of the cities of England, like  this play. 

Who are the people involved in your show?
It is a three hander with Anna-Louise Nixon,  David Lawrence and Jared Morgan in the cast. 

What were the biggest challenges in bringing your show to life?
The biggest challenge was, and always has been, affording to put this on. It is completely self financed - I have no financial assistance - and as I insist on paying my actors a modest, I though insufficient sum of money,  I struggle to make it a going concern, but I  believe it important enough to justify the struggle, as I do with all my writing. 

And what can we most look forward to from your production?
The most important thing for me is that I open the eyes of those who usually avert their gaze and,  hopefully, help them to understand and care that little bit more about people less fortunate than themselves. 

On The Street Where You Live runs 5th to 9th December 2017 at 7.30pm.

​So, how and why have I made a candid show revealing darker aspects of my life, mixing verbatim dialogue with original contemporary music, dance and surreal moments?
 
My main performance work was always music – bass guitar and singing – which after I studied dance, evolved into fairly surreal live art.
 
Get Therapy started out as a ten minute multi-media piece with no dialogue, called Mad, which I created while an MA student at CSM, with content generated from interviews discussing depression, anti-depressants, labelling, and psychotherapy, and reading psychotherapists such as Carl Rogers, R.D.Laing and Irving Yalom.
 
The only spoken words in the show were edits from recorded interviews, which I embedded in soundscapes (some of which you can hear on the soundtrack CD of the show). People's voices when sharing experiences can be very emotive and telling.
 
I felt I had important messages to transmit, and was surprised to learn that though Mad created an emotional response, audiences had no idea what I was trying to say! My course tutor suggested I start using dialogue – as a keen writer I ran with the idea.
 
I used dialogue in another show, developing a signature mixed-genre format – then re-visited Mad. After some false starts I gained Arts Council funding to research and develop it into a longer work including dialogue, called Danielle Imara's Insane.
 
Funding gave me the means to run research workshops, where people candidly shared feelings and deep experiences. Testimonies from a dramatically underfunded Mental Health drop-in centre, SpeakUpCiC in Margate, were particularly moving. In interviews, Mental Health professionals also shared feelings about their work and client relationships.
 
Verbatim dialogue is often more interesting than anything you can make up; it's sometimes strange and often powerful. So I ensured all were willing to have their words used in that way.
 
Now I had to make a show. Using dialogue meant I couldn't hide behind the vagueness of projections and music, and I decided to tell it like it is, no holds barred!
 
Compared to some, my mental health history isn't dramatic, so I've used my personal story of long term anti-depressant use and group therapy as a way of introducing other people's stories, which include suicide attempts, Electric Shock Therapy, being diagnosed as bipolar, being sectioned and more. Weaving verbatim dialogue into the show created engaging narratives of real-life stories.
I drew on my experience of group therapy, and the Get Therapy characters are hybrids of people I've interviewed, known or been in therapy with – and of course each actor brings to the role an ingredient that's beautifully unique.
 
Research and Development (R&D) ended with two very successful scratch shows and plenty of audience feedback. One response that sticks in my mind was that my costume wasn't right. They wrote “I do understand Danielle is trying to represent someone with low self-esteem via her outfit, but . . .” LOL! I actually thought I looked pretty good . . .
 
Next I had to navigate the unfamiliar world of tour-booking, and after getting radio silence from theatres all over the UK I was advised that the title Danielle Imara's Insane might be off-putting as it sounded like I was, well - maybe a little difficult! So Get Therapy was born.
 
The Bread and Roses Theatre is the opening night of an 8 date UK tour, with a partially new cast (newcomers Victoria Jeffrey and Matt Ian Kelly have joined me and original R&D actors Paul Codman and Sabrina Laurison), and director James Haddrell is injecting the show with inspired new ideas, so that I'm still being surprised by it, and I think you will be too.

- Danielle Imara

Get Therapy is on at The Bread & Roses Theatre for one-night-only on 20th November 2017.

With only a week of performances to go, make sure you don't miss the winner of The Bread & Roses Playwriting Award, The Black Eye Club by Phil Charles, which is also getting great reviews!

"Funny, moving, powerful new play" ★★★★★ - Remotegoat
 
"Full of mellow humour and tasty conflict of character"
★★★★ & Top Pick of the Month - LPT Magazine

“thought provoking, enraging, sad, happy and funny all at the same time” - The View from the Circle​

"I had tears in my eyes, and I’m not sure if they were from the emotion or the laughter. It’s high quality work from a theatre worth supporting." - Theatre Box

"unravels in an entertainingly earthy and realistic way (...) a fun evening on a dark subject" - Traffic Light Theatre

“Touchingly portrayed (...) Charles' script combines alarming brutality and endearing bravery” - Gizzle

"a cracking set of characters and a clear message" - The Play's the Thing