Space Year Thirty Four Sigma Ninety-Nine. The two mighty empires of Earth and Vangali are poised on the edge of an endless, bloody war. All that stands in the way of oblivion is a peace conference. But there is a murderer at large and not everyone is who they seem to be. Who is the killer? What is the anomaly? And just what exactly is going on?

Untitled Space Play is an absurdist, existentialist, science-fiction drama about identity, the nature of existence and a fluffy green puppet. We spoke with writer & director Harry Cowper about the show coming to The Bread & Roses Theatre this April

What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
Essentially I just felt that there weren’t enough science fiction plays so wanted to change that up. I think people tend to equate sci-fi with spectacle and action but fundamentally it’s a genre about ideas, which makes it perfect for theatre in my view. I think I was also really inspired by early sci-fi TV (60’s Star Trek for example) and the way that it essentially feels like filmed theatre, as most television of the time did. This made me feel that it was a style and aesthetic that would lend itself well to the stage and would be fun to play about in.

Are there any sci-fi or philosophical influences behind the play?  
I read quite a bit of Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida when I was a student so I think that really helped shape the central ideas at the heart of the play (you’ll have to watch it to see what they are though…). I’m fascinated by language and how it affects the way we interact with the world and this was something I wanted to explore in the play. At the other end of the spectrum, I went to a screening of David Lynch’s Dune as I was doing rewrites and that definitely impacted the tone of some sections- it really is a film that has to be seen to be believed!

Murder mystery in space - does this play with or totally mess up classic whodunit tropes?  
It was fun actually to set up a fairly traditional murder mystery (traditional structurally as opposed to setting wise) and then have the sci-fi concepts smash in and change the narrative. Something I really enjoyed in the writing process was seeing how many moments I could make an audience think ’what kind of story am I watching now’. 

Sci-fi often holds a mirror to the real world, what big ideas are lurking beneath the madness?  
It’s tricky to go into too much detail as it’s a play that I think benefits from knowing as little about it as possible going in (which makes promoting it slightly difficult!) but the circular nature of history is something that is definitely key to it- take from that what you will...

What have been the highlights of the process?
It’s definitely been watching the actors have the opportunity to play in a world and genre that they generally don’t get to. We spent the early rehearsals working out the tone of the performances, making sure it never felt too parodic or grating whilst also riffing on B Movie style performances, and then it was just letting them run loose. They’ve all really perfected what I call their ’SPACE ACTING’ and it’s just so much fun to watch!

Why bring this show to The Bread & Roses Theatre? What makes it the perfect fit?  
We brought our show MONUMENTUM here at the end of 2023 and had a wonderful time so we were very keen to come back! It’s a wonderful theatre to work in with such a rich and interesting history.

Describe *Untitled Space Play* in three words...go! 
I mean I sort of think the title does that in a way! But if I had to choose three different ones, I’d go for hilarious, melancholy and bonkers.

Catch it 8th - 12th April at The Bread & Roses Theatre: ​https://app.lineupnow.com/event/untitled-space-play

Coming to The Bread & Roses Theatre this April, With You is a futuristic exploration of identity, connection, and isolation set in the aftermath of The Blackout, where two figures navigate their deepest fears and desires. They reach for connection in a quiet, fractured world, discovering how the simplest moments hold the deepest truths. We spoke with the creators Yuvraj and Irina about the show and what audiences can expect.

What is the heart of the story in With You, and what themes does it explore? 
Irina: The heart of the story is about finding the things that unite us as human beings.  
Yuvraj: I guess, in a sentence I would say… “How do you find love in a broken world?” – which is also our tagline for the show!

What inspired the creation of With You and its post-apocalyptic setting? 
 Y: Mainly a failed relationship! It’s a cliché but it’s true haha!  
I: Also, the post-apocalyptic setting really compliments the themes we gravitate towards. And somehow, makes it more relevant? 

What challenges did you face in portraying such intimate, human themes in a futuristic context? 
I: Creating the right atmosphere was very important to us, and probably the biggest challenge.  
Y: We knew from the beginning that for something so minimalistic, creating an expansive atmosphere would help the audience “experience” the story, instead of just being a passive viewer. 

How do you think With You resonates with our current societal anxieties and hopes for rebuilding?  
Y: Hopefully, people walk out of our show wanting to introspect and feeling appreciative of their loved ones. (More than they already do!)  
I: We live in a world deprived of simple connection. We seem to be alienating ourselves from each other. To me, the essence of being human is quite the opposite. We need each other. 

How does this production challenge or expand traditional ideas of what it means to create live, intimate theatre? 
 Y: We’ve created something the appeals to the senses before the intellect, stemming from our intention to prioritise creating atmosphere, which is such a sensitive element totally beyond anybody’s control. This only works if the Actors know what they’re doing and are willing to put themselves at stake emotionally (in a healthy manner, obviously).

Why did you choose The Bread & Roses as the venue for this production? 
 I: The support for emerging artists at The Bread & Roses was a major factor! Performing her is not only supporting but encouraging and helping our work! 
Y: Also, the vibes! Really felt like a place where we could try offering something bold and out-there to the audiences. I think we need that!

What was the most rewarding part of bringing With You to life, and what challenges did you face along the way? 
I: We didn’t have a traditional rehearsal process. Everything was done in my living room because we struggled to afford a proper rehearsal space. Just goes to show that if you really have something to say, then you can find a way to make work no matter what. Seeing our work come together despite it all is incredible! 
 Y: I got fired from my “survival job” during the process. Best thing that happened to me all year!  

What aspects of the show are you most excited for audiences to experience? 
Y: Its take on love and connection, and their importance. At least that’s what excites me the most about the show. Oh, and the atmosphere of course, haha! 
I: The characters and the connection that forms between them! That’s my favourite element of the show!  
 
 What do you hope audiences will feel or question as they leave the theatre? 
Y: Weirdly, I want them to be able to see parts of themselves in the characters. If that’s something we leave the audiences with by end of it, we’d have done our jobs.  
I: I want them to leave wanting to fully embrace the people they love! 

Where do you see With You going next, and are there plans to develop it further? 
Y: We’ve had discussions about expanding it. But only if it feels like something that’ll grow organically.  
I: The great thing about this show is that there will always be so much more to explore with its world and characters. So who knows we have in store!  
 
What’s next for you and your collaborators after this production? 
I: We have a new project in development that is in it’s very early stages right now. More on that very soon! 

With You, runs 22nd - 26th April 2025, book here: https://app.lineupnow.com/event/with-you

Ahead of The Vegan Tigress joining us in February, we spoke with Writer and Performer Claire Parker and Director Tracy Collier about the show and what audiences can expect.

​Can you tell us about the origins of The Vegan Tigress and what inspired you to bring Mary De Morgan’s life and stories to the stage?
Claire: I was immediately captivated by how lively and radically unconventional Mary De Morgan’s imagination was. She was brave and unapologetically outspoken. She wove social and feminist commentary into her subversive, unusual fairytales. So why hadn’t I ever heard of her? I began wondering if, in her older years, she had been satisfied with the slim success of her writing considering the price she seemed to pay to achieve what she did. She was at the bedside of the arts and crafts movement founder and socialist, William Morris, when he died. A man who clearly respected her bright intellect. How many ideas might she have sown in his mind alone? 
My playwriting began because I couldn’t find any decent roles for older women. The research I carried out for my first play about actor Ellen Terry revealed many 19th Century female pioneers, artists and activists including Mary De Morgan. Her complex and feisty character and her storytelling legacy simply broke through and demanded to be told.

What was it like working with the cast, particularly in bringing out Mary's layered character? As a director, how did you guide them in navigating the play’s humour, drama, and historical elements?
Tracy: It is always a huge advantage to have the writer in the room as she had done so much research that little was left for me to do in terms of historical elements. The cast have been amazing in terms of the detail they are willing to go into. I am a very picky director, I need to believe every single moment and every single transition from those moments to the next. Both Edie and Claire were right on board for that amount of detail. The development of Mary was the important thing, as there is always the underlying illness there but I wanted it to develop this over the period of the play, and also find what really puts strain on her. There is a really interesting development in the relationship between Lady Tuttle and Mary as they find an anchor in each other within this strange encounter. Mary is a fighter and the joy of her is she never relents. 

How did you come to choose the title The Vegan Tigress, and what does it signify in the context of Mary De Morgan’s character and the themes of the play?
Claire: The Hair Tree, one of Mary De Morgans fairy tales, is extremely fantastical and multi-layered and contains some quite brutal feminine themes. There is also, a story within a story, of an unfortunate female who, on refusing to marry a Tortoise King, is turned into a tigress by his outraged mother. She banishes the tigress who is told she mustn’t ever eat flesh or she will never again regain her female form. To me, this is Mary, the tigress who is never given permission to fully express and embody her own power as a woman or gain due respect in a man’s world.

I’ve always held a fascination with Australia. As a kid in the eighties, I was entranced by Tazmania spinning and snarling across my TV screen. A Tasmanian devil? What the hell is that? It sounded so otherworldly. When I was a teenager, I came across Peter Weir’s classic 1975 mystery film Picnic At Hanging Rock, which cast the Australian outback as a tantalisingly strange and unknowable place. Later, Wolf Creek (2005) made it seem incredibly bleak and dangerous indeed. At the same time, the grim historical blanks were slowly being filled in by movies like The Proposition (2005) and novels like Matthew Kneale’s English Passengers. Australia’s history was being revealed to me as a bloody and chaotic one. 
            This all took a backseat until I lived in Australia from 2012 – 2014 and the fascination with this weird, terrifying, gorgeous country was rekindled. Whilst there, it seemed important to learn what I could. There is too much history to delve into in any detail here. Many words have been written about Australian history and culture by people far wiser than myself. But learning of British colonisation, aboriginal genocide, the Frontier Wars, the Stolen Generation, the grim pride of Australia Day, and those both aboriginal and non-aboriginal who are standing up to make themselves heard above the din of nationalism, made me realise that the horrors of the past still writhe under the sunbathers and surfers; the consequences still have impact today; and that most British people know very little about it all.

​It’s easy to forget how mad the notion of building a British prison colony on the other side of the world was. Here were politicians, who had never visited the place, making a decision to send soldiers and prisoners on a months-long voyage to set up a permanent colony in the virtual unknown. There was no certainty of workable farmland, no knowledge of the aboriginal people of which there had only been the briefest contact previously. The colony was starving in its initial years and almost entirely dependent on supplies being sent from the mother country. Convicts were punished savagely for minor infractions. The colonisers spread smallpox amongst the indigenous population, killing them in vast numbers, and kidnapped their children to try and learn about their culture. The new arrivals were possessed with a sort of deluded entitlement that would, eventually, create all-out war with aboriginal populations throughout the land.
            It’s in the midst of this chaos that Rogues So Banished is set. While I hope the play is certainly anti-colonial, I didn’t want it to express any political certainty as I wanted to explore the period’s moral quagmires and complex dynamics of power. The convict perspective was a particularly rich intersection for this. Isolated on the other side of the world, under the constant threat of flogging, execution or starvation, resentment bred for the perceived freedom of the aboriginal people. In Rogues So Banished, it’s difficult not to sympathise with the characters stuck within such a wretched system of subjugation, and yet they are willing to commit horrific acts. This troubling lens seemed a perfect one to witness the insanity and brutality of colonisation through.

Why did you choose to centre the show around sex education, and what are the primary messages you want to convey to your audience?
Sex education is universal. Most of us will experience sex in our lifetime but we don’t talk about it. It’s taboo. That is insane to me. It’s all about asking the questions and sharing experiences and therefore to feel we are not alone. We might not always have the answers, but that’s OK! The asking is actually the important part. ‘Like children asking what is consent.’ Is a line near the end of the play. I think if we were to tackle this subject at a younger age it would eliminate a lot of the blame we place on ourselves related to our trauma and basically encourage much healthier sexual experiences in general. 

How do you balance the use of humour with the serious subjects of sex education and sexual trauma?
As in my last show: Subdural Hematoma, my experience of a brain injury and stroke at 18 when I nearly died, I found that people respond very well to humour. People feel comfortable laughing and more often than not they are more likely to engage with sensitive, difficult topics if they have had a plentiful helping of comedy. I juxtapose comedy and trauma in the show, going quickly from the audiences laughter to a more serious topic without much warning. That being said I think content warnings are extremely important and if anyone was struggling with the themes I would absolutely want them to step outside for a breather.
I have been told that, though there is a combination of trickier subjects alongside humour, audiences have felt extremely held in the space and I think the Q&A after is an opportunity for a sort of ‘cool down’ and for anyone to share anything that came up for them, if they want to. I find that tackling trauma with laughter is very powerful and I also love to make people question whether they can laugh at all (is it OK to laugh at Ellie having pooed herself yet AGAIN- the answer is: yes it is!!!) That is for Subdural Hematoma not Does My Fanny Look Big in This? Though as a ceoliac I’m definitely not judging.) ​

Next week, Anita D'Filth aka Emily Haldane, brings their vibrant one person show to The Bread & Roses Theatre. Find out more about the evolution of the show and what to expect, below!

​What inspired you to create Identity Kaleidoscope? How did this particular story come to life?
Identity Kaleidoscope was born from my personal journey as someone who identifies as queer and biracial. It’s an exploration of the multifaceted nature of identity and how we navigate the different sides of ourselves. The show dives even deeper into this by looking at how laughter is often used as an aid to shy away from facing our trauma, and how confronting this could greatly help us. I wanted to explore the delicate balance between humor and vulnerability. The idea came from realizing how often we laugh off pain, both personally and as a society, and how it’s a coping mechanism that often stops us from truly healing.

The show is described as a “vibrant exploration of identity.” What unique aspects of identity does the play delve into?
The show looks at both queer and biracial identity, but also addresses the broader societal habit of using laughter to push down uncomfortable experiences. It explores the fluidity of gender, race, and sexuality, while also questioning how we hide behind humor to avoid confronting deeper emotional truths. It’s about peeling back those layers of laughter and asking, “What happens when we stop joking and really look at ourselves?”
​
Were there any challenges during the creative process of Identity Kaleidoscope? How did you overcome them?
​One of the challenges was finding the balance between the show’s playful, vibrant energy and the darker, more reflective aspects around trauma and identity. It’s a one-woman show, so it was important to get the tone just right. I also wanted the audience to laugh, but not let that laughter become a shield for avoiding deeper truths. With the help of collaborators and workshopping with audiences, we fine-tuned the balance, allowing humor to coexist with more difficult moments in a way that invites reflection.

Coming to The Bread & Roses Theatre this September is TALK, a new play by Rhys Deans. Inspired by real-life experiences and the need for open conversation, “Talk” features three friends who gather at a local pub. As the night unfolds, they gradually open up to each other, revealing their personal battles with mental health. The play explores the struggles, triumphs, and the ultimate power of friendship to heal and support one another during challenging times. We spoke with creator Rhys Deans and actor Christopher Maxwell about the making and performing the show!

What inspired your minimalist, modern adaptation of "Hedda Gabler"?
Mya (Director): Hedda Gabler is a modern play, so many layers can be brought to the surface to make it resonate with  a current audience. Most of my inspiration came from Ibsen himself, and the mysteries that surround the actual plot of Hedda Gabler. Ibsen gives us very little context about the pasts of these characters, which made ‘thriving in the unknown’ a big goal for us. In picking and choosing what we hope to reveal in our production, we hope to leave the audience searching for their own answers, answers that stay with everyone a little bit differently.
From an aesthetic standpoint, I would say that Jamie Lloyd’s productions are my greatest influences. I love how minimalist theatre forces you to imagine the story for yourself. In the case of Hedda, your experience of the play is completely unique to you. You can imagine this world in a way that is different from the person sitting next to you. The Tesman living room is not mine, it’s yours - make Hedda Gabler what you will.

How do you balance Ibsen’s poetic naturalism with contemporary elements in this production?
Mya: There is a certain poetry found in the way that Ibsen’s plays are a reflection of real life. He wrote about real problems, real moral qualms, and challenged what societies believed themselves to be. Speaking staging-wise, this is seen in his generous stage directions made to be a replica of reality. We’ve been experimenting with some expressionist staging, which removes some of the tradition of Ibsen. To preserve some of this heritage, we have inserted some Scandinavian poetry throughout the play. With minimalism, we’re letting the story speak for itself - keeping Ibsen’s values shown through his words at the forefront. 
​
What were the biggest artistic challenges you faced in bringing this modern adaptation of "Hedda Gabler" to life?
Mya: It is daunting to navigate such a well-known and loved play. Balancing the heritage of Hedda Gabler while bringing to life a ‘re-imagination’ makes for a difficult task, but also the most fun. I have often had to re-evaluate and re-discover my own concepts to best represent Ibsen within a very text-centred, stylized show. This is mainly found in the emotional ties between the characters. How they speak and move in relation to each other are the only clues we have about their pasts, which weighs on Hedda herself. I am so lucky to be working with an incredible, insightful group of people to build this world, they really are the greatest collaborators.