What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
This is a political satire poking fun at the entirety of the British Establishment.
Who better to be the mouthpiece for that than someone who has been spat out from its core, Prince Andrew.

You describe the piece as a pacey parody what do audiences have to look forward to?
Yes it’s pacey, funny and rude and makes some valid points about how we are mesmerised into believing in the legitimacy of people who have influence over us.

Have there been any obstacles in the creation of No Sweat?
It’s been a pretty smooth ride. As it’s a one man show it’s relatively easy to stage. Affordable rehearsal space has been difficult to find.

Who are the collaborators on this production?
Melanie Percy has done a great job with the lighting. I collaborated with my daughter Oriel with the design and props, and Jasper who plays the mouthy Prince has done a great job in bringing a world class idiot to life.

Who should see this show and why?
Anyone who has the smallest shred of respect for the Monarchy. You know who you are! Anyone with and MBE or OBE might want to keep that quiet.

What Inspired you to create this show, why this story
After our show Botox or Bust, we had done rewrites, and were working towards a Rehearsed Reading  of the new version of the show,  then Covid, social distancing and lockdown hit.    To keep writing and to keep sane,  and to keep in line with social distancing rules,  Real Housewives was born as a spin off show from BoB.    It is written around 3 characters who had proved popular,  which would make it easier to stage and tour.

What do audiences have to look forward to?
Fun, silly, flamboyant characters,  and total fantastic drama queens, “I do that “ moments.

Have there been any obstacles in its  creation?
Not least Covid and social distancing, but keeping the team on board and enthusiastic, keeping the faith and the vision.

Who are the collaborators on this production?
Monika Brodowska, Terri Spencer, Nick Duncombe, Duncan Trew and Graeham Lawrence. 

How a vanishing, pre-internet south London and a chance conversation about a comatose patient inspired Mark Bastin to write To Have and To Hold
 
For me, To Have and To Hold is the realisation of a long-held ambition. I’d wanted for some time to write a piece which captured the world my parents came from. A working class south London long before the internet, a world of pubs, going to the pictures and meeting people at the local palais. I was also keen to write a love story, but one from the viewpoint of a life lived, as opposed to the heady rush of the first few months or years.
 
The idea for the play was eventually suggested by my partner’s aunt, who at the time was one of a team of three home-carers looking after an elderly woman who had for some months been in a comatose state. She remarked on how loving the woman’s husband was, how caring, which was ironic in a way given the terrible life she’d led him when she was well. I’m not sure why, but her comment stayed with me. Why was he so caring, I wondered? Was it that he loved her unequivocally? Or, given her many infidelities, did he finally have her all to himself? Was his caring for her in some way a form of revenge?

Ahead of opening DEATH AND THE MAIDEN at The Bread & Roses Theatre, we spoke with Fenia Gianni of triada theatre about the show.

​What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
This particular play, Death and the Maiden, is a powerful story on freedom and justice and the impact that political abuses have on the past, present and future of the everyday person. The same time it is a story of love, a couple that has to find trust between them again and survive their skeletons in the closet against all odds. However, it is also a play about revenge. How fear and abuse can destroy the mental well being and drive people towards uncharacteristic actions, maybe even violence?

With triada theatre company, our mission is to perform plays that focus on mental health and political freedom of expression, and raise social awareness on everyday issues that affect us all such as human rights, relationships, equality and diversity. This play is a perfect example of the message we want to convey to our audiences. 

What do audiences have to look forward to?
This is an intense, almost cinematic in each approach, dark, immersive, psychological thriller. The aim of our production is to bring our audience 'into the world of our characters' and take them on a roller coaster ride through suspense and unexpected events on stage. 

Have there been any obstacles in the creation?
It has been an unbelievable experience for our company to create this immersive performance. We chose to premiere the play in the living room of one of our friend's apartments in order to build step by step the intimate and close-up as well as intense atmosphere that we have created for our audiences. This has enabled us to create a piece of theatre that uses space in a very interesting and diverse way and gives you that feel that you are in someone's house and you are witnessing what the main characters are going through!

Who are the collaborators on this production?
We have a lovely, diverse team of creatives. I am the producer of the play and I have co-directed the show with 3 more creatives, Angela Dezlein our original director, Matt Turpin an actor and director and John Newcombe an actor, musician and director. We have our lovely light and sound tech Strat Mastoris that will use light and sound in a unique way to create this tense, immersive experience and delve into the audiences' emotions. And we are fortunate to be joined for the first time in the performance, by Music Composer Mark Parr that he has written the original music for our play, following on the dark themes of this production.

Who should see this show & why?
Everyone should see this show, as long as they are over 15 year old due to the tension and the themes that will be discussed as well as the language used. It is a play as I said before that will touch on every single person in the audience and will make them reflect on their own relationships and injustices and personal situations beyond their control. It is for the everyday person!

Cheer Up Slug by Tamsin Rees explores friendship between Will and Bean who were childhood friends. But they’re not kids anymore and the adult world is a scary place. In an empty field armed with just a tent, a Duke of Edinburgh Award trip becomes more complicated than either of them planned. Ahead of opening (7-9 Nov 22) we spoke with Shot in the Dark Theatre the team behind this heartwarming story.

What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
When I first read Cheer Up Slug I instantly connected with Bean, I enjoyed the pace of the writing, the comedy and the silliness. Both Bean and Will are very complex characters and you learn a lot about them in very subtle ways. It’s lots of fun and is very physical and messy and allows room for a lot of play and creativity. It has a couple twists and turns which keeps the audience on their toes as it lures you into a bit of a false sense of security. I think it’s an important story to be told as it tackles issues of consent and boundaries. I know I’m not the only person to have connected with Bean when first reading this story. This story actually inspired us to create the theatre company. - Charis

What do audiences have to look forward to?
Hobnobs, Golden syrup, mud, Vimto, lipstick and slugs. - Charis

Who should see this show and why? 
Anyone who has ever been a teenager will get something from Cheer Up Slug. We look at those clunky, awkward parts of growing up and not wanting to grow up that everyone will recognise and we'll all laugh and cry and cringe together. 

The audience comes on the journey with us as these characters learn more about each other, much more about themselves, and everything changes. - Hannah

 BoyBi is an exhilarating  one man show exploring the adventures and adversity of growing up bisexual. Written and performed by 19 year old Evan Reynolds it first showed at the Clapham Fringe 2022 and is now back by popular demand! We sat down with Evan to talk about the making of such an honest piece of work...

What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
I always like to say that I want to create work that I wish I’d seen growing up, and for me, I never saw a piece like BoyBi in any form of media, really let alone theatre! This is a show that I would’ve loved to have seen, it would’ve massively helped my self discovery, and I think it would’ve been one of the only pieces I felt truly seen in, so I wanted to be able to do that for people like me and anyone who may not realise they’re like me, or even anyone who just wants to see the world through my lense.

You describe the piece as a exhilarating, what do audiences have to look forward to?
I think the audience should expect to have a lot of fun, the piece is rooted in comedy and is constantly making jokes and very unique references. In my opinion it’s amazing how the piece goes on such a journey but never leaves George’s bedroom, it’s exhilarating in a sense that is a rollercoaster, and you can’t really believe how much has been covered in 55 minutes. And hopefully they should expect a tune or two ;)

Have there been any obstacles in the creation of BoyBi?
Overall, it has been pretty plain sailing, but with the piece being semi autobiographical, it does bring some challenges, sometimes I felt as if there was a mental barrier as I didn’t want to offend or hurt any of my friends or family. 
​Although BoyBj is rooted in comedy. It still touches on some very emotional topics and that’s what makes it so raw and beautiful, however in the process I was so worried what my friends or family would think having to hear the way I felt in past experiences.

Who should see this show & why?
In my opinion, the show is so attractive to so many different type of people. From our first run at the fringe, it was amazingly well received by queer people, but also by older generations and then also some of the most ‘manly’ men I know we’re sobbing in the audience, so truly I think it’s great for everybody.
​But in its simplest form it’s a love letter to people who have struggled growing up bisexual people who don’t feel like they’ve been or represented in the media. However, I truly think it can be appreciated anybody who just wants to come, have a good time and see the world through a bi lense :)

Ahead of opening this week, the team behind BEGIN: tell us more about the creation of the show and why you should come and see it.

What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
George (Writer, Co-Director): Mental health and the way the mind works has been an influence on the things I create, deliberately or not, for as long as I’ve been conscious of it. I think that’s probably the case for a lot of artists and I’ve found that the concept of how the psyche drives people's decisions has inwardly influenced my writing, just as it has outwardly influenced my thoughts, feelings and actions, for as long as I can remember.
This play has been a long time coming.
I’ve been desperately wanting to write something about my own experiences and struggles with mental health, as well as the events that have affected that, for better or for worse, for a long time. As previously mentioned, I’ve touched on themes and events in other pieces of writing, but I’d never properly dived into the concept as a whole. I think a big part of this was the fear that I just wouldn’t be able to do it justice. Mental health is such a sensitive subject (and rightly so) for so many people, including myself, that I worried by translating it to stage it would seem as if I were making light of it, or it would tip the other way and that I would end up writing something that was too heavy and almost seemed preachy and both of those outcomes would be unworthy of what I wanted to communicate with this play and just felt...fake. So, after a lengthy period of going back and forth, swapping ideas and characters and gradually developing a world that increasingly became more detached from mine, the first draft of BEGIN: came into life. This version of the play, which would eventually metamorphosise into what you see on stage, has elements of the real: some story beats are semi-autobiographical and at their most fundamental, the characters are amalgamations of extreme characteristics drawn from people that I have known. However, by creating an absurdist piece which blends acting, movement and live music, alongside characters whose extreme traits transform them into caricatures of their own psyches driven by their worst qualities, I believe we have created a world alien enough for the audience to lose themselves in the story, but with enough similarities that they will leave the theatre able to see their own reality mirrored in that which we have created on stage, able to assess the relationship they hold with their own mind as well as those around them and perhaps begin to see the little changes they can make, in their lives and their communities, for the betterment of themselves and those around them.
 
What do audiences have to look forward to?
Carmen (Co-Director, Stage Manager): An exciting piece of new theatre from an emerging theatre company! We are incredibly excited to present BEGIN: for its first run at The Bread and Roses Theatre. Born from the brain of George we have spent months bringing this show into reality. BEGIN: explores themes of mental illness in an absurd and funny way from the perspectives of the character B, M and E. Having performed earlier in the summer at the Barnstaple Fringe Theatre Fest and having fantastic feedback we are ecstatic to share it with the audiences at the Bread and Roses.
Alfie (Performer: B): The audience should be prepared to see the dystopian framing of a fractured mind, where reality decays to separation alongside moments of alleviating stillness.
Justine (Performer: E, The Boss): BEGIN is definitely a very interesting, original show with great directorial choices and a complex story that engages the audience
George: This is only our second show as a company, but I believe that one of our strengths is that we all come from such varied backgrounds and draw inspiration from so many different places that all of these elements somehow blend together to create explosive performance that has a little bit of a lot! Expect live music, naturalistic acting blended with surrealist movement and hopefully a play that will leave you thinking.

​Alexander Knott is a South London based, Off West End Award winning theatre maker who works as a writer, director and creative producer. He has written and directed plays at the Bristol Old Vic, The Barn Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East, 53Two Manchester, the Underbelly Edinburgh, the Old Red Lion Theatre and numerous venues across London. 

His reimagining of ‘Private Peaceful’ won the 2022 Off West End Award for Theatre for Young People, Families and Those with Special Needs. His work has been nominated for multiple other Off West End Awards, LPT Standing Ovation Awards and Off West End commendations. 

He was Artistic Director of the historic Old Red Lion Theatre between 2019 - 2021 and is Joint Director of theatre collective Bag of Beard. He has been Resident Writer for BoxLess Theatre since 2016.

His plays include: Loop (BoxLess, Theatre Royal Stratford East, national tour & Edinburgh Fringe), Bath (Bag of Beard, The Bread & Roses Theatre), Blue Blue (WoLab, Kings Head Theatre), Brenda from UKIP (Proforca, The Space/Lion & Unicorn), Renaissance Men (Joint Writer/Dramaturg, Old Red Lion/Square Chapel Arts Centre & northern tour), Hedgehog (BoxLess, Lion & Unicorn Theatre), At Last (Joint Writer, Proforca, Lion & Unicorn and tour), Nothing Between Friends (Joint Writer, West Avenue, Waterloo East Theatre), Yesterday’s Dreams (Katzpace), December - A New Play for Christmas (Old Red Lion Theatre), Cratchit (Park Theatre).

He is 2022 Associate of New York/Chicago playwrighting studio collective, Telling Humans. 

In Autumn 2022, his new play ‘Ballooniana!’ will launch the New Wimbledon Theatre’s Premieres season of new writing. 

​We are very excited to welcome Alex to our small team and know that he will bring invaluable experience and energy to The Bread & Roses Theatre!