World premiere & UK tour, Autumn 2018. Presented by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence with Improbable and Royal Court Theatre. Supported by Arts Council England.
Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence with Improbable and Royal Court Theatre are today announcing a new production that will premiere in Autumn 2018: STILL NO IDEA.
Back in 2010 best mates Lisa and Rachael wanted to make a show but had no idea where to start, so they went out onto the streets and asked the public. What story should they tell? What characters should they play? When they saw Lisa in a wheelchair and Rachael not, what the public said was funny, jaw-dropping and ultimately heartbreaking. So they made a show about it. It was called No Idea, and it toured the UK before heading to the Young Vic in London and going to Syria and Egypt with the British Council.
Now people say the world has changed and things are looking up. There are more disabled people in the mainstream media, Lisa landed a big part on TV, disabled mates are getting regular auditions - happy days. So what kind of exciting stories are the TV professionals dreaming up for them?
Still No Idea is the whole story (so far): the British public, the professional writers, the TV execs. Part verbatim theatre, part improv, part comedy sketch show, this is a raucous and mischievous exposé of good intentions gone bad and how sometimes no matter how hard we try, we still have absolutely no idea.
Still No Idea will preview at artsdepot in London before opening at the New Wolsey, Ipswich, and touring to Stockton, Hull, Exeter, Dartington and Birmingham and returning to London from 21 Oct – 17 Nov at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at Royal Court Theatre.
“Pin sharp, provocative and hugely entertaining” The Times (on No Idea)
“Wonderful to watch… hilariously rude and naught” The Daily Telegraph (on No Idea)
Still No Idea is written by Lisa Hammond, Lee Simpson and Rachael Spence. It is performed by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence with direction by Lee Simpson, design by Ben Stones and lighting by Colin Grenfell.
Lisa Hammond is an actress, theatre maker and writer. Her theatre work includes Improbable’s The Hanging Man; Too Clever By Half; Beauty and the Beast; A little fantasy and Shoot me in the heart with Told By An Idiot; and Marat/Sade with the RSC. Lisa’s TV credits include Eastenders, Vera, Psychoville, Esio Trott, Casualty, Holby City, Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere, and Bleak House. She was also featured on the genealogy programme Who do you think you are?
Rachael Spence is an actress, theatre maker and writer. Her theatre work with Improbable includes The Wolves in the Walls, Theatre of Blood and The Hanging Man. Other theatre includes Locker Room Talk for The Traverse and productions for the RSC, the National Theatre and The Globe. Rachael’s TV credits include The Lost Honor of Christopher Jeffries, Thirteen, EastEnders and The Best of Men.
Lisa and Rachael’s other recent work together includes the Channel4 TV comedy Lowdown, co-written with Lee Simpson and Old Street/New Street a verbatim theatre project with Shoreditch Town Hall.
Improbable is one of the UK’s leading theatre companies. Led by Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson, for over 20 years they have created productions of delightful unpredictability, from shows improvised live every night like Lost Without Words at the National Theatre to Satyagraha an opera by Philip Glass made with ENO and Metropolitan Opera New York. They also produce Devoted & Disgruntled, an ongoing conversation about the future of theatre and the performing arts. Improbable is a National Portfolio Organisation funded by the Arts Council.
World premiere & UK tour, Autumn 2018. Presented by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence with Improbable and Royal Court Theatre. Supported by Arts Council England.
Written by Lisa Hammond, Lee Simpson and Rachael Spence.
Performed by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence.
Direction by Lee Simpson. Design by Ben Stones. Lighting by Colin Grenfell.
Tour dates, Autumn 2018:
22 September - artsdepot, North Finchley, London
24 & 25 September - New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
3 Oct - The Arc, Stockton-on-Tees
4 - 6 Oct - Hull Truck Theatre, Hull
16 & 17 October - Exeter Library (TBC)
19 & 20 October - Dartington Arts
23 - 27 October - Birmingham Rep
31 October - 17 November - Royal Court Theatre, London
Advanced booking for Friends of Royal Court Theatre is now open. Public booking opens 10am on Friday 11th May.
Access information for performances at all touring venues will be announced soon.
At Royal Court Theatre, accessible performances will include:
Captioned Performances - 8th and 14th November
Post show talk with Live Speech to Text relay - 8th November
Audio Described Performance with Touch Tour - 10 November
BSL Interpreted Performance - 15 November
In addition, at Royal Court Theatre we will be presenting each performance in a relaxed environment, aiming to create a space for everyone, especially people who would benefit from a more informal experience. Some of the things that will be in place include:
- A relaxed attitude to noise in the auditorium; you are welcome to respond to the show in whatever way feels natural
- You can enter and exit the auditorium when needed
- We will help you find the best seats
We begin working to create the show in June and we’ll share more details on the website as the piece develops. In the meantime, if you would like to talk to us about your access requirements please contact our Box Office at (0)20 7565 5000 or boxoffice@royalcourttheatre.com.
