05 September 2019
Newsdesk
Running as part of the already announced exciting autumn season Pleasance now announces their Best of Edinburgh Season with true crime sensations, award nominated shows, original musicals for children and frenzied cabarets. Pleasance’s 2019 Edinburgh programme saw over 560,000 festival goers enjoying 5,534 performances of 277 productions and this Best of Edinburgh season offers London audiences a slice of some of the action.
True crime caught audiences’ attentions this Fringe with recipient of Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve 2019, Bible John at its fore. Using a real, unsolved series of murders that occurred in Glasgow at the Barrowlands Ballroom in the late 60s to interrogate the current cult of true crime and notions of victimhood, Bible John presents a riotous, furious, joyful exploration of violence and gender, looking at one of Scotland’s darkest mysteries.
Total Theatre nominated the accident did not take place (YESYESNONO in association with Pleasance) summons hyper-reality to recreate a fictional accident. Each recreation is more frenetic than the last, moving from ‘truth’ to ‘truth’ but which is the truth? Using an unrehearsed guest performer each day, the show highlights the deeply human need to destroy the mystery of the other, to render ourselves transparent through both mass and social media.
Shortlisted for the Popcorn Award 2019, A Womb of One’s Own follows a young woman on her journey of self and sexual discovery, exploring the emotional rollercoaster of an unwanted pregnancy, an abortion and the surrounding taboos. Supported in Edinburgh by The Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve 2019, this funny, clever and politically challenging coming-of-age story tackles a big painful subject with warmth, heart and humour.
Jodie Irvine’s Gobby is a playlist of awkward encounters, starting over and growing up. A biting and heartfelt odyssey about what it really means to be loud, this new play is a darkly comic telling of survival, an exploration of self-awareness and a lesson in how to throw a really good party.
Children’s show Mustard Doesn't Go With Girls is an original musical tale for all the family from Lecoq-trained company, Bric à Brac. When the children of Bow-on-Tie start mysteriously disappearing, Abigail decides to investigate further. She embarks on a music-filled adventure to uncover the town's secrets, topple the cabinet of treacherous animals in charge and prove girls are made of more than just sugar and spice.
Can Heroin(e) put the “Great” back into “Britain”? Three flatmates battle Marilyn Monroe, cultural identity and snowflake mediocrity to save us all! Recently named by the British Library as a Culturally Important Playwright of the 21st century, Philip Stokes’ hilarious and shocking award-winning Heroin(e) for Breakfast now celebrates its 10-year anniversary, reloaded uncensored, relevant and never more needed. A play that is more relevant today than it was 10 years ago!
Winner of the inaugural COMMON Award, The Land of My Fathers and Mothers and Some Other People is an all-singing, all-dancing re-enactment of what Rhys's Mam wrote down 40 years ago. This frenzied one-man cabaret mixes stand-up, dance and good old-fashioned singalong to breathe life into his Mam's stories and bring Treherbert rugby club back to life. Celebrating small town life it shows you why dancing in the same spot your parents met is really amazing.
Other shows as part of the transfer season include Madame Ovary, Tom Brace: Brace of Spades, Endless Second, A Brief History Of The Fragile Male Ego, In Loyal Company, Fragility of Man, Murder on the Dancefloor, It’ll Be Alt Right On The Night, Algorithms, Wireless Operator and Honeybee.
Anthony Alderson, Director of the Pleasance, comments, We had an incredible summer, a truly inspirational month of great art and great friends. It’s a privilege to be able to bring just a taster of this amazing work to our London venue. Working with those including the recipient of the Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve, the winner of the inaugural COMMON Award and many other ground-breaking artists to continue their journey is a thrill and we can’t wait to share this great work with London audiences.
The rest of the Pleasance autumn season which includes Tony Hawks’ Midlife Cowboy, Figs In Wigs’ Little Wimmin, London Horror Festival and Sink The Pink's Escape From Planet Trash is as follows:
Midlife Cowboy
Friday 13th September – Sunday 6th October (Press Night: Thursday 19th September)
Debra Stephenson (Coronation Street) and Tony Hawks (Just a Minute) star in this new musical, written and directed by Hawks. A warm, funny and entertaining new musical Midlife Cowboy is tale of heartache, love, and friendship with some great new country, blues.
London Horror Festival
Tuesday 8th October – Friday 25th October
The UK’s largest festival of live horror performance returns for its 9th year, expanding over 2 venues and 3 theatre spaces. This year Pleasance Theatre is delighted to join the Old Red Lion Theatre as a host venue, with an eclectic programme of shows by new and established horror companies. This programme of almost 30 shows is guaranteed to rattle your bones and send shivers down your spine.
Little Wimmin
Wednesday 6th – Saturday 9th November
The acclaimed UK based performance company Figs in Wigs present the London Premiere of Little Wimmin. If you don’t know the book don’t worry, their show will be the definitive version. Figs in Wigs are Pleasance London Associate Artists in 2019, making work that is an unconventional mix of theatre, live art, comedy and dance. They are Rachel Gammon, Suzanna Hurst, Sarah Moore, Rachel Porter and Alice Roots.
Escape from Planet Trash
Wednesday 13th November – Sunday 22nd December
Following from last year’s smash hit How To Catch A Krampus, Sink the Pink’s Escape From Planet Trash sees the collective stage the second of their queer Christmas trilogy – set in 2050, the show follows a motley crew living on a junk planet. It will feature performances by Ginger Johnson, Mahatma Khandi, Maxi More, David Cumming, Mairi Houston and Lavinia Co-op.
Knitmas: A Winter Yarn
Saturday 7th December – Sunday 22nd December
Take a sideways look at what really makes Christmas special in SharkLegs’s adventure for children 4+. In a workshop before the show, get crafty and make something that will help our heroes light up the forest and realise that they are not alone in this mischievous and magical world. Join LongSleeves, a Christmas jumper whose arms aren’t the right size and they aren’t the same length!
Monday 30th September – Wednesday 4th December 2019 Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, London N7 9EF
Pleasance, Carpenters Mews, North Road, London N7 9EF
The nearest underground station is Caledonian Road (Piccadilly Line). The nearest train stations are Kings Cross/St Pancras and Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Richmond.
Tickets are available from £10. Get 20% off £10 tickets when you book for two or more shows at once. Available from the Pleasance box office, www.pleasance.co.uk or 020 7609 1800.
