25 February 2024
Newsdesk
In a dark comedy solo show, one woman drowning under the pressure of it all is set to tear apart her big perfect, happy family office, right down to the last personalised mug. Writer and performer Sarah Richardson plays Katy, who has burned all her bridges as she heads straight for rock bottom. As her workday gets worse and worse, and every little pen theft grates on her more and more, she is pushed further into flashbacks she’s desperately trying to bottle up. Into memories of him that she can no longer ignore. Told with elements of poetry, spoken word and all the sarcasm that shouldn’t be said out loud in an office, Sun Bear is a funny and cutting show about breaking free from the past.
Following its success in 2022, Park Theatre sees the return of Make Mine a Double, a double bill of shows that aims to give theatre makers a lower-cost and lower-risk way of producing new work in the Finsbury Park venue, as well as offering multi-buy tickets to encourage local audiences to see compelling new work. Alongside Sun Bear, The Light House by Alys Williams is a real-life story of falling in love and staying in love, even when the lights go out and you’re lost in the dark.
Writer and performer Sarah Richardson said, “Sun Bear is an exploration of a mindset that is so hard to break free from. When all that is left is the anger at what happened, and the blame and shame inside, Sun Bear is a discovery of where that anger goes. Into the panic, the flashbacks, the uncontrollable fight or flight that lies within or is there a way, after the crash landing, after rock bottom hits deeper than you thought possible, is there a way of truly breaking free of those chains he wrapped you in?”
Sarah Richardson trained at the Gaiety School of Acting in Ireland. She is an award-winning spoken word poet and playwright. Her debut play, GirlPlay, won Best Digital Experience at Stockholm Fringe 2020 and was selected for Mervyn Stutter's Pick of the Fringe in Edinburgh 2022. Recently her play, Daisy Chains, won the runner up prize for The Ambassador Theatre Group Playwright's Prize in association with Platform Presents 2023. Theatre credits include: Sun Bear (Gothenburg Fringe), GirlPlay (international digital and stage tour), A Ton of Feathers (NSDF), King Lear (Gaiety Shakespeare tour), Macbeth (Gaiety Shakespeare tour).
Park Theatre presents exceptional theatre in the heart of Finsbury Park, boasting two world-class performance spaces: Park200 for predominantly larger scale productions by established talent, and Park90, a flexible studio space, for emerging artists. In ten years, it has enjoyed eight West End transfers (including Rose starring Maureen Lipman, The Boys in the Band starring Mark Gatiss, Pressure starring David Haig and The Life I Lead starring Miles Jupp), two National Theatre transfers, 14 national tours, six Olivier Award nominations, has won multiple OffWestEnd Offie Awards and won a Theatre of the Year award from The Stage.
Running Time: 60 mins | Suitable for ages 16+
Company information
Writer and performer Sarah Richardson
Listings information
Park90, Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
2 – 13 April
Mon – Sat evening 8.30pm, matinees Thurs and Sat 4pm
Relaxed performance Thurs 11 Apr 4pm | Audio described (no touch tour) Thurs 11 Apr 8.30pm
2024 Standard: £22.50 | Both Make Mine a Double shows multibuy offer: £17.50 each
www.parktheatre.co.uk | 020 7870 6876*
* Telephone booking fee of £3 per transaction applies. All ticket prices are inclusive of a £1.50 building levy.
