Life With A Little “L” is a dramatic composition of six plays from Art Theatre, in the genre of dirty realism, set in & with music from 1950s-1970s America.
This Off Com Award-nominated, “perfectly crafted” work is inspired by the life and works of literary legend Charles Bukowski, king of the underground and “Laureate of American lowlife”.
Together these, mostly, working-class stories paint a picture that would not look out of place in modern-day London.
These are stories of the insignificant person - stories about all of us.
As modern artists we delve into the lives and fates of these insignificant people and we ironise, laugh, reflect & sympathise. Told using Art Theatre’s unique stage language, with five actors each playing several roles.
Director Anya Viller said: “Full of cynicism, irony and humour, the performance suggests that we are all just people in the end. Being weak but pretending to be strong is generally very human. And these insignificant characters, in a sense, oppose the ‘American Dream’ and our modern obsession with success. Because...it’s okay to be an ordinary person. Everyone has the right to cut themselves while shaving.”
Cast:
Victoria Valcheva
Eileen Duffy
Will Stevens
Francesca Wilson Waterworth
James Viller
Creative team:
Director Anya Viller
Lighting Designer Peter Vocka
Set Designer Sasha Dashevskaya
The production transfers to Riverside Studios after a successful run earlier this year at the Golden Goose Theatre.
Victoria Valcheva
Victoria trained at Drama Centre London. Victoria starred as Kostana in the award winning Netflix movie The Swimmers. She also played Larissa Petrova in Season 2 of Cobra on Sky. She’s also a filmmaker and her own short film What Do The Dead Want From Us? has been selected in the Oscar-qualifying American Film Documentary Festival in Palm Springs, 2023.
Eileen Duffy
Eileen trained at Drama Centre London. Her recent credits include Payback (ITV), and she has recently wrapped on The Kollective (Hulu). She also starred in indie short film ‘Cuckoo’, premiering at festivals later this year.
Will Stevens
Since graduating from Drama Centre London, Will has performed at the Vaults Festival, Park Theatre, The Cockpit and across the country in comedy and drama. He writes and develops original stage shows, as well as producing projects for screen. He has been seen in Silent Witness (BBC) and Alexander: The Making of a God (Netflix).
Francesca Wilson Waterworth
Francesca trained at Drama Centre London. While training she played Nina in The Seagull and Harper from Angels in America. She has since appeared in two series of The Larkins (ITV).
James Viller
James trained at Drama Centre London. He recently wrapped the period film Strike (Sandstorm Films) which is going to BAFTA-qualifying festivals. Theatre credits include Chekhov’s The Lady with the Dog (Playground Theatre) and 10 Reasons Why (Arcola Theatre). He was a recipient of ‘The Stage Award for Acting Excellence’ at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Anya Viller (Director)
Anya trained in theatre for four years at the world renowned Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute. Her Directing credits include: Kafka’s The Trial (Experimental Theatre Moscow); Anne Frank’s Diary (Boris Shchukin Stage), Life with a Little “L” (Golden Goose), White Nights (New Diorama). She also works as an actress, working with BAFTA nominated director Mark Nunnely in Together Apart which won a Silver Lion at Cannes. She’s also played supporting roles in the international TV series Vertinsky (Globus Film) and the award-winning film The Frenchman which played at Rotterdam Film Festival. She’s worked
extensively in theatre including various performances for the world renowned Vahktangov Theatre
Company.
Sasha Dashevskaya (Set Designer)
Sasha is an experienced artist and set designer working in the Performing arts, Installation, Pictorial Art with some of theatre’s biggest names. Recent residencies include Watermill Center (NY), Prisma Gallery (Lisbon), and Echo of Lubimovka Festival (Paris).
Peter Vocka (Lighting Designer)
Peter is a London-based Lighting Designer. He works on a wide spectrum of events including Drama, Dance, Circus and Opera. Prior to studying lighting design at RADA he was a professional dancer in
Vienna, and danced on many stages including Landestheater Linz and Bregenz Festspiel’s famous Lakeside stage.
