2018 Productions

Napoleon Disrobed

Created and Performed by
Told by an Idiot

One of the UK’s most unique theatre companies creates this poignantly moving and wryly humorous re-imagining of the final years of Napoleon Bonaparte. Using their trademark comic physicality Told by an Idiot discover the absurdity of trying to retrieve time, and glory. An irreverent and hugely playful show exploring what it is to lose immense power but gain personal freedom; to transition from one identity to another, and to lose public face.

Following their collaboration on the smash-hit My Perfect Mind (‘there’s nothing quite like it… wild and funny with a serious core’ ★★★★ The Times) Told by an Idiot Artistic Director Paul Hunter will take the role of Napoleon under the direction of award-winning actor and director Kathryn Hunter.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
25th Jan > 10 Feb 2018

Arcola Theatre, London
14th Feb > 10th March 2018

Reviews

“energetic and anarchic”
The Stage

Cast

AYESHA ANTOINE
PAUL HUNTER

Creative

Director
Kathryn Hunter
Designer
Michael Hunter
Lighting Designer
Aideen Malone
Sound Designer
Adrienne Quartly
Assistant Director
Charlie Toko
Assistant Director (Dramaturgy)
Ragga Dahl Johansen
Physical and Comic Consultant
Marcello Magni
Costume Supervisor
Corrine Tookey

Clockwork Canaries

Written by
Christopher William Hill

It is an ill-omened day when Tatiana Dressler pulls a drowning cat from the surging waters of the River Schwartz.

Tatiana’s father, a struggling inventor, has designs on the unfortunate feline, naming the cat Count Frederick Sebastian and setting to work on an ingenious contraption to humanise the creature. The cat is of a murderous disposition, developing a taste for a neighbour’s prized canaries – but canary slaughter is not the only suspicious activity being investigated at the Dressler residence. Death-fixated Tatiana fears the worst is just around the corner.

Full of sinister secrets, improbable inventions and murderous mayhem, this blood-thirsty comedy comes from the author of the UK Theatre Award-winning Mister Holgado.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 22 February > Saturday 10 March 2018

Reviews

“weird, wild and baffling”
The Stage

Cast

JEREMY ANG JONES
RICHARD BOOTH
CHARLIE CAMERON
DOMINIC MARSH
CHRISTOPHER STAINES

Creative

Writer
CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM HILL
Director
LUKE KERNAGHAN
Set & Costume Design
NATASHA JENKINS
Lighting Designer
CHAHINE YAVROYAN
Sound Designer
CHRIS DROHAN
Puppet Designer
MICHAEL FOWKES
Casting Director
STEPHEN MOORE CDG
Assistant Director
KAY MICHAEL
Costume Supervisor
DELIA LANCASTER

49 Donkeys Hanged

Written by
Carl Grose

There’s summin strange goin’ up down Bosanko Farm…

Stanley Bray is hanging donkeys. This is odd behaviour. Even for Ventongimps.

He can’t stop his bizarre addiction until he understands why. Until then, he must keep his house-bound wife Joy in the dark, and prying villagers off his land. Easier said than done when Slaughterhouse Sally comes calling, Grizzler’s pasties in hand, determined to let bygones be bygones…

But when Bray discovers the reason behind his actions lie with a playwright called Carl Grose, things take a very strange turn indeed…

A dark, surreal new comedy from the writer of Grand Guignol and Horse Piss For Blood.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 22 March > Saturday 07 April 2018

Reviews

“the performances are entertaining and kudos to whoever made those donkeys”
The Stage

"brilliantly original”
The Reviews Hub

Cast

Dom Coyote
Buffy Davis
Ed Gaughan
William Hartley
Veronica Roberts
Joe Shire

Creative

Writer
Carl Grose
Director
Simon Stokes
Set & Costume Designer
Bob Bailey
Lighting Designer
Andy Purves
Sound Designer & Composition
Dom Coyote
Casting Director
Stephen Moore CDG
Assistant Director
Kay Michael
Costume Supervisor
Delia Lancaster
Fight Director
Alison De Burgh

The Unreturning

Written by
Anna Jordan

I want to return to my home. I want a hero’s welcome: fanfares and brass bands and sausage rolls and jaeger bombs. I want to lie under the skylight on my mum’s bed and watch clouds. I want to go out in my hometown, drink and dance and shout for no reason! I want to sing in the streets and puke in the gutter and they will never know. None of them will ever know what I….

Can beginnings be made out of endings? In a British northern coastal town, three young men are coming home. In 1918 George returns from the Western Front. In 2013 Frankie is back from his final tour of Afghanistan. And some time in the not-too-distant future Nat returns from an overseas refugee camp to what was his hometown.

A compelling new play by Anna Jordan (Yen – Royal Court Theatre, Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2013), directed by Neil Bettles (Associate Director of Frantic Assembly) and featuring Frantic’s celebrated physicality, The Unreturning explores the profound effect that war has on young lives, and asks – what does coming home really mean? What is home? And when experience has shattered you into a million pieces, will home help to put you together again, or treat you as an ugly truth it does not want to confront?

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 20th September - Saturday 6th October 2018

Reviews

“flair, skill and style”
The Stage

“This eighth co-production between Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth is quite unforgettable”
British Theatre Guide

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Expertly crafted theatre”
The Reviews Hub

Cast

Jared Garfield
Joe Layton
Jonnie Riordan
Kieton Saunders-Browne

Creative

Writer
Anna Jordan
Director
Neil Bettles
Set and Projection Design
Andrzej Goulding
Lighting Design
Zoe Spurr
Sound Design
Pete Malkin
Costume Design
Lily Arnold
Associate Director
Jessica Williams

The Kneebone Cadillac

Written by
Carl Grose

Life ain’t too good for the Kneebones up United Downs. The family are skint. The debtors are closing in. The future’s secure as an uncapped mine shaft.

With ‘er two troublesome brothers at each other’s throats, it’s up to Maddy to save the day. Her only hope? To win the United Downs Boneshaker stock car race. But first she needs to fix up her father’s old wheels – the legendary Kneebone Cadillac. Soon, Maddy’s impossible plan sets the whole community on a collision course for chaos!

The Kneebone Cadillac is a careening new Cornish comedy from the team who brought you Grand Guignol, Horse Piss For Blood, and this year’s Drum hit, 49 Donkeys Hanged.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 15th November - Saturday 1st December 2018

Reviews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Superb original comedy”
The Reviews Hub

"the feel of an episode of Wacky Races scripted by Martin McDonagh”
The Guardian

“entertaining Wild West-inflected comedy”
The Stage

Cast

SHAUN JENKINSON
CALLUM MCINTYRE
GLYN PRITCHARD
EMILY RAYMOND
HANNAH TRAYLEN
JOE WILTSHIRE SMITH

Creative

WRITER
CARL GROSE
DIRECTOR
SIMON STOKES
SET & COSTUME DESIGNER
BOB BAILEY
LIGHTING DESIGNER
ANDY PURVES
SOUND DESIGNER & COMPOSITION
DOM COYOTE
CASTING DIRECTOR
MARC FRANKUM CDG
COSTUME SUPERVISOR
DELIA LANCASTER
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
FREDDIE CROSSLEY