2016 Productions

Monster Raving Loony

Written by

James Graham

About

Monster Raving Loony is a fast-paced, hilarious theatrical feast for the heart and mind. This moving journey through the life and political exploits of Screaming Lord Sutch features a full house of iconic cameos including Alan Partridge, Monty Python, Morecombe and Wise and Blackadder.

Seen through the eyes of one extraordinary man, Monster Raving Loony asks if the British sense of humour can begin to uncover who we are, where we have been and where we are going next.

With thanks for support from the John Ellerman Foundation and THE LECHE TRUST.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Saturday 06th > Saturday 27th February 2016

Reviews

"An action-packed, idea-crammed, bespangled show"
★★★★
The Times

"Simply brilliant theatre"
★★★★★
What'sOnStage

"An ingenious bit of writing"
The Stage

Cast

Max Miller and others
Joe Alessi

The Musician
Tom Attwood

Champagne Charlie
Camilla Beeput

Mrs Nichols and others
Joanna Brookes

Lord Snooty and others
Jack Brown

Screaming Lord Sutch
Samuel James

Creative Team

Director
Simon Stokes

Guest Director
Cal McCrystal

Set and Costume Designer
Bob Bailey

Composer/MD
Tom Attwood

Lighting Designer
Chahine Yavroyan

Sound Designer
Gregory Clarke

Video Designer
Duncan McLean

Casting Director
Stephen Moore CDG

Assistant Director
Chloe Mashiter

Costume Supervisor
Laura Haley

Consultant Producer
Jenny Topper

The Man With The Hammer

Written by

Phil Porter

About

A powerful story about hope, desire and the dangers of obsession.

And so it begins.
We climb on, we clip in, we cycle, climb a hill, breathe deep, near the top, change up, push on…

Jodie cycles to college every day. She has a crush on her hero.
She lives with her Dad. She misses her Mum.

Change up, push hard, legs burn…

Plumber Tony only bought his bike to impress his daughter, now he’s hooked. He misses his wife.

Teeth hurt, fingernails hurt, everything hurts…

A charismatic pro-cyclist, Noah’s just the man to lead his tarnished sport into a bright new era.

But we push on and we push on. In search of that snowblind peace, that magical frequency. In search of The Man With The Hammer.

From the writer of The Christmas Truce (RSC 2014), Blink (Soho Theatre/Broadway) and The Cracks In My Skin (Manchester Royal Exchange).

With thanks for support from the John Ellerman Foundation and THE LECHE TRUST.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 10th > Saturday 26th March 2016

Reviews

“Powerfully written and performed, evocatively lit and inventively directed and designed”
★★★★
The Stage

"The pace is relentless"
WhatsOnStage

"With much humour and sparky dialogue, this play takes you as near to the addictive allure of power cycling as you will get without doing it yourself"
Plymouth Herald

"Superb acting, technical delivery and script"
The Reviews Hub

Cast

Tony
Tim Chipping

Noah
Jonny Holden

Jodie
Harriet Slater

Creative Team

Writer
Phil Porter

Director
Justin Audibert

Set & Costume Designer
Georgia Lowe

Lighting Designer
Andy Purves

Sound Designer/Composer
Martin Ward

Casting Director
Stephen Moore CDG

Assistant Director
Chloe Mashiter

Monster Raving Loony - Soho Theatre

Written by

James Graham

About

With its UK premiere earlier this year at The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth’s fast-paced, hilarious and (slightly) bonkers Monster Raving Loony brings its party fun and punkish anarchy to London.

Using the life and exploits of Screaming Lord Sutch to examine the state of the nation and Britain’s post-war identity crisis, Samuel James reprises his critically acclaimed role as Sutch, a ventriloquist channeling the cultural voices around him.

Seen through the eyes of one extraordinary man, Monster Raving Loony tells the story of Sutch through a cavalcade of comic characters from musical hall to Monty Python, panto to Partridge. Can our British sense of humour begin to uncover who we are, where we have been, and where we are going next?

A Theatre Royal Plymouth production written by James Graham.

Age recommendation: 12+

Performances

Soho Theatre, London

Saturday 14th May > Saturday 18th June

Reviews

"An action-packed, idea-crammed, bespangled show"
★★★★
The Times

"Simply brilliant theatre"
★★★★★
What'sOnStage

"An ingenious bit of writing"
The Stage

Cast

Vivienne Acheampong
Champagne Charlie and others

Joe Alessi
Max Miller and others

Tom Attwood
The Musician

Joanna Brookes
Mrs Nichols and others

Jack Brown
Lord Snooty and others

Samuel James
Screaming Lord Sutch

Creative Team

Writer
James Graham

Director
Simon Stokes

Guest Director
Cal McCrystal

Set and Costume Designer
Bob Bailey

Composer/MD
Tom Attwood

Lighting Designer
Chahine Yavroyan

Sound Designer
Gregory Clarke

Video Designer
Duncan McLean

Casting Director
Stephen Moore CDG

the war has not yet started

Written by

Mikhail Durnenkov

About

You think your life is normal, but things are not always what they seem…

Colleagues attending a conference get drunk and misbehave.

The news from the front is terrifying. The atrocities are awful.

A man waiting in the clinic claims to have had an absurdity implant.

She hides her diary – her partner finds it!

A man is desperate. He’s desperately trying to give up smoking.

Why are you afraid of a global war when you haven’t even fought your own yet?

Things happen – but no one can see the connections in The War Has Not Yet Started, Mikhail Durnenkov’s funny, eye-opening and often surreal dark comedy about everyday people fighting everyday wars.

Mikhail Durnenkov is a major stage, screen and television talent based in Moscow. His play, The Drunks, written with his brother, was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2009.

Recommended for everyone aged 14+

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 12th > Saturday 28th May 2016

Southwark Playhouse
Wednesday 17th January > Saturday 10th February 2018

Reviews

"Hilarious and startling play about conflict in all its forms"
★★★★
The Stage

Cast

David Birrell

Tamzin Griffin

Joshua James

Creative Team

Writer 
Mikhail Durnenkov

Translation 
Noah Birksted-Breen

Director 
Michael Fentiman

Set & Costume Designer
James Cotterill

Lighting Designer 
Tim Lutkin

Sound Designer 
Nuno Rocha Santos

Casting Director
Stephen Moore CDG

Assistant Director
Chloe Mashiter

World Without Us 

Written by
Alexander Devriendt
Valentijn Dhaenens
Karolien De Bleser
& Joeri Smet

We could hardly imagine it: no mortgages, no knitted scarves, no swimming pools, no butterfly strokes and no honey kept in glass jars. Animals would no longer be stuffed, skyscrapers no longer be built. There would be no more suicide and no more mathematics. No more talk about the old days, about what's possible. There would be no more memories, no more words.

 We could hardly imagine it. It would never get this far. We'd find a solution. A world without us.

 Forming the final part to an epic trilogy that began with A History of Everything (2012) and Are We Not Drawn Onward To New Era (2015), World Without Us will play four preview performances in Plymouth ahead of its premiere at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Performed by Valentijn Dhaenens (BigMouth, SmallWar, Fight Night) World Without Us is our 9th co-production with the internationally acclaimed Ontrorerend Goed; one of the most dynamic, innovative and exciting theatre companies in the world. 

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Wednesday 27th > Saturday 30th July

Edinburgh Fringe Festival @ Summerhall
Wednesday 03rd > Sunday 28th August

Cast

Alternatingly performed by Valentijn Dhaenens or Karolien De Bleser

Creative

Director
Alexander Devriendt

Text
Alexander Devriendt
Valentijn Dhaenens
Karolien De Bleser
& Joeri Smet

Scenography
Renato Nicolodi

Execution Scenography
Vormen

Technique
Jeroen Wuyts (Sound Editing)
Babette Poncelet (Lichting Design)

Video Editing
Benny Vandendriessche

Costumes
Rewind Black

Photography
Mirjam Devriendt

Us/Them

Written by
Carly Wijs

About

In September 2004, during a school hostage drama in Beslan, the greatest of evils (terrorists) chose the greatest good (a group of children) as their victim. Us/Them is not a straightforward account of this terrible drama, but is about the entirely individual way children cope with extreme situations. With humour and a matter-of-fact approach, it contrasts the views of children with those of adults. Brussels-based BRONKS is one of Belgium’s leading theatres for young audiences. A lightness of story-telling, breathtaking scenography and a strong cast creates a thrilling theatrical experience not to be missed.

Performances

Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Wednesday 03rd > Sunday 28th August 

National Theatre
Monday 16th January > Saturday 18th February 2017

One Hundred Homes

Produced by
Yinka Kuitenbrouwer, Drift, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan Productions, Theatre Royal Plymouth

About

Yinka Kuitenbrouwer visited more than a hundred people. She talked with them about the idea of home.  With the help of snapshots, quotes and biscuits, Yinka created a new story. One Hundred Homes is an ongoing performance; each time that Yinka performs the play, she also visits people from the area, adding their stories to her archives.  During her stay at the Fringe, Yinka will continue to develop the piece with Edinburgh locals, artists, and visitors. Join Yinka in her new Edinburgh home, a small wooden cabin specially built in Summerhall’s Courtyard, to experience an intimate performance.

Performances

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Summerhall
Wednesday 03rd > Sunday 28th August

Atelier Bildraum

Produced by
Atelier Bildraum, Kunstenwerkplaats Pianofabriek, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan Productions, Theatre Royal Plymouth

About

Architect Steve Salembier and photographer Charlotte Bouckaert use architectural models, live photography, sounds and music to take the audience on a trip between 2D and 3D. Beginning in the reality of the theatre space the journey moves through remembered and reconstructed spaces as visual storylines slowly unfold – like browsing a photo-album created on the spot. The two performers act as technicians of the imagination to compose an audiovisual story live on stage. A brilliantly original, award-winning show where the past and present seem to coincide and the audience themselves gradually develop the connections in between.

Performances

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Summerhall
Tuesday 16th > Sunday 28th August

Macbain

Written by
Gerardjan Rijnders, William Shakespeare, Courtney Love and Kurt Cubain

About

Macbeth and Kurt Cobain and Lady Macbeth and Courtney Love inspire a pitch-black comedy about unbridled ambition, hunger for power and an addiction to intoxication and ecstasy.  Macbain is a triptych of hilarious interviews with the pop stars, a freaky fast-forward puppet version of Macbeth culminating in a merciless symbiosis of grunge royal couple Cobain-Love and the king and queen of Scotland.  In their 22 years of creating work together, Dood Paard have forged a reputation as one of European theatre’s most ground-breaking companies.

Performances

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Summerhall
Wednesday 03rd > Sunday 14th August 

Last Call

Written by
Adriaan Van Aken

About

A teenage girl runs away from home to the city. Nobody notices but is there actually someone looking out for her? Belgium’s foremost graphic novel artist, Philip Parquet, and playwright/director Adriaan Van Aken’s urban adult comic book is brought vividly to life, fusing together live voices, dynamic video, projection, sound and music into a thrilling after-dark fantasia of theatre and art. Part of the Big in Belgium programme, producers of Tourniquet (2013), Looking for Paul (2014) and The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy (2015), you won’t want to miss this year’s late-night cult Fringe show.

Performances

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Summerhall
Wednesday 03rd > Sunday 28th August

The Duke

Written by
Shôn Dale-Jones

About

“In the autumn of 2015 I sit at my desk waiting for an email that will tell me what I need to do to the script to get it onto the screen. I turn the radio on. I listen to a report about the refugee crisis. My mother calls. She tells me she’s broken The Duke… my mother, my film script and the refugee crisis all need my attention.”

Shôn Dale-Jones, the multi-award winning writer/performer behind Edinburgh Fringe favourite Hugh Hughes, performs The Duke.

Funny, poignant and playful, The Duke weaves together the tragi-comic fate of a family heirloom – a porcelain figure of The Duke of Wellington, the quandary of a scriptwriter stretching his integrity, and an unfolding disaster as thousands of children flee their homes. Blending fantasy and reality, the show gently challenges our priorities in a world full of crisis.

No set ticket prices, pay what you can after the performance but please do book your seats in advance. This production supports Save the Children’s Child Refugee Crisis Appeal.

Performances

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Pleasance Upstairs
Wednesday 03rd > Sunday 28th August

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Tuesday 27th September > Saturday 01st October

Unicorn Theatre
Thursday 06th October
Friday 13th October & Saturday 14th October
Thursday 17th November

Royal Court - Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Monday 28th November > Friday 02nd December

Barbican - The Pit
Thursday 15th > Saturday 17th December

Cast

Shon Dale-Jones

Creative

Written and directed by
Shon Dale Jones

Designer
Renato Nicolodi

Heads Will Roll 

Devised by
Told by an Idiot

About

This new show from the insatiably curious Told by an Idiot and Theatre Royal Plymouth is a dark epic comedy about delusion, vanity, and the corruption of power.

Fusing truth, lies, and fantasy this phantasmagoric adventure is inspired by the search for El Dorado – the mythical city where rivers ran with gold.

Heads Will Roll draws from a variety of sources including the extraordinary films of Herzog, the magic of Shakespeare’s late plays, and one particularly doomed British soap opera. With live music from one of Barcelona’s most unique musicians and an all Spanish cast, Heads Will Roll continues Told by an Idiot’s journey of creating the unexpected with the Theatre Royal Plymouth following our co-productions And the Horse You Rode in On and The Fahrenheit Twins.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 06th > Saturday 22nd October

Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Tuesday 01st > Saturday 05th November

Liverpool Everyman Theatre
Tuesday 08th > Saturday 12th November

Heads Will Roll toured to rural areas in Devon and Dorset.

Cast

Alicia Martel
Andrea Pelaez
Mercè Ribot
Patricia Rodriguez

Creative

Director
Paul Hunter

Designer
Michael Vale

Lighting Designer
Joe Price

Puppetry Consultant / Assistant Director
Almudena Adalia

World Without Us

Written by
Alexander Devriendt
Valentijn Dhaenens
Karolien De Bleser
& Joeri Smet

We could hardly imagine it: no mortgages, no knitted scarves, no swimming pools, no butterfly strokes and no honey kept in glass jars. Animals would no longer be stuffed, skyscrapers no longer be built. There would be no more suicide and no more mathematics. No more talk about the old days, about what's possible. There would be no more memories, no more words.

 We could hardly imagine it. It would never get this far. We'd find a solution. A world without us.

 Forming the final part to an epic trilogy that began with A History of Everything (2012) and Are We Not Drawn Onward To New Era (2015), World Without Us will play four preview performances in Plymouth ahead of its premiere at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Performed by Valentijn Dhaenens (BigMouth, SmallWar, Fight Night) World Without Us is our 9th co-production with the internationally acclaimed Ontrorerend Goed; one of the most dynamic, innovative and exciting theatre companies in the world. 

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth

Wednesday 27th > Saturday 30th July (Previews)

Edinburgh Fringe Festival @ Summerhall

Wednesday 03rd > Sunday 28th August

Theatre Royal Plymouth

Thursday 10th > Saturday 26th November

JC't Ankerpunt - Serskamp, BE

Thursday 08th December

KVS -  Brussel, BE

Wednesday 22nd & Thursday 23rd March

Cast

Alternatingly performed by Valentijn Dhaenens or Karolien De Bleser