Joe went a little bit mad during lockdown – just like you did – and it’s hilariously cathartic to watch. This smash-hit Camden Fringe show is inspired by the writer’s ridiculous lockdown diaries – and it’s the best way to laugh away the trauma of the past 18 months. Joe’s stuck in a tiny flat trying to make sense of the pandemic. One day, whilst watching a government briefing on TV, he decides to answer back. This sets off a surreal conversation with… Boris? Or maybe it’s his friend on Facebook? Or… maybe it’s his fridge. All Joe knows is, he definitely doesn’t know.
Brought to you by writer-director team Mark Daniels and Edwina Strobl, this Offie-nominated dark satirical comedy offers a unique take on the British response to the pandemic. The play’s two actors (rising stars Kathryn Haywood and Edward Bartram) take you on a high-energy farcical journey from panic buying to Jackie Weaver via Matt Hancock, with an unhealthy dose of Tory British gusto thrown in. It’s a relatable purging of the strange times we’ve been living through. It’s absurd laugh-out-loud comedy at its best. And it’s definitely not one to be missed. You simply have to see it.
“Funny, intelligent, satirical” ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Theatre News
“The catharsis we all need” ⭐⭐⭐⭐, London Pub Theatres
“Thanks to Joe, I no longer feel quite so alone” ⭐⭐⭐⭐, A Younger Theatre
Brought to you in partnership with mental health charity, Campaign to End Loneliness.
Related upcoming events
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15/06/2024 8:00 pm - 15/06/2024 9:00 pmHamstrung
EDINBURGH FRINGE PREVIEW
Alas, poor Yorick! Though he’s not dead...
Hamlet’s legendary fellow of infinite jest is back to dig up the bones of his misspent life in this irreverent resurrection of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy.
Join Yorick as he reconnects with his lost love of performance, embarking on a high-spirited journey to discover what really happened in Elsinore all those years ago.
Hamstrung is a ‘stirring and impactful’ tragicomic ghost story about the space between live theatre and the afterlife.
To see or not to see? There is no question…
‘Cleverly taps into the timelessness of one of Shakespeare's most famous works’ ★★★★ (fringebiscuit)
Written and performed by George Rennie
Directed by Lisa Milla
Design consultation by Damien Stanton
Sound design by Lucas Button
Lighting design by Benedict Esdale
Artwork design by Faisal Ag
Artwork photography by Luka BoothHamstrung will be playing at Pleasance Courtyard for Edinburgh Fringe 2024.
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20/06/2024 7:30 pm - 22/06/2024 8:30 pm“Because whatever has happened to humanity, whatever is currently happening, it is happening to us all. No matter how far off the screams of pain and terror, we live in one world.” (Alice Walker) //
Premiere of an experimental play that takes for its structure the four parts of the Geneva Convention – Wounded & Sick / Maritime / Prisoners of War / Civilians – to tell an ancient/contemporary story of the random depravity of war and its existential / psychological impacts for those who are involved and those who are not.The work grows out of an international collaboration between local writer/theatremaker Mark C. Hewitt and renowned Norwegian percussionist/composer Thomas Strønen. Stylised and kaleidoscopic, the fractured evolving narrative is performed by 4 actresses from 4 different countries, variously delivering lines in English, French, Polish and a smattering of other languages.
• “BRILLIANT. Thought-provoking, raw, provocative, multi-dimensional; use of music, space, silence ... the brave lack of ‘closure’ or conventional narrative.” (Audience feedback)
• “Loved the performance, the set and how it changed, likewise the music ...” (Audience feedback)
• “A really powerful provocative piece.” (Audience feedback)
Written & directed by Mark C. Hewitt. Performed by Marta Carvalho, Leann O'Kasi, Melissa Sirol, Maria Ziołkowska. Music by Thomas Strønen, performed and recorded by Time Is A Blind Guide. Technical design by Paul Phillips. Videography by Matt Parsons. Movement consultant: Miriam King.
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27/06/2024 7:30 pm - 29/06/2024 9:30 pmRoad
'Road' explores the lives of a small, close-knit community living in the eponymous 'road' in a working class, Lancashire town during the era of the 1980's Thatcher government - a time of high unemployment, civil unrest and deprivation.The action takes place over the course of one evening as the residents of the road prepare to go out to the pub and then on home afterwards. Despite its explicit nature, it was considered extremely effective in portraying the desperation of people's lives at this time, as well as containing a great deal of gritty, Northern humour.A passionate, poetic and positive portrayal of working class life wherein in the audience is invited to follow the narrator, Scullery, as he travels along the road, visiting the different homes of the characters and getting messy in the local pub.'Road' is the first play written by Jim Cartwright, and was first produced in 1986. The play was initially performed at the Royal Court Theatre "Upstairs", with Edward Tudor-Pole as Scullery, moving "Downstairs" in 1987 with Ian Drury as the narrator. It was later made for television by renowned director Alan Clarke and starred many young actors who later became well-known including Jane Horrocks, David Thewlis, Moya Brady and Lesley Sharp. The play has won numerous awards including the George Devine Award, Plays and Players Award and the Samuel Beckett Award.