Press Contact: Chris Baker
chris.baker@theatreroyal.com
8 March 2023
Theatre Royal Plymouth is pleased to announce its Spring season of shows in The Lab.
The Lab is Theatre Royal Plymouth’s smallest space and a place for exploration and experimentation. TRP’s Artists Development programme seeks to support the most exciting artists, companies and creatives in making the theatre of tomorrow.
Ben Lyon-Ross, Head of Artistic Development, Engagement and Learning at Theatre Royal Plymouth, said: “It’s going to be a super vibrant collection of new work that explores some really interesting themes and shares some great stories with our audiences.”
“There are shows that are tackling some big issues that are impacting society at the moment and stories that are about people’s personal experiences. It’s fair to say that when you come to The Lab you can experience some great theatre really up close.”
The Lab Spring Season is as follows:
Kindle
4–5 April 2023
The cost of living is higher than ever and the divide between rural and urban communities is stark. Heather, Holly and their mum Angela, a close-knit family from Devon struggle to run a rural petrol station. And when Holly finally returns home from the city, she discovers a shattered version of the village she left behind…
Kindle is a captivating piece of new writing exploring modern rural community, climate change, and the impacts of the ever rising cost of living.
The play began life as a 2019 seed commission from Theatre Royal Plymouth. Since, it has been supported by Exeter Northcott Theatre, before receiving a National Lottery Project Grant from Arts Council England. This grant will fund a studio and rural tour in 2023, as well as creative workshops, oral history collection, and the making of a short illustrated film.
Along The Right Track
6–7 April 2023
Along The Right Track is a semi-autobiographical, one woman play which follows a woman sat at a train station trying to complete a puzzle whilst waiting for her train. Along The Right Track is an authentic, honest and playful exploration of the reality of the long-term effects of childhood trauma through moments of surrealism, comedy and physical movement.
This piece of storytelling raises the question of: can you process your past when you haven’t got the full picture, or puzzle?
The Freshwater Five
11–12 April 2023
In 2011, five fishermen on the Isle of Wight (Jamie Green, Jon Beere, Daniel Payne, Scott Birtwistle & Zoran Dresic) were sentenced to a total of 104 years for conspiracy to import £53m worth of cocaine. They have always professed their innocence.
Inspired by the wildly popular Guardian Today in Focus 6-part podcast series of the same name, Liam Patrick Harrison’s stageplay, produced by the award-winning production company Deadman (Artistic Director Samuel Bossman), launches a detailed and rich theatrical investigation into the men’s tragic downfall.
Through spectacular storytelling, verbatim accounts, inventive stagecraft, poetry and song, the South Coast cast delves into subjects of classical & contemporary smuggling, deteriorating coastal communities, immigration and folklore interwoven through this ancient profession.
Deadman is an award-winning Working / Precarious Class-led theatre & film company who’s work has been presented on stages across the South Coast as well as international film festivals. The company and ensemble are dedicated to staging contemporary & captivating local narratives – for and from Britain’s unheard and underserved coastal communities.
Close Enough
13–14 April 2023
Close Enough is an autobiographical solo performance that talks about belonging and challenges stereotypes about immigrant women from Eastern Europe.
The piece is based on real life experiences of actress Cristina Varga, who moved to the UK 3 months before Brexit and with a comedic approach, shines light on the diversity and the different dynamics between the two cultures that she is now part of, Romania and UK.