Arcola Theatre’s Creative/Disruption festival: we preview this season of new plays from the local community
Plays for today: Creative/Disruption brings a diverse collection of Hackney citizens, and their stories, to the Arcola’s intimate stage. Photograph: Ali Wright
A series of performances showcasing stories from underrepresented voices is coming to the Arcola Theatre this month to celebrate the diversity of East London.
The Creative/Disruption ’18 festival features shows from the theatre’s own collectives, including a mix of original dramatic work and fresh approaches to classic plays.
Bec Martin-Williams, Arcola’s Participation Manager, said the festival will provide a more diversely representative roster than is often found in popular theatre. She said:
“Women make up 51 per cent of the population and yet play only 33 per cent of roles on British stages.
“Older people are often eschewed, queer stories told by queer voices are lacking, men’s mental health issues are still taboo both on stage and in society and Turkish stories are almost non-existent, despite a high representation in the East London population.”
Arcola’s Artistic Director Mehmet Ergen added: “I’m proud that we’re putting the community centre stage in the Creative/Disruption festival, involving a wide range of people whose experiences can spark vital and exciting conversations.”
The season of events kicks off on 26 February and runs through to mid-April.
Read on to find a rundown of what’s in store.
Fine and Dandy (26 February – 2 March)
Written by Sue Frumin, this “dazzling yarn about finding home” is performed by the Arcola Queer Collective and directed by Jonathan Richardson. It is the story of Jewish refugee Ernest Faigele Fine, aspiring male impersonator Dandy, and a host of weird and wonderful characters they meet as they journey across early 20th century Europe. Expect to encounter sailors, clairvoyants, impresarios, soldiers, sweatshop workers and even a snake called Ethel.
The Cluedo Club Killings (26 February – 2 March)
Again from the Arcola Queer Collective, The Cluedo Club Killings is billed as “a fabulously queer reimagining of your Cluedo favourites” from writer Robert Holtom. It is a comedy thriller focusing on amateur sleuth Esther Jones who finds herself embroiled in solving a murder case, armed with little else than a fondness for Agatha Christie novels and an overactive imagination.
A still from The Little Prince, a previous Arcola Queer Collective production. Photograph: Miriam Mahony
Corpus Christi (5 March – 10 March)
Nick Connaughton directs this production of four-time Tony award-winner Terrence McNally’s modern-day retelling of the life of Jesus. This “provocative yet warm-hearted reflection on the power of faith and spirituality” tells the story of Joshua, a queer boy born into a small town who leaves home, gains devoted followers, and faces public persecution for his message of love and divinity. Originally released 20 years ago to much controversy, the play is now presented by the Arcola Queer Collective.
Arcola Men’s Mental Health Theatre Company deliver this production which challenges and dissects the social stigma surrounding men’s mental health. Written and directed by Henry Kremples and Dr Hannah Ali, No Show explores the “blurry line between carer and cared-for” and the reasons why mental health is an issue that should be taken seriously by all.
Dissenting Adults (22 March – 24 March)
Tackling the complexities and confusion of modern day politics and public affairs, the Arcola 50+ collective – made up of, you guessed it, members aged over 50 – aims to “explore the stories behind the headlines and the stories at the intersection of politics and our lives”. Directors Jessica Amery and Nicola Hollinshead take the reins for this staging.
Beautiful (Not the Carole King Musical), a show by Arcola’s 50+ group, was a hit at last year’s festival. Photograph: Martyna Szmigielska
The Chairs (22 March – 24 March)
Another one from the Arcola 50+ group, this time presenting a revamped version of Romanian-French playwright Eugene Ionesco’s tragic farce The Chairs. This adaptation of the absurdist play brings the original’s themes of societal break-down and disillusionment into our contemporary world, and imbue it with “a fresh sense of the disturbing and absurd, in a compelling commentary on our own beleaguered times”.
Future Tense (26 March – 29 March)
Turning now from the older generation to the young, the Arcola Youth Theatre (and the even younger Young AYT) presents four science fiction stories: (Dis)connect, Dream 2084, Dream Machine and The Next Generation. Exploring themes of technology, social media and connectivity, the young performers will provide their unique insight into the ways technology might change the world we live in. They should know best, after all.
Stage school: the Young Arcola Youth Theatre
Consensual (30 March – 31 March)
Playwright Evan Placey’s Consensual is directed here by Bec Martin-Williams and performed by the semi-professional collective Arcola Academy. This “timely and explosive” imagining of the former National Youth Theatre play shines a torch at the blurred lines and grey areas surrounding sexual consent, offering moral ambiguities aplenty.
Love and romance is the theme of this play from Ryan Calais Cameron. A stripped back and honest discussion of the subjectivity of love emerges from this story of trainee nurse Asia, music producer Yousef and the rise and fall of their relationship.
Theatre Ala-Turka
7 Kocalı Hürmüz / 7 Husbands for Hürmüz (8 April – 12 April)
Performed in Turkish (with English surtitles), 7 Kocalı Hürmüz is presented by the Arcola Ala Turka collective, representing Turkish theatre in East London. Its story is that of Hürmüz, a single Turkish woman with no fortune who hatches a plan to acquire seven husbands – one for each day of the week. Naz Yeni directs the classic Turkish play, which “explores modern love and relationships through musical comedy and all-out farce”.
Smile, Darling (13 April – 14 April)
Bringing the festival to a close is this inaugural performance by the Arcola Women’s Company. Written by the company itself and directed by Bec Martin-Williams, it is a contemplation on “the dichotomies of womanhood and the intersections of gender, race, identity and culture”.
To find out more about the festival, or to buy tickets for any of these performances, head over to the Arcola Theatre website