Author and director NEIL BARTLETT on the extraordinary true story behind his new show for the Brighton Festival.
With America passing new laws to prevent gender-panic in cottages, and supermodel Andreja Pejic turning heads all over the global media – not to mention our very own and very marvellous Rebecca Root and Paris Lees – you could be forgiven for thinking that trans is the new queer. You might also think that gender-transformation in all its contested varieties is something that post-dates hormone treatments and surgery. Well, no.
A century and a half before the North Carolina legislature started to get all twitchy about who sees what in their restrooms – in April 1870, to be exact – a strikingly well-dressed young woman named Stella was catching the show at the Royal Strand Theatre, a Victorian variety-palace on the corner of the Aldwych. The rather daring silk gown she was wearing needed some attention, so she repaired to the ladies’ toilet to fix her drag. However, this was no lady; it was, in fact, the 22-year-old Ernest Boulton, for whom Stella was only one of many aliases, and when she left the theatre Stella was arrested and carted off to Bow Street in the company of her sister in crime, one Frederick Park, a.k.a Fanny. The high-profile Old Bailey trial that ensued was a battle over identity and labels; was Stella a sex-worker, a lady, a queen – or simply a misguided young man with an unfortunate drag habit ? Nowadays, of course, we’d want to know if she was “really” trans rather than drag – because we, in our way, are just as keen to categorise anyone who strays outside of their allotted gender role as the Victorians were. Stella’s mother told the gentlemen of the jury about how the school-age Ernest liked to dress up as the family chambermaid, and could even pass in front of her own grandmother – but they took that as evidence of high spirits, rather than of nascent gender dysphoria.
Unbelievably, Stella got off. Received wisdom dictates that after all that exposure she ought to have slunk away into obscurity, but not a bit of it; her transformations merely took a new turn. She changed her name, dyed her hair and took her act on the road, touring variety theatres for nearly three more decades as a drag queen, actress and comedian. In 1904, she assumed her final identity; a certain Mr Thomas E. Boulton is registered as having died that year in the National Hospital in London’s Queen Square – Stella again, taking her final bow as a man.
Neil Bartlett
A year ago, my husband and I moved house, and a chance confusion in unpacking my boxes of papers meant that a long-forgotten photograph of my younger 1980’s self in drag came into collision with a photocopied newspaper illustration of Stella on the night of her arrest. That strange juxtaposition got me thinking, and eventually lead me to approach the Brighton Festival with an idea for a new theatre piece. The idea was simple; to bring Stella back to life for the night and just let her talk – to talk to our century, if you like, about the life-lessons she learnt in hers. The Festival said yes, and as well as going back to Stella’s letters and police records and play-scripts I then started on a six-month journey to meet and talk to people who live or work in a gender different to the one they were born into – hairdressers, journalists, pensioners, actors, nightclub hostesses and singers, from Dalston to Brighton to Tokyo. Meeting them and hearing their stories confirmed what I feel every time I recall what happened to Stella on that pavement outside the Royal Strand Theatre all those years ago. I think we need to put all our categorising and label-wars aside, and remember that the gift that all transformers and transitioners and dressers-up give us is an invaluable one . They tell us that our queer identities are never a destination, but always a journey. They remind us that in the end it doesn’t matter what category you fit, only how brave you are.
The world premiere of Neil Bartlett’s new theatre piece STELLA is at Brighton’s Theatre Royal as part of Brighton Festival (May 27-28, 8pm). The show then transfers to London (Hoxton Hall, June 1-18) and Amsterdam (Holland Festival, June 20-21).
Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place…with us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.
Set in America during the Great Depression, this classic play tells the story of George and Lennie, two migrant farm workers, who go in search of new beginnings, in the hope of attaining their shared dream: of putting together enough money to buy a small piece of land and building a home.
After a long and exhausting journey, the pair arrive at a farm in California where they seek work. But they are no strangers to trouble and soon find themselves reeling from the fall out of an innocent misunderstanding which spirals out of control and leaves the two men, bound together by friendship, facing an earth-shattering climax.
The Touring Consortium Theatre Company headed by Director Roxana Silbert has pulled a tight show from this story, concentrating on the small things, the details that really bring the larger story to life, as Steinbeck himself focuses on tiny details, the dead mouse and puppy, the softness of chairs, hair and fur, to tell a meta story about American Culture and hope in the 1930’s. This is helped along by the sparse but functional set and costumes from Designer Liz Ascroft who weaves the nuts and bolts of the staging seamlessly into the storytelling itself, giving this production an authentic feeling of workers and work going on around the unfolding narrative .
This is a complex play about simple people, doing simple things with terrible consequences, it’s about love, kindness and brutality and the ties that bind them. Steinbeck is not an easy writer for a modern sensibility, some of the words are harsh, he has a serious issue with women and the play demonstrates this with no redress, but this is a ‘warts and all’ production of a period piece that at least allows the subtleties of the plot to be explored in emotion and voice tone from the actors which rescues some of the more problematic dialogue.
William Rodell and Kristian Phillips as the two main characters, George and Lennie capture the careful and delicate and sometimes desperate connection between these two men, more than friends but not quite brothers. Needy and needed mutually Bromance. Rodell and Phillips tease out the reasons behind this fatal bond and how the consequences of over protection and unrequited need can play out in devastating ways. It’s a super double act, touching and vibrant in equal parts and the ending, even when you knows what’s coming was dreadfully awfully wretched and I had to look away. Phillips get’s the simple oaf touch perfect, always a difficult balancing act to capture the essential innocence of Lennies’ state of mind. Rodell is also very easy on the eye, which is always a bonus in case the acting is a bit ropey, not a worry this evening. Great acting, real emotive energy on the stage this evening and I would recommend taking in this show just to catch this pair orbiting around their central hopes and fears. I felt the very final scene could have held the dramatic tension for just a short while longer before the lights went up, just to leave us in the dark, pondering, shocked, mourning what’s happened before actors leaping up grinning into their applause.
The supporting cast are very good with the little they get to do and Saoirse-Monica Jackson as ‘Curley’s wife’ manages to squeeze some empathy out of this misunderstood catalytic role and Dave Fishley as Crooks does that same with his plea for dignity and bookish bitterness.
This was an authentic, engaging and gripping production of Mice and Men thoroughly appreciated the by audience. The book is popular for study and the Theatre Royal was utterly rammed with excited teenagers buzzing with being out on the town, I dreaded the endless mobile phone and chatting but they were gripped into silence from the off. Their absorption is testament to the quality of this production that the cast silenced and engaged hundreds of very excited teens up to the very final devastating moment and took the rest of us along with them keeping the narrative tension up to the end.
Following recent successful production runs of Les Miseables, Grease, West Side Story and Hairspray, Brighton Theatre Group Youth returns with their production of the Broadway musical Legally Blonde.
Perennially perky Elle Woods is a girl who loves to be pampered and shop for the latest all pink outfits and matching handbags, but don’t let this seemingly ditsy fashionista fool you, this ‘Sorority Sister’ is smarter than she seems and doesn’t take no for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone “more serious”, Elle sets out to win him back by putting down the credit card and hitting Harvard Law School.
Legally Blonde is the feel good musical for the summer season where Elle, her Chihuahua Bruiser and her Soriety Sisters prove that being pink and blonde is no barrier to a successful career in law!
Led once again by the award-winning creative team of Director Michael Burnie, Choreographer Jodie Michele and Musical Director Josh Winstone andraising funds for Brighton Theatre Group – Registered Charity 258846
Event:Legally Blonde – Brighton Theatre Group
Where: Corn Exchange, Church Street, Brighton
When: June 8 – 12
Time: Nightly at 7.30pm: Matinees on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 at 2.30pm
Despite appalling weather on Easter Sunday, the annual East Bonnet Parade and Drag Queen races raised a staggering £1,826.21 for the Sussex Beacon.Well done to everyone involved.
I am beyond thrilled that despite appalling weather on Easter Sunday our little backstreet boozer raised a staggering £1826.21 for The Sussex Beacon. This is amazing! Thank you to everyone who contributed in so many ways – you are all incredible xxxx
Following the march for homeless people in Brighton today, Saturday April 16, local Greens urge the Labour Council in Brighton & Hove to get creative on tackling homelessness.
Cllr David Gibson
The march, held at the Old Steine today was organised by local campaigning group Opsafe Winter Brighton.
Protesters called for action to be taken for the homeless and people at risk of becoming homeless and carried coffins to represent the deaths of homeless people on the streets of Brighton.
Greens say increasing homelessness is due to the policies of successive governments since 1979 which abolished rent controls and secure tenancies, while selling off council housing stock.
The Greens are calling for national policy to change now and say the council could be doing more to tackle the plight of homeless people in the city.
Green Housing spokesperson councillor David Gibson, said: “It is a scandal that as the 6th richest country in the world we cannot provide homes for our people. The market approach to housing pursued by governments of all colours since 1979 has failed spectacularly. Rents are soaring while home ownership is falling, and we have an unprecedented shortage of affordable housing. The only people benefiting are developers and private landlords.
“With life expectancy for homeless people averaging 47 years, and people dying unnecessarily on the streets and in the hostels of Brighton & Hove, we firmly support the Opsafe Winter Brighton march and the recent efforts by the Love Activists to work with the homeless community and call for action.
“38% of people are homeless after losing housing in the private rented sector. We need to go back to fair rents (rent controls), secure private tenancies, and building council housing at social rents. It worked in the 60s and still works today in countries like Germany.
“In Brighton & Hove, we need a strong, innovative response to the housing crisis, like quick-assembly accommodation to get people off the streets immediately and put in place the health and social support they so desperately need to get back on their feet. More of the same just won’t cut it.”
The Labour administration rejects the “negative claim” by the Green Party that the council is not doing all it can to help people who are rough sleeping, with clear evidence that efforts to tackle the housing crisis have increased significantly since Labour took over running the council from the Greens saying: “There is always more that can be done, and Government policies are making things worse, but we are taking many practical and positive steps.”
Cllr Anne Meadows
Councillor Anne Meadows, Lead Member for Housing and New Homes, said: “Our administration has made tackling homelessness and building affordable homes high priorities.
“We have appointed Cllr Clare Moonan as Lead Member for Rough Sleeping, we have held a Rough Sleeping Summit bringing together the widest range of organisations possible to work on this issue, and we have held a consultation – concluding today – on the Rough Sleeping Draft Strategy.
“We have set out our aim to build 500 new council homes during our administration, with over 200 already under construction or in the pipeline, as well as 1000-2000 truly affordable homes as part of our joint venture with Hyde.
“We have visited quick-build schemes and we have arranged visits to check on standards in temporary accommodation.
We believe our administration is being innovative and really tackling the housing crisis in the city.”
Elections for police and crime commissioners (PCCs) will take place on May 5, 2016 in England and Wales, but excluding London and Greater Manchester.
PCCs are elected by the public every four years to ensure the policing needs of communities are met as effectively as possible and to oversee how crime is tackled in your police force area.
Former Conservative Councillor Katy Bourne is the present PCC holding the post for the last four years.
The full list of candidate declared for Sussex are:
♦ Katy Bourne (Conservative Party) ♦ James Doyle (Green Party) ♦ Michael Jones (Labour Party) ♦ Charles Patrick Lowe (UKIP) ♦ James Walsh (Liberal Democrats)Katy Bourne
Katy Bourne
A statement from Katy Bourne (Conservative)
I have served as Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) since 2012, I have the experience and proven track record to continue making a difference to policing.
As PCC, I have held the police to account on behalf of residents, supported victims of crime and made considerable savings to reinvest in frontline policing.
SOME ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR
♦ Opened recruitment for 100 new Police Constables, more PCSOs and issued cameras to all frontline officers
♦ £20million upgrade programme for police stations
♦ Established an award-winning Youth Commission, nationally recognised for outstanding public engagement
♦ Encouraged the creation of dedicated business/cybercrime strategy for Sussex
♦ Funding support for victims of abuse, serious sexual offences, child exploitation
♦ Established the UK’s first Elders Commission – giving older people a voice on policing
MY PLAN TO CONTINUE DELIVERING
If re-elected I will continue to:
♦ Deliver effective neighbourhood policing to our rural communities, towns and city
♦ Support victims of crime, especially our elderly and young
♦ Cut crime, catch criminals and reduce reoffending
♦ Protect our most vulnerable against all forms of abuse
♦ Improve access to justice for local people and put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system
♦ Invest in frontline policing and further improve the performance and efficiency of Sussex Police
This election really matters – the PCC is responsible for setting the £250m budget for policing in Sussex, has the power to appoint and dismiss the Chief Constable and must ensure residents’ views are heard when setting policing priorities.
I’ve travelled the length and breadth of Sussex hearing peoples’ views about what matters in local policing. We’ve made real progress to deliver on these priorities – let’s not put that work at risk now.
My name is James Doyle, I’m a district councillor for the Green Party in Worthing, and previously served as a West Sussex County Councillor. I live in Worthing, and my wife recently retired after thirty years’ service as a Sussex Police officer. I have also been a member of the Sussex Probation Board.
Like other public services, the police have suffered six years of cuts and creeping privatisation. When services are sold off to private companies, profit is prioritised over people. I will fight to protect police resources and use them efficiently to keep us safe in our homes and on our streets.
I support more emphasis on crime prevention and reducing re-offending. For example, restorative justice helps offenders face the consequences of their actions and gives victims a better sense of justice.
Above all, we should have a police service, not a police force: working for local communities. Homelessness and drug use are major problems in Sussex, and I will address them with an honest, evidence-based approach. The ‘war on drugs’ has comprehensively failed, and drugs need to be seen as a health issue, not a criminal one. Criminalising our most vulnerable people is not only inhumane, it simply doesn’t work.
The police also must do more to tackle hate crime in Sussex – racism, domestic abuse and LGBT abuse are not prioritised.
A Green vote on May 5 is a vote for open, transparent policing that does not ignore those in need. I’ll work tirelessly to protect the rights, freedoms and safety of everyone in the community.
Michael Jones is a Labour member of the Sussex Police and Crime Panel, where he has been standing up for residents on all matters related to policing.
Michael trained as a solicitor, and is known locally as a hard working, independently minded councillor. He has lived in Sussex for most of his life, growing up on the south coast.
Michael is the leading councillor for Public Protection at Crawley Borough Council, with responsibility for community safety and fighting crime and anti-social behaviour.
Michael’s priorities for Sussex Police are:
♦ Reverse the proposed cuts to front-line policing and keep a presence in every town, every village
♦ Strengthen the fight against internet and telephone scammers
♦ Make residents’ local priorities the Police’s priorities, like anti-social behaviour
♦ Give low-level crime the attention it deserves
♦ Stronger action on hate crime
Sussex Police is set to lose huge numbers of neighbourhood police and PCSOs.
Michael will attempt to stop the current round of savage Tory cuts to community policing on the first day after being elected, doing whatever is necessary to save existing officers and restore Police morale.
Local people know the worth of community policing, and the benefits to crime reduction through greater visibility and information gathering. We need a new PCC to save Community Policing and to stop Sussex Police making a historic mistake.
Make sure your vote counts.
If you don’t want to see the Conservatives win this time, remember Labour was in second place at the last Sussex PCC election. You get a second preference vote in this election. Even if you usually vote for another party, please use your second preference vote for Michael as the candidate best placed to beat the Tories.
Virtually a lifelong Sussex resident and successful business owner for 18 years, including national board experience in governance, I will champion Sussex with an independent mind, free from party politics. I will ensure a preventative policing strategy through visible face-to face quality policing, putting back into our communities well-led, pro-active Bobbies, fitted with body cameras, on the beat in each community – not only giving real value for our taxes, but improving public relationships, trust, local knowledge and intelligence, safety from terrorism and not over-reliant on call-centres.
That’s not just visible policing on the cheap with limited powers, less trained PCSO’s or community wardens, but fully trained police constables, as their real salary levels are actually similar to what you pay for PCSO’s.
I will aim to ensure accountability from first response officers, along with internal efficiency and bureaucracy-busting strategies, will put the victim first in getting real justice and cost savings. I will cut the PCC’s budget and modernise police leadership, putting money back into front-line policing and victim support.
My PCC team will include experts from policing, representatives of the Federation, Superintendents’ Association and Inspectors’ Board to assist me with innovative ideas, communication and morale.
Bringing in fresh ideas successfully used abroad, I will help build our police service with innovative funding plans, offset any financial shortfalls and create additional revenue streams. The consultative groups that are in place will continue and I have signed up to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, values I already demonstrate, ensuring an ethical approach.
My strategy will reduce the fear of crime and response times, while giving regular open and transparent reports on my progress over my four years.
Dr. James Walsh – working to cut crime and protect frontline policing in Sussex.
Here are my top priorities for making our streets safer:
♦ Safeguard frontline police and community support officers
♦ Cut re-offending
♦ More focus on preventing crime
♦ More use of restorative justice and community service.
Police officers have a tough job and they need more support. But Sussex Police has put up with a whopping £65m in cuts over the last 5 years. Worse still, Sussex Police faces millions more in cuts in the years ahead. That’s the same as about 700 frontline police officers! We need to stop the cuts. That’s why I will fight to get more government money to tackle crime.
The police are too often tied up in red tape. We need to free up the police to spend less time behind computers and more time on the streets.
I’ll also make sure we do more to stop re-offending. Focusing on rehabilitation and restorative justice, so people pay back victims and the local community would cut crime, save police time and taxpayers’ money.
More should be done to stop people becoming criminals in the first place. We need to identify and support at-risk teenagers and young adults before they fall into a life of crime, often to support drug addiction.
I am a retired Sussex GP with more than 40 years of experience as a local councillor. I’m also a former Chairman of Sussex Police Authority.
I’ll use that experience to ensure that we are tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.
With your support I’ll make sure we have an effective, well-funded police force that will help keep you and your family safe.
Brighton & Hove City Council and BT have joined forces to make free wi-fi available at a range of locations across the city centre.
The new outdoor network will cover the busiest areas for tourism, shopping and leisure, providing free wi-fi for local residents, hundreds of businesses, and the 11.5 million people who visit the city each year.
A total of 40 BT Wi-fi hotspots will be available on completion of the project, allowing visitors and residents to get online while ‘on the go’ through their smart phones, tablets and laptops.
Thirty of the wi-fi access points are now live, with the remaining ten due to be switched on later in the summer.
The ‘BrightonHovefreewifi’ network will come at no cost to the council. In return, BT will get access to some of the city’s lamp posts and other street furniture allowing the company to install new mobile infrastructure.
The service will cover a large proportion of the city centre, including parts of Western Road, Queens Road, West Street, North Laine, London Road, St James’s Street and the seafront between Brighton Pier and the Hilton Metropole Hotel, as well as in front of Hove Town Hall on Church Road and at the top of George Street in Hove.
People within range of the network will be able to tap into free wi-fi following a simple on-off log in. They will then be taken automatically to a landing page with links to the council website and VisitBrighton.com, the city’s main resource for visitor information.
The council has chosen BT to build and manage the network for ten years. Access to the Brighton & Hove wi-fi service will be free and unlimited to everyone. The new service is part of the more than 5 million BT Wi-fi hotspots already operating in locations across the UK including major cities such as Cardiff, Carlisle, Glasgow and Plymouth.
Councillor Caroline Penn, the city council’s lead member for ICT, said:“BT already operates the largest wi-fi network in the UK and it is great news that even more people will be able to use the technology thanks to this collaborative project. The scheme will mean free and unlimited wi-fi for everyone when they’re out and about in the city centre within range of one of the new hubs.
“This builds on other work the council is doing to encourage more people to get online, including free wi-fi in public buildings and computer courses and training sessions in our libraries.”
Erik Raphael, director for BT devices and BT Wi-fi, added:“The project makes Brighton & Hove the first city centre in the South East to have a free BT Wi-fi network and will make a big contribution to the connectivity of the city. Knowing Brighton & Hove’s reputation as a vibrant digital hub, I’m sure the new network will prove to be very popular and extremely well used.”
Rumour Has It the monthly LGBT club night at Funfair nightclub on Brighton seafront receive a certificate for the £528.96 they have raised from their monthly parties for the Rainbow Fund.
Matt Constable and DJ Lady Lola
Each month Rumous has it… donates a percentage from the door take to the Rainbow Fund.
The next Rumour has it…. will be at Funfair nightclub on Friday, April 29 with pre club drinks at Dr.Brightons next door where you can buy 2 for 1 cocktails from 8pm and if you have a Rumour has it… queue jump ticket you will get a free shot also.
The club opens at 10pm till 4am. Dip deep in your pockets for small change when the gorgeous drag queens come round shaking their buckets for the Rainbow Fund.
This month they have a very Brighton line up of DJ’s with King K, Lady Lola, Alpha and Dean Barden playing their excessive mix of ‘in your face house music’….so hold on tight..it’s gonna be fun….at the funfair and remember it’s is a bank holiday weekend!!
Pictured Matt Constable and Lady Lola receive a certificate for £528.96 from their first 3 parties.
Lady Lola said: “Conscious clubbing’ donations will be a feature with all future happenings including boat parties, pop up events and a super big club night being planned during Brighton Pride 2016.”
Matt added: “We have handpicked some of the finest DJ’s on the London and Brighton Scene, plus dancers, performers and glamorous hosts!”
The Rainbow Fund make grants to LGBT/HIV organisations in Brighton & Hove delivering effective front line services to LGBT people in the city.
Star of The Voice, Jordan Gray and Shane Richie Jnr, are among the stars adding a touch of extra Sparkle to one of the UK’s leading LGBT events.
Newcastle Pride, returning for the 9th year in June and July, has joined forces with national transgender charity, Sparkle, to help make this year’s event more inclusive than ever.
As part of the landmark partnership Sparkle, based in Manchester, will be programming some of Pride’s Main Stage weekend, which runs at Newcastle Town Moor on July 16 and 17.
This includes performances by Shane Richie Jr, Jordan Gray and a host of other acts that have previously proven popular at Sparkle’s own weekend festival, which is already the largest free trans event in the world.
Debbie Roberts
Debbie Roberts, Interim Chair of Sparkle, said:“The Sparkle mission is to promote a positive public image of the trans community within society, to challenge stigma and to build confidence.
“Our involvement in Newcastle Pride highlights trans as part of the wider LGBT family and we are delighted to be bringing this positive message to the North East.”
Transgender singer Jordan Gray, aka Tall Dark Friend, made it to the semi-finals of BBC singing contest, The Voice, earlier this year and has since toured across the UK and Scandinavia.
Shane Richie Jnr band
She will be joined for the Sparkle slot at Newcastle Pride by Shane Richie Jnr, the eldest son of entertainers Coleen Nolan and Shane Richie, who has carved out a successful career as a solo singer, band frontman and musical theatre star.
Shane said: “My Mum introduced me to Sparkle a few years ago and I’ve since had the opportunity perform at a number of associated events, including The National Transgender Awards.
“The right to be who you are is fundamental and it’s a real honour to be able to celebrate that fact at Newcastle Pride 2016.”
Sparkle’s Main Stage slot will form part of three days of live music and entertainment for Newcastle Pride 2016, including headline appearances by boy band 5ive and songbird Heather Small.
Other acts set to appear at the Town Moor include reality TV favourite Jake Quickenden, 90s icon Sonia, actress and singer Heather Peace, clubland star Tina Cousins, former Brother Beyond star, Nathan Moore and Lorraine Crosby, a former contestant on BBC show, The Voice, who is perhaps best known as the female vocalist on Meatloaf’sI’d Do Anything For Love.
A number of themed entertainment zones and activities will also be open throughout the weekend, including the regular Steve Paske Health Zone (SPHZ), which has a key focus on the health and wellbeing of gender diverse communities.
Mark Nichols
Mark Nichols, Chair of charity Northern Pride, which organises the Newcastle Pride festival, said:“Newcastle Pride is all about encouraging inclusivity, opening up communication and promoting greater understanding of all aspects of gender diversity and the LGBT community.”
“The theme for this year’s event is be yourself, change the world, #be proud and it’s highly fitting that Sparkle is going to be a key part of that.”
To view the full line up for Newcastle Pride, 2016, click here:
The festival’s Main Stage weekend is free to attend, however a number of Gold Circle and VIP tickets are available for those who want to guarantee prime viewing spots for the main weekend.
These are priced from £12 per person and are on sale now .
UK Premiere of dark visual comedy Birthday in Suburbia, devised by The Upstairs Brigade combining spoken English with elements of International Sign Language and directed by Ally Cologna.
Birthday in Suburbia
The Upstairs Brigade present a devised production inspired by the ever popular film, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Stanislav Novak has a nice house, nice family and nice job. His life is complete. Today is his 40th birthday and the party is just warming up. But what’s up with Stanislav? He’s locked himself away and won’t come out… A kaleidoscope of mundanity and the surreal, Birthday in Suburbia invites the audience to follow the descent of an average man into an extraordinary, ridiculous personal crisis. Birthday in Suburbia deftly merges clown, dark comedy and memorable visual imagery in this one-act tour de force. Showing as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival.
The Upstairs Brigade is a brigade of theatre makers that share a passion for telling stories that move, create laughter and resonate. The group met in 2015 on the Physical Theatre MA at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, where director Ally Cologna also teaches.
Birthday in Suburbia is their first professional production. Their mission is to become a new creative force in the world of visual theatre.
Ally Cologna trained at the Jacques Lecoq school. She was co-artistic director of female clown/visual theatre company Brouhaha 1990-2004. As an actor she has collaborated with Marcello Magni, Paul Hunter, John Wright and Jan van den Bosch.
♦ “A talented ensemble of comedic and physical actors. Visually exciting, unpredictable, moving and hilarous.” Mitch Mitchelson, stalwart theatre practitioner
The Upstairs Brigade is an international company (with more than 12 languages between them) based across London, Brighton, Olso and Helsinki. They are a cast of one deaf and eight hearing actors, hence their interest in using especially visual and physical theatrical language.
Cast: Anja Bibby, Camilla Nervi, Jan Kramer, Dawn Jani Birley, Pawel Jackiewicz, Nathalie Czarnecki, Joe Carter, Catherine Self, Ami Moulton.
Director: Ally Cologna, Set and costume design: Lucy Wilkinson, Lighting design: Kerri Mcgimpsey.
Event:Birthday in Suburbia by the Upstairs Brigade
Elections for police and crime commissioners (PCCs) will take place on May 5, 2016 in England and Wales, but excluding London and Greater Manchester.
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