Threedumb Theatre is set to present an ambitious theatrical smorgasbord of performances at the Tristan Bates Theatre on Saturday 9th February, 2019. The event will see six plays performed throughout the afternoon and evening, with the last one starting at 8.30pm. Works will feature new writing, poetry, drama and spoken word in a wide range of plays including a new production of Steven Berkoff’s monologues Dog and Actor.
The event comes courtesy of producers Matthew Bromwich and Stephen Smith who met while studying at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), where they formed their own theatre company, Threedumb Theatre, with fellow acting student Duncan Riches. Now graduates, Bromwich and Smith have decided to give themselves a remarkable challenge by producing this sextet as a one-day thespian extravaganza. They and teams of creatives will arrive at the theatre at 10am and have until 2pm to do a tech rehearsal for each of the shows before the first performance starts at 2.30pm.
As home to the Actors Centre, the Tristan Bates Theatre is renowned for encouraging the development of new material and the work of rising theatre practitioners. As Smith points out, it’s no great surprise, therefore, that the venue jumped at the opportunity to host this unique event. “When the Tristan Bates team heard about our idea to put on six plays in one day, they loved it! They have been really supportive. The theatre is hired out to small companies during “dark days” between show runs but I’m sure usually the day is used mainly to tech and rehearse with just one or two performances.
What we’re aiming to do here is pretty insane!” Bromwich explains some of the insanity behind the project, which brings together a talented group of directors, writers, performers and technicians formed mainly of friends and fellow LIPA alumni. “We are a young theatre company with a limited cash flow and we’re all trying to survive financially as new graduates in the acting industry, so when we decided to book the Tristan Bates we wanted to make the most of it and to cram the day full of plays to create more tickets to sell and more opportunities to give other recent grads a chance to perform and showcase their work on the day.”
Inspired by the success of their Berkoff double bill at the Watford Fringe Festival in October 2018 they decided their work needed to be showcased in a London venue that had a solid reputation and track record in promoting this sort of theatre. Accordingly, they booked the Tristan Bates Theatre for one night. With the Berkoff as a certainty and the venue hired, they thought it would be a shame not to take advantage of a whole-day's residency at one of the most renowned Fringe venues in London's West End. They began asking around people they knew to see if individuals or groups might be interested in taking advantage of the opportunity and be part of their now enlarged event.
First on board was Poetry In Motion. Smith had seen a snippet of this the previous year at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre’s, Scratch at the Jack. "Immediately after watching that performance,” he says, “I knew I would be supporting the development of Bethany Fox's amazing play in whatever way I could. I adore spoken word poetry; it was exactly the kind of play I've only dreamt of writing myself!" After another 'scratch night' performance at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, Poetry In Motion will now be performed in its entirety for the first time as part of the day’s programme
Spurred on by recruiting this work he put the call out on Facebook to his friends from drama school, asking if anyone might want to present a play. Julia Thurston answered the call with her five-handed, all-female production, Paved with Gold and Ashes. Thurston was raised in New York City and her play is based on the dreams of immigrant women and a tragic event which happened there one Saturday in March 1911. It’s an important story that relates the battle against poverty, capitalism and unfair working conditions, developed with the inclusion of a cappella interludes sung by the LIPA-trained cast.
The third show to come on board was Emma Bentley’s To She Or Not To She, co-written with Holly Robinson. Bromwich & Smith had seen the one-woman show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015. It had left such a lasting impression on them that they contacted Bentley to see if she would like to revive her feminist assault on Shakespeare. “I've always been passionate about issues relating to equality,” Smith explains. "The struggle for women in society, let alone theatre, has both fascinated me and frustrated me, and the dialogue on this topic has never been louder. I knew Emma’s show had received rave reviews and felt that it’s funny yet poignant look at the trials and tribulations of women in theatre would enhance the day.”
In contrast, The Story's End is a new work written specifically for Six Plays, One Day. Playwright Paul Daly is well-known to Bromwich and Smith. They offered him a slot and invited him to create a piece that would both complement and broaden the scope of material in the day’s emerging programme. Daly is an actor and specialist spoken word artist who has performed at various poetry events, most notably at the Royal Albert Hall. His show follows the story of Jonny and has text accompanied by live music.
Completing the bill is Blasphemy, by Caroline Buckley, which features Bromwich in the role of Alex. It was first performed as part of Plays Rough London’s scratch night at the Old Red Lion Theatre last November, where it was very well received. He is joined by two more actors confined to cages throughout this claustrophobic, absurdist and comedic theatrical experience.
The event is for one day only and promises to be a remarkable theatrical treat given the range of productions on offer. Reservations can be made for individual shows with generous discounts as the number of plays booked adds up: £8 for one, but only £30 for all six. By any standard that is a bargain and certainly in the West End. Six Plays, One Day is an exciting opportunity to support and see rising new talent that promises to be a memorable occasion not to be missed.
tristanbatestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/six- plays-one-day
