Pleasance announces Edinburgh Transfer
Festival: The Caledonian Express
Tuesday 18th September – Sunday 23rd December 2018
Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, London N7 9EF
Bringing the hottest and most exciting work from Edinburgh to London, Pleasance’s new Edinburgh transfer festival The Caledonian Express has arrived. The Caledonian Express crosses genre and form to stage the most innovative pieces fresh from the Fringe. From solo performances to ensemble physical theatre, from immersive installations to cabaret, the Pleasance continues to programme bold work making it the place for incredible stories.
Director of Pleasance, Anthony Alderson comments, This exciting transfer festival brings the buzz of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to our London home. I’m delighted that we can extend our work with so many of these talented companies. The Festival will take over the whole of our London space bringing the diversity of our Fringe programme to new and wider audiences.
Giving London audiences the chance to enjoy the best theatre and comedy from the Fringe this year, the Caledonian Express festival is an opportunity for companies to be bold in the development of their work for new venues and spaces. Staying true to its mission of providing a platform for the talent of the future, the Pleasance remains committed to discovering, nurturing and presenting the best UK theatre-makers
The incredible programme is as follows:
Build A Rocket
Tuesday 18 – Sunday 23 September, 7.30pm, 2.30pm and 5.30pm
Opening the festival is Build a Rocket which followed in the footsteps of Flesh and Bone to win the Holden Street Theatres Award that will see them transfer to the Adelaide Fringe. A onewoman show directed by the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s Artistic Director Paul Robinson, Build a Rocket is the story of a young mother determined to get the best out of life for herself and her son.
Killymuck
Tuesday 2 – Friday 5 October, 8pm
Shortlisted for the Filipa Bragança Award and longlisted for Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, Killymuck by award-winning writer Kat Woods shines a light on how social and psychological behaviours impact and shape who we become. Inspired by real events, Killymuck tells of a housing estate built on a paupers graveyard in 1970s’ Ireland. This powerful exploration of survival is about those who strive to work against the stereotype and break free, projecting the benefit class in a positive light, away from the stereotype perpetuated by the media.
In Loyal Company
Friday 5 October, 7.30pm
The sell-out production In Loyal Company will come to Pleasance London allowing those who missed out a chance to catch this incredible true story. Declared missing after his ship sunk during the Battle of Singapore in 1942, this is the epic untold tale of the survival of missing World War II soldier, Arthur Robinson. Longlisted for Favourite Theatre Show at the 2018 Broadway World Edinburgh Fringe Festival Awards, this one-man powerhouse performance
comes from the team behind Trashed in 2017, David William Bryan and Sasha Moore.
We’ve Got Each Other
Saturday 6 October, 7.30pm
Modern jukebox musicals often involve a multi-talented cast, an orchestra, opulent sets, decadent costumes, extravagant routines and dramatic key changes. We’ve Got Each Other is the Bon Jovi musical with none of these things, but theatre maker Paul O’Donnell conjures up an all-singing, all-dancing spectacle simply using the power of imagination, glitter balls and one incredibly catchy ‘80s tune.
John Partridge: Stripped
Sunday 7 October, 7.30pm
John Partridge’s acclaimed career has seen him perform on the big stage at the Palladium and on the small screen in Albert Square. Stripped is his semi-autobiographical musical theatre show which explores his life from the Royal Ballet student aged nine to his role in the original cast of Cats and Starlight Express to the loss of his mother last year. Covering sexuality, success, hedonism, sobriety, love and loss through film, music, poetry, song and dance, Stripped is
Partridge’s attempt to say goodbye to who he was as he becomes someone new.
A Clown Show About Rain
Monday 8 – Tuesday 9 October, 8pm
Silent Faces were back at the Fringe this year with the heart-warming A Clown Show About Rain. Highlighting the unpredictable nature of our mental health, they were shortlisted for the 2018 Mental Health Fringe Award. Fusing together clowning with beautiful visuals and physical theatre, Silent Faces see what it is to try to battle the elements when your weatherproofing is failing.
Sod’s Law
Tuesday 9 – Thursday 11 October, 7.45pm
Cabaret star Lord Hicks presents a musical romp through queer history in Sod’s Law. Armed with his instrument, rapier wit and lashings of sass, his Lordship will recount the laws, legends and liaisons that have shaped what it is to be gay. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth and educated on the mean streets of Soho, this lyrical sensation has travelled the world serenading audiences from Paris to Reykjavik with classic anthems and original songs.
The Search for a Black-Browed Albatross
Friday 12 October, 7.30pm
The Search for a Black-Browed Albatross is a beautiful, joyous, handmade adventure with puppetry, music and a girl that just really wants to see a bird. The winner of the NSDF Festgoer’s Award, The Sunday Times Playwriting Award and The Buzz Goodbody Director Award, The Backpack Ensemble’s sincere and moving new piece is about offering tribute to lost loved ones.
Bottom
Friday 12 – Saturday 13 October, 7.45pm
Bottom is all about bums… Beyoncé and burnt fish fingers. Locked in his bathroom during a tragic third date, Willy asks, ‘Are you a top or a bottom?’ Willy Hudson welcomes us to a queer coming-of-age remix, as he questions if ‘bottom’ in the bedroom means ‘bottom’ in life. Shortlisted for The Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence at Edinburgh 2018, his funny, honest and open-hearted storytelling yanks the lid off the queer experience. This is for those who hate making the first move, who think they are unlovable or have tried to be someone they’re not.
Lights Over Tesco Car Park
Saturday 13 – Sunday 14 October, 7.30pm
From the New Diorama Graduate Emerging Company 2018, Poltergeist Theatre, Lights Over Tesco Car Park is the critically acclaimed totally true story about an alien sighting over a supermarket. An absurdist docu-comedy, Lights Over Tesco Car Park, tries to decide who to believe with the aid of historical abduction stories, a bucket of flying saucer sweets, dance numbers, some speedily Googled conspiracy theories, and an audience.
Freeman
Tuesday 16 – Sunday 21 October, 7.30pm, 2.30pm and 5.30pm
Freeman was created by the first black-led company to receive the Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund. Nominated for SIT-UP social consciousness awards and the Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award, Freeman threads together true stories to examine the unspoken link between mental health and systemic racism. It features a mix of high-energy physical theatre, gospel singing, shadow puppetry and powerful drama to evoke an extraordinarily moving experience.
It’s Not A Sprint
Wednesday 17 – Saturday 20 October, 8pm
In NOVAE Theatre’s It’s Not A Sprint, Maddy is marking her thirtieth birthday with a marathon – she has 26.2 miles to make a decision. As a woman, she is worn down. As a marathon runner, she is unprepared. The race is the first true test of endurance Maddy has ever undertaken, but her escalating battle with the voice in her head makes it a more gargantuan challenge than even she could ever have imagined. Maddy is sent into a spiral of self-doubt, forcing her to confront her deeper anxieties of fidelity, children, career and body image.
Ad Libido
Thursday 18 – Saturday 20 October, 7.45pm
Sometimes girls just want a good natter about their sex lives. But what is ‘normal’? In Ad Libido we join Fran on a hilarious quest, with songs, as she pursues a ‘normal’ sex life. Expect toetapping tunes, a magic penis and a visit to sex camp; Ad Libido explores Fran’s own experience of Female Sexual Dysfunction (which covers problems with sexual response, desire, orgasm or
pain during sex), a condition affecting at least 43% of women.
The Archive of Educated Hearts
Wednesday 24 – Sunday 28 October, 6.45pm and 7.45pm
Fringe First winner The Archive of Educated Hearts is an intimate storytelling installation crafted from true stories of families facing breast cancer. The audience is surrounded by relics and keepsakes that allow a glimpse into these stories of kindness and courage, fragments of absolute joy, and incomprehensible heartbreak. The Archive is full of the moments that make up a lifetime and, after the show, the audience is invited to archive their own personal histories.
Tom Brace: Brace Yourself (It’s Magic Time!)
Thursday 25 October, 11am and 2pm
With boundless enthusiasm, Tom Brace bamboozles his audience with his brand-new variety show, Brace Yourself (It’s Magic Time). Fresh from the Fringe, Brace is full of laughs and classic magic tricks for all the family. His natural exuberance and harmless mischief charms the audience with a little help from his virtual assistant Trixby
Narcissist in the Mirror
Friday 2 – Wednesday 7 November, 8pm
In contrast, Narcissist in the Mirror offers a dark comedy about life, ambition and millennial expectation: Narcissus is a love addict, a starving artist and a lost soul searching for self-worth. Winner of Best New Play at the 2018 Manchester Theatre Awards, the sell-out production Narcissist in the Mirror is laced with acerbic wit, punchy dialogue and intricate spoken word. It’s an honest account of self-exploration as rip-roaring as it is poignant and heartfelt.
Enter the Dragons
Tuesday 6 – Saturday 10 November, 7.45pm
Combining comedy and frank sincerity, Enter the Dragons is a hilariously sublime comment on modern womanhood. Written and performed by École Philippe Gaulier alumni Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards, this award-winning production mixes elements of clowning, puppetry and physical comedy with a narrative that expertly skewers the pressures surrounding women as they pass the age of fifty. Dooley and Edwards present a comedic call to arms, marrying a wry exploration of the tribulations of ageing with a delightfully dark surrealism.
Toby Thompson: For the Record
Thursday 8 – Friday 9 November, 8pm
Toby Thompson’s brilliant, beguiling wordsmithery takes us on a warm and uplifting journey as For the Record gently spirals through life’s absurdities. Interweaving Toby Thompson’s singular poetic voice with some outrageously good songs, this show won the 2018 Pleasance Indie for Best Theatre or Family Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Toby Thompson’s For the Record offers an opportunity to watch a uniquely musical and enigmatic poet, described by Kate
Tempest as ‘the future’.
Tobacco Road
Tuesday 13 – Saturday 17 November, 8pm
Winner of the Les Enfants Terribles 2018 Greenwich Partnership Award, Incognito Theatre Company bring their explosive physical style to London, telling a unique gangster story of the murky underworld of the 1920s. Tobacco Road is a magnified examination of the people who forged a life for themselves in a world that ignored them. All the characters are in some way based on real people and the show explores issues including the struggle of being a female gangster in a male-dominated world and the complex standards of masculinity.
Ladykiller
Friday 30 November – Sunday 2 December, 8pm
Ladykiller is a blood-soaked jet-black comedy about social responsibility, zero-hour contracts and gender expectations. The chambermaid considers herself to be a pretty normal person. She reads books. She goes to the cinema. She even pretended to read the party manifestos at the General Election. She just wishes that people would be nicer to those who work in customer services. A chambermaid, a hotel room and a dead woman – it’s not what it looks like, really, it’s not
Woyzeck
Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 December, 8pm
Longlisted for Favourite Theatre Show at the 2018 Broadway World Edinburgh Fringe Festival Awards, the award-winning Spies Like Us present their version of Woyzeck. Born out of the Young Pleasance, the company breathe new life into Buchner’s classic tale with their trademark inventive physical style. In this kaleidoscopic dreamscape, nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted.