Live Theatre welcomes three thought-provoking pieces of visiting theatre in March, all powerful shows with strong female lead characters. The plays cover themes from a young woman out of control on drink and drugs in Cardiff, to a mother discovering her young son had been shown pornography by a classmate and one woman’s hilarious quest to find ‘the one’.
Iphigenia In Splott which comes to Live Theatre at 7.30pm on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 March looks at the world through the eyes of Effie, a hard-nosed, unemployed young woman who spends her days in a careless spiral of drink, drugs and drama.Whilst the story is set in Cardiff, this is a tale that is relevant in every city across the UK.
Inspired by the enduring Greek myth Iphigenia In Splott is written by Gary Owen, whose play Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco was a success at Live Theatre in 2001.
Sophie Melville received the Stage Award for Acting Excellence 2015 and has also just been awarded Best Actress in the English language at the Wales Theatre Awards for her portrayal in the lead role of Effie. This powerful drama also won the Best Play in the UK Theatre Awards 2015 and was nominated for Best Playwright in the Wales Theatre Awards.
Punching the Sky at 7.30pm on Wednesday 9 March, a new play about porn, parenting and pressure is a very personal response to the extraordinary national media storm that followed when writer Lizi Patch dared to blog about her 11 year old son stumbling across some hardcore online pornography. It delves into the democratic space of the internet and shines a light on the contradictory nature of our feelings about sex, censorship and parenthood.
Memoirs of a Bunny Boiler at 8pm on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 March is a hilarious one woman show about a girl’s desperate attempt to find ‘the one’ and her encounters with cult leaders, Oxford graduates and junkie lookalikes. It is written and performed by Spotlight nominee, Rachel Jackson and was a success at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
For more information and to buy tickets for all Live Theatre’s performances call Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232 or see www.live.org.uk.