Jess and Joe Forever in Newcastle

Published: 15 October 2016
Reporter: Peter Lathan

Rhys Isaac-Jones and Nicola Coughlan
Nicola Coughlan and Rhys Isaac-Jones

Farnham Maltings is bringing Newcastle playwright Zoe Cooper’s new play, Jess and Joe Forever, to Live Theatre.

Two of her previous plays, Nativities (2012) and Petrification (2016), have already been performed at Live, the former being a Live Theatre production, and her stage adaptation of Simon Bartram’s children’s picture book Man on the Moon (A Day in the Life of Bob) was the New Writing North / Durham Book Festival touring production for children in 2015.

She is currently doing a PhD at Newcastle University and is an Artist in Residence for Newcastle City.

Jess and Joe Forever, originally commissioned by Old Vic New Voices and co-produced by the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond and Farnham Maltings and directed by Derek Bond, is about finding your place in the world, when you only know a small corner of it.

Joe (Rhys Isaac-Jones)is Norfolk born and bred and wears wellies. Jess (Nicola Coughlan) holidays there with her au pair and is slightly too tubby for her summer dresses. They are miles apart even when they stand next to each other.

It’s a story of growing up, fitting in (or not), boys, girls, secrets, scotch eggs and even maybe love, but most of all, it’s about friendship.

Spanning several summer holidays, it's a coming-of-age tale which explores rural life and what it means to belong somewhere, if you can really belong anywhere.

Jess and Joe Forever plays at Live Theatre on 25 and 26 October.

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