Bristol's Theatre West’s Autumn Season at The Alma Tavern Theatre
kicks off on 16th September and this year writers were given the theme
of ‘Writing in the Margins’. From this common starting point
they went off in many different directions - from Ancient Greece to
Iraq, via the shadowy world of espionage and the isolated community
of The Exclusive Plymouth Brethren.
For several months Theatre West have been working on writing projects
with three local theatre companies who each have a focus on different
groups of people whose voices are seldom heard in the theatre. Stepping
Out works with people who have used mental health services and their
allies, Boil and Bubble with older people and Chrysalis with users of
drug, alcohol and HIV services.
Writing workshops, mentoring and readings resulted in over 30 fifteen
minute scripts being submitted - mostly from first time writers.
16 - 27 Sept
Bond Girls
By Tim Massey
A blonde, a brunette and a Russian rendezvous in an exclusive nightclub,
but it's no upmarket girls' night out as the club is a mink-lined
prison. The women take a view to a kill on learning that the spy who
loved them was not for their eyes only, but will a latecomer bring
a quantum of solace..?
30 Sept - 11 Oct
Shut Up
By Shiona Morton
Some people keep themselves apart. For most it’s a choice. Seventeen
years ago Beth left the Exclusive Brethren and with it, all contact
with her family. It’s been a long silence. Now her father stands
at the door. Should she let the past come in? What does it sound like?
What damage can it do?
14 - 25 Oct
4 x 15 minute plays
Loose Connections
By Helen Bradbury
It's early morning in a park and Jason enlists the help of Marion
in getting to grips with King Lear. But are they really the
strangers to each other that they seem? And why does Marion go along
with his increasingly bizarre demands?
Karaoke for One
By Jimmy Whiteaker
Dave has had breakdown, but now he's pulling himself out of it.
This poignant, very human story is told with the help of humour,
singing, a variety of characters - and a vibrating toning-belt.
Bittern End
By Elaine Eveleigh
A lake. A bench. Two old school friends meet after many years. As
they look out over the water and back at their lives they realise
that although time has wrought great changes, they still share a
common bond.
One More Trick
By Alex Boyt
An attempt at freedom of expression through the forgotten art of
the anarchic gesture clashes with common sense and common sensibilities
- Freud was right, Civilisation is repression.
28 Oct - 8 Nov
Cave
By Steve Hennessy
In a remote cave on an island, the playwright Euripides is holed up,
desperately trying to write. But time is running out. His plays no
longer win prizes, his audiences are dwindling and his political enemies
are closing in. A war is raging outside, a terrible war crime has
been committed in the name of Democracy, and the cult of Dionysus
with its violent and bizarre sex rituals is growing stronger every
day. Inside, something terrifying is hiding in the darkness deeper
inside the cave, and a pregnant follower of Dionysus has arrived who
is about to blow Euripides’ world apart.
11 - 22 Nov
Metal Remains
By Natalie McGrath
A soldier is posted to Iraq and her lover mourns her departure. A
mother searches desperately for her son and a daughter becomes consumed
by the beauty of the desert. Four women, all caught up in the crossfire
search for personal liberation, understanding, hope and love. As unstoppable
forces collide, brutality and tenderness meet.
'Sometimes a heart wants to keep things hidden for a little while.'
Sunday 16 Nov
Play readings
A chance to see the plays that narrowly missed being included in the
season in a ‘script in hand’ performance. Actors will work
on the script with a director for half a day, culminating in a public
reading in the Alma Theatre.
6pm
Jellied Eels
By Jimmy Whiteaker
Adam and Kelly are mates - ordinary kids trying to make sense of
a world that’s not playing fair. As Adam draws cartoon characters
and Kelly watches crap TV, around them kids they know are killing
themselves. And all the while, at the periphery of it all, Shooter
stands and waits.
8pm
The Distance
By Craig Norman
Outside the door, sinister forces are at work. Inside, the pressure
is building. As Alex wraps food preparing for .... who knows what,
Darby dreams of taking off to somewhere ... anywhere. And through
it all their baby sleeps a fitful, restless sleep. A poignant story
of love, passion and loss.
