Elevator, Live Theatre’s popular festival of new writing, workshops and masterclasses, returns to Newcastle in March. Running from 21 to 30 March, Elevator 2019 offers six new plays, including two double bills, from the next generation of theatre makers along with opportunities to learn about making new work, including workshops on producing and directing.
New Plays
On 21 March (9:00) and 22 and 23 (7:30), Wound Up Theatre and Sofi Berenger Productions present It'll Be AltRight on the Night, written and performed by Matthew Greenhough (£8, concessions £6).
“This is a story about me and ‘Steve’,” writes Greenhough. “Steve is not in fact his real name, but a pseudonym, for a friend I’ve known for a long time, who I suspect may be a massive racist…
“We’ve not always seen eye to eye—different football teams, different taste in girls—but I never thought I’d be accusing him of being ‘A Nazi’ in a car park of Lidl on the night of June 9. Kind of ironic now that he introduced me to Nazi Punks F**k Off by the Dead Kennedy’s.”
From 26 to 30 March at 7:30, there’ll a double bill of West End Girls and W*nk Buddies. West End Girls by Adam Hughes is set in three different estates in Newcastle’s West End at different times (1959—Noble Street Flats; 1989—St Cuthbert’s Village; 2019—The Byker Wall.) and tells the stories of three women (£10, concessions £8).
W*nk Buddies is created and performed by Jake Jarratt and Cameron Sharp with movement direction by Alicia Meehan. Set in their teenage bedrooms, discussions of identity, class, sexuality and gender collide in a mix of boxing, drag, dads, school, relationships, films and porn, W*nk Buddies marks the journey from boy to man as Cameron and Jake stand before one another and ask what are boys made of?
There’s another double bill of 28 and 29 March; Pops and Locks (£10, concessions £8).
In Pops by Charlotte Josephine, a father and daughter are caught in a vicious cycle of shame and addiction. A sweaty and searching attempt to honestly connect, to forgive the unforgivable and love fiercely through a hopeless situation.
Locks, presented by RiseUp and written and performed by Ashleigh Nugent, shows what happens when a mixed-race lad from a leafy English suburb goes to find his identity in Jamaica. He gets mugged, stabbed and sent to prison. And he’s recurrently referred to as ‘white man’.
On 29 and 30 March at 6:15, Jonluke McKie and Alli Davies present The Devil Danced in Our Eyes. Exploring sexuality, mental health and the relationship between a mother and son, this gig-theatre piece combines storytelling, soundscapes and soulful looped vocals (£8, concessions £6).
Workshops and masterclasses
On 21 March at 6:30, leading industry professionals will discuss the future of playwriting, followed by a Q&A (£3).
On 23 March at 11:00, Live Theatre's Artistic Director, Joe Douglas, leads a masterclass on directing new plays for the stage. This will run for approximately six hours (£10).
On 25 March at 7:30, in a discussion entitled Working Class Representation, playwrights and industry professionals discuss whether working class life is explored or exploited in contemporary drama, followed by a Q&A (£3).
On 29 March at 4:00, theatre producers will lead an introductory discussion about working as a producer for the stage, followed by a Q&A (free—booking essential).
Finally on 30 March at 2:00, female industry professionals discuss characterisation and representation of women on the stage, followed by a Q&A (free—booking essential)