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Company number: 3724349
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Past programme
Showcases an eclectic range of fresh and interesting contemporary work, largely by emerging artists
It's No Job For A Nice Jewish Girl
With a face that shouts "Xmas" but a soul that screams "Chanukah", Rachel Creeger has always felt like she has a foot in two worlds. Winner of the Best Comedy Award at the Greater Manchester Fringe 2017, It’s No Job For A Nice Jewish Girl enjoyed a sell-out debut Edinburgh Festival Fringe run in 2017, a successful UK tour in 2018 and triumphant return to the Fringe. It is a solo stand up comedy show from the writer of An Insomniac's Guide To Ambulances about rebellion and the drive to fit in, with a bit about being a pop star.
Rachel Creeger is the only orthodox Jewish comic on the UK circuit and resident compere of Comedy Upstairs at the Adam & Eve. She’s also an award winning comedian, director and writer, with credits including West End and touring shows. As heard on BBC Radio London and BBC 3CR, Rachel was a script associate on Radio 4 sketch comedy 2525.
Support act: Philip Simon (BBC Comedy Award Nominee, writer for BBC TV and Radio, winner of UK Jewish Comedian of the Year)
Reviews
View From The Gods
The Jewish Chronicle
LunchBreaks
Humans are creatures of habit.
A new year begins and Soho Square sees a host of colourful characters spend their lunch breaks on the same two benches.
From Whitney's predilection for shoes to the solace Derek finds in adult images, they all have habits which could turn into addiction.
As winter turns to spring, watch the people you see every day around London make and break habits.
Lunchbreaks is a Black comedy by Brian Beaton, a member of Blue Elephant's Writers' Group. It is the first play workshopped at the Writers' Group to be presented publicly at the Blue Elephant. Brian is the Director of Humor of Sense, which promotes Confidence, Performance and Resilience through theatre, film, music and workshops. Humor of Sense recently created the multi-media event ‘What Makes You Laugh?’ held at The House of St. Barnabas, Soho.
The Adventures of Sam Swallow
Through shadow puppetry and storytelling we are magically transported on the annual migration of a young lesser striped swallow Sam. Her world is irrevocably changed when she looses her mother over Lagos, Nigeria and she is left to navigate the world alone. Along the way she meets many friends who help her find her way home and who all share their stories of their changing environments due to climate change.
The Adventures of Sam Swallow is a poignant play with a message, to young and old alike, that we must protect and care for our environment, and the creatures that inhabit it.
This educational, but ultimately hopeful story is brought to life through physical theatre and shadow puppetry.
The Adventures of Sam Swallow is suitable for all ages but ideal for ages 6 - 10.
Tickets are available for:
Sunday 10th March at 14:00 & 16:30
Monday 11th March at 10:45 & 13:30
Many thanks to Oliver Stephens , whose knowledge and help has been greatly appreciated in creating the show and Rubba Abboud for funding the initial phases of the play.
Reviews
Primary Times
TRY|TRYING|TRIED
What do we choose to share? How do we disguise our vulnerability?
Delving into human relationships, TRY|TRYING|TRIED is a captivating journey of two people who share meetings, smiles, and a desire to just be.
Created and performed by Shelley Owen and Josh Slater, this duet explores the places we have been, the conversations we have, and the vulnerability we feel. Constant choices are made about who and what we present, in what moment.
Shelley Owen is a performance artist, creating and touring dance and interdisciplinary work. A researcher with WHAT IIIF?, she also leads workshops focusing on instant composition and interdisciplinary performance practice.
Josh Slater is a contemporary dance artist, theatre maker and director of enCompass Collective. Creating and touring performance works, he is also Lecturer in Dance, Theatre & Performance at Plymouth Conservatoire.
Audience Feedback for TRY|TRYING|TRIED:
"A thoroughly enjoyable experience"
“Consummate performers relish in overt comedy, sensitivity and engaging storytelling”
“TRY|TRYING|TRIED reveals a series of emotive passages with a strong and captivating movement dialogue throughout the performance”
TRY|TRYING|TRIED by Shelley Owen & Josh Slater (trailer) from Shelley Owen on Vimeo.
Supported by
The Balancing Act
Join us at Blue Elephant Theatre in supporting emerging talent and to celebrate the achievements of Women Internationally. The Balancing Act will be a night of brand new works in progress, diversity and acts that will leave you wanting to take action against gender inequality! #balanceforbetter
You can book tickets via this link:
https://thebalancingactscratch.eventbrite.co.uk
Traces, Threads and Surfaces
The newly formed ReRooted Dance Collective present a series of excerpts informed by three distinct Indian classical dance forms (bharatanatyam, odissi and kathak) from their upcoming evening of original work, inspired by the nature of lines as contextualised by Professor of Anthropology, Tim Ingolds' article, 'Transformation of the Line: Traces, Threads and Surfaces'.
These excerpts form part of six solos that will be presented at The Bhavan on April 5th.
Devising a novel collaborative approach, the UK-based dancers, Shivaangee Agrawal, Swati Seshadri (bharatanatyam), Elena Catalano, Pallavi Vijay (odissi), Meera Patel and Parbati Chaudhury (kathak), acknowledge their connections to a rich dance heritage as they carve out an independent space nurturing exploration and excellence in the creation of original work.
ReRooted Dance Collective would like to thank Arts Council England and The Bhavan for believing in them.
11.10.18 by Ells Mac
Ells Mac is a frank, funny and relatable woman who hails from North London. She has a definite ‘edge’ to her, and this edge translates into her authentic and heartfelt lyrics to create a sound she likes to call Soulful Stress.
11.10.18 is her first official single. She says "it explains a relationship I was once in. Explains the emotions I went through and decisions I had to make. Many females go through this, and I decided to write about it."
Age guidance: 18+
Embracing Shadows
Embracing Shadows is a one woman show by Beatrice Mori which is divided into two parts: the first one is a conceptual deep journey that explores and analyses the relationship between our true self, the one not influenced by society, and the negative voices that often try to diminish our light by whispering things like “You’re not enough” “Just give up” “You can’t make it” etc.
Embracing Shadows focuses on how to face such negativity in the best way possible, through the powerful and cathartic function of art. For this reason, the second part of the show is dedicated to a conceptual photography/painting exhibition from visual creatives who, thanks to their artistic effort, overcame their own darkness. Shadows can be the keys to open the door for our brightest light. Sometimes it’s all about changing perspective.
Created and performed by Beatrice Mori
Live music by Alex Carli
Artistic works projected during the performance by:
Thomas Sloan Drawer and Cartoonist
Ylenia Marghereci Photographer
Alessia Francesca Muoio Photographer
Valerie Traversa Painter
LEGS
LEGS. A comedy about female legs. Where are they going? Where do they come from? What do they stand for? Come and find out. It’s deeply political and empowering to have fun with legs.
Written and performed by Julia Masli
Julia Masli is a London based actor and clown. Since graduating from Ecole Philippe Gaulier, she has performed a one-woman show, “Radiator” at Rooted Moon Festival and the Camden fringe. She has toured the country in a two hanger show, “White Feather Boxer” and regularly performed in the London Science Museum.
Balancing on the tight rope of stigma
"The Catwalk4power collective is a group of creative women formed by a community-building initiative, led by Positively UK women and Act Up London Women. We use workshops and performance to empower women living with HIV, to show we are amazing, strong and resilient. As we create together, we grow together and amplify the visibility of women, this combats the stigma we often encounter and increases awareness in our communities"
New material written and performed by Catwalk4Power
Age guidance: 18+
Nothing to Fear
Around 40% of the world population has an internet connection today. In 1995, it was less than 1%.
Nothing to Fear is a collaboration between technology and the human voice. Throughout, Benjamin explores our relentless relationship with the internet and why taking ownership of our data is now more important than ever.
Part gig, part lecture, with a blend of beatboxing and experimental vocals Benjamin gives us an important lesson on the repercussions of how much we share online. Both willing and unwilling.
BEN ECCLESTONE / NOTHING TO FEAR PROMO from On These Isles on Vimeo.
Supported by
Cow and Chicken: Careers Day
Cow and Chicken from Baa Humbug! return to talk to children about what they want to be when they grow up. Should they be pilots, doctors…or unicorns?
Please note these showings are at venues near Elephant and Castle and not at the Blue Elephant.
Golazio, 59 Camberwell Rd, London SE5 0EZ
Friday Feb 22nd at 3pm & 4.30pm
Moving Pictures Cinema, Mercato Metropolitano, 42 Newington Causeway, SE1 6DR
Saturday Feb 23rd at 11.15am & 2.15pm
UAL Studio, Third Floor, Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, New Kent Rd, SE1 6TE
Monday Feb 25th at 3.45pm & 5pm
Tickets are FREE but advance booking is advised to guarantee your space. Tickets can be booked here
Supported by
A Right Mess of a Fundraiser
Forget dull, dreary February days...
Right Mess Theatre are here to bring you an evening of Cabaret splendour as they raise funds to bring their new show Alcatraz to New Horizon Youth Centre for homeless young people. You can find out more about New Horizon and the work they do here.
The line up includes Elf Lyons, Hannah Maxwell, Kayla MacQuarrie, Emily Howarth, Ema Boswood & Ellie Westbrook.
Alcatraz by Nathan Lucky Wood is a thrilling play about family and social care that follows Sandy on her daring, Christmas mission to emulate Clint Eastwood and bust her gran out of lock-up. It will premiere at the Vault Festival 2019.
Baa Humbug
I don't need friends. I don't want friends. I'm perfectly fine all by myself, thank you very much.
Join a rambunctious group of farm animals on Christmas Eve as they celebrate the holiday season. The only problem is Humbug the Sheep won't join in. Humbug thinks it's a waste of time to have friends and play their silly games. But Humbug isn’t happy...
With the help of a wise old Farmer, a time-travelling tractor and a little bit of Christmas magic, Humbug the Sheep comes to see how important it is to have friends and to feel happy about new experiences.
Baa Humbug will captivate and entertain children aged 4+and their adults. As they join Humbug's journey of self-discovery, the audience will learn about recognising difficult emotions and how to react positively to them. Blue Elephant Theatre’s endearing and funny show encourages children and adults alike to celebrate the power of friendship, whilst singing, playing and having lots of fun.
Praise for previous Blue Elephant Theatre Family Shows:
“A first class production and I can’t imagine anybody leaving this show without a big smile plastered across his or her face.” A Younger Theatre on Noah’s Ark
“My four-year-old son and I loved this show. It was very sweet, yet never mawkish or overly childish, thanks to the writing and also to the dry wit of [the] narrator.” ★★★★ Female Arts on The Butterfly Lovers
The Christmas Magic hasn't ended for some of our farm animals. You can catch up with Cow and Chicken, who are still in the festive mood and insist on continuing their infamous dance routines well into the new year! Here they are performing' The Christmas'.
Reviews
Supported by
MISTLETOE AND TRY!
Blue Elephant Theatre presents a wonderful evening of exciting performances and Christmas games. Expect to see brand new works in progress and acts that'll make you laugh your socks off!
The age guidance for this event is 18+
You can book tickets via this link: https://mistletoe-and-try-scratch.eventbrite.co.uk
'MISTLETOE AND TRY!'
2018 Line Up:
Color Separation
At the heart of Color Separation is a couple contemplating an important decision… at a time when the world is connected in very revealing ways at the same time it’s divided along red and blue lines, and the meaning of “choice” takes on heavier and heavier implications. The dark comedy is a somewhat surreal look at what happens when we let people into our lives, time runs out, and we take what’s been given to us for granted.
Written by Jennie Webb
Performed by Actors Nicole Holly and Jose Palma
White Latina
A comedic solo performance about being half English and half Peruvian. Join Nina on her journey of feeling super Latina, but looking nothing like the stereotype.
Written and performed by Actress Nina Gabriela
Let’s not talk about sex
What’s it like to be a stripper? What’s it like to be sexually open (when a lot of people want you to keep your legs closed)? Why is there an obsession with porn, yet very little focus on the female orgasm? Carmen Ali aims to explore these topics, while telling honest true life stories about sex, stripping, and strap-ons.
Written and performed by Stand Up Comedian Carmen Ali
Broken English
A spoken word performance exploring the fusion between language and life.
Enjoy the wordplay, comedy & celebration of cultural diversity within a contemporary London lifestyle.
Written and performed by Emerging Artist Award winner and Poetry Slam Champion Jahmar Ngozi.
This show is part of a larger project that contemplates the variants of the English language from collective and individual perspective. From “cockney rhyming slang” to “patois”, “Queens English” to “insta slang”, how our dialect reflects, entertains, shapes and simply sounds.
Queensbridge
A contemporary and humorous script about three female friends from the sunny side of Shoreditch. This is the story of how they decided to become class A drug dealers.
Almost completely fictional!
Written by Jahmar Ngozi for PoetryHouse and performed by Danielle Allen, Shellbe Bowditch & Eliza Gillum.
Let Me Shake Your Groove Thing
Many of us are searching for somewhere to belong in a world that seems hopeless.
Let Me Shake Your Groove Thing transports the audience to a surreal 1970’s disco, a place where anything is possible. The club is home to Disco Mama, charismatic drag queen and matriarch of the club, a mother to all who go there. She performs alongside her young protege, the troubled party girl Victoria Chitty Bang Bang. Together they create a place where anyone can dance.
At the disco we follow the journeys of characters who have been at the fringes of the dance floor: Frankie is trapped in the past and haunted by lost love. Tim uses disco to escape his anxiety and loneliness whilst Victoria has to decide if her loyalties lie with Disco Mama or with her own future.
Solo Roulette
Solo Roulette is an evening of solo theatre works in progress, developed from the Solo Theatre Workshop at the Actor’s Centre run by Colin Watkeys.
The performances are supported by the Face to Face Solo Theatre Festival.
Deliver Me - Petra Haller
Deliver Me is an intimate insight into depression and a lost prayer. How can you find God when you have lost yourself? How will you make sense of the past, present and future when the world seems black and white?
Petra Haller is an independent dance artist based in London. Deliver Me is her first solo theatre production. Her previous performance credits include: Charlie: My Message to Humanity; Movement for Change; jump 2016; AIDA; The One Show, BBC1; Cirque du Soir; Louie Spence’s Show Business, sky1
After All - Michael Brazil
When his brother receives a terminal diagnosis, Matthew is asked for help with his care. As his brother’s health deteriorates, they pursue his wish to choose to end his life. This modern folk opera looks at the consequences of assisted dying and the profound effects it has on the people left behind.
Michael Brazil makes his debut as a writer with After All. Credits as an actor include UK Touring: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, South Pacific, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky Horror Show, plus West End: Me and my Girl, E’lisir d’amore, The Flying Dutchman, Marriage of Figaro. TV and film credits include: Chanel 4 Metrosexuality and Broken Wings (winner ‘Best Supporting Actor’ International Film Festival 2012).
An Evening with Blake Forder - Neil Linpow
The Blue Dolphin is proud to present you the opportunity to spend an evening with renowned television star Blake Forder. Best loved for his roles on Hollyoaks, Footballers' Wives, and Elderado, Blake has most recently been seen on Celebrity Space Cadets, The Farm (season 3), CelebAir, and this year’s season of Celebrity Rehab.
Don't miss this exciting opportunity to gain valuable tips on how to make it to the very top from a man who's been there and done it. Learn the secrets to a great on camera performance and how to charm casting directors and live audiences alike. A priceless opportunity for anyone looking to make a career in show business.
Neil Linpow has regularly appeared in both TV and film. He previously starred in the award winning 'War Games' for Universal Pictures and the psychological thriller 'Slumber' alongside Maggie Q and Sylvester McCoy. He is currently appearing in 'Eastenders' for BBC.
Passion on the Night Tube - Tony Tang
Have you found passion on the night tube? You will tonight. Gay, fat, Chinese, English. What do you do when you find you don’t fit in anywhere? Kill and hide in plain sight? A play in English and Cantonese.
Tony Tang is a performer and musician, and Passion on the Night Tube is his debut as a writer. Performing credits include; Bouncers, My Night with Reg. Film Includes: From Hell, Revolver, Blackbird, StagKnight TV Includes: Lucky Man, Strangers, Little Britain, The First Emperor.
Land of Nod
Where do we really go when we fall asleep?
Join us as we fold into sleep and explore a dream world, created especially for you. A magical, multi-sensory production filled with laughter, audience interaction, surprises and song, designed especially for children aged 3+ and their families. This production blends puppetry, captivating storytelling and an enchanting musical score in this star-light adventure. A story of tiredness, over-tiredness, wonder and waking up.
Moon On A Stick create accessible theatre for families, combining puppetry, storytelling and live music. Supported by Arts Council England, we tour multi-sensory work to London and the regions. Our shows are specially designed to welcome anyone with autism, additional needs and other sensitivities, providing the opportunity for all the community to enjoy theatre together.
“Truly magical” - Bargain Theatreland
“Charming and engaging” - Everything Theatre
Supported by
Him Indoors
Want a trip somewhere a little different?
Come on down to Tittitutar town, where things are not quite right....it's something you can't put your finger on but one journalist is determined to get to the bottom of the town's peculiarities. Hearing about a strange lady who claims she has a small man squatting in her stomach, he heads up North to meet her and the rest of the town’s inhabitants.
An absurd and ridiculous comedy with a splash of horror, set in a strange town populated with oddbods, misfits and nosy-parkers.
★★★★★ 'It is one of those shows that I would describe as a work of genius without being able to pin down exactly why.’
Lynne Parker, Funny Women on Sonja Doubleday’s previous show Tittitutar Town
#nofilter
Avocado on toast. Cankle insecurity. Boomerang obsession.
It’s not easy being a millennial.
Journey through confessions of a millennial in the comedic and relevant #nofilter. A fast paced series of images, movement and dialogue ponder the curious and fantastical in millennial life. Bright, zesty and at times touchingly tender, #nofilter brings our performative online personas to the performative stage setting with just a small helping of kale.
Founded in 2017 by Ella Fleetwood, ella&co. creates work that is relevant, reflective and accessible to artsy and non-artsy folk alike. Ella’s work has recently been produced for the Nunhead Art Trail, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Southbank Centre.
“A bold and thoroughly engaging new work that pokes fun at the millennial generation and its self-obsessed culture…four likeable, quirky women made #nofilter lighthearted and enjoyable.”
Daisy Moorcroft, Resolution Review
“#nofilter by ella&co. is #fresh #humorous #cool, and a thoroughly entertaining end to the evening.”
Savannah Saunders, Resolution Review
Supported by Arts Council England, The Point, University of Chichester and Arts University Bournemouth
#nofilter promo from Ella Fleetwood on Vimeo.
