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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
Tempest in a Teacup
An enchanted island in the middle of the ocean and the storm to end all storms, The Tempest in a Teacup re-imagines Shakespeare’s fantastical play for a young audience. We open Prospero’s spell book and out fly the most marvellous creatures. This is a story where fairies are conjured from thin air and books fly like butterflies around the room. Follow the play’s magical characters as they explore the island and find out what happens when strangers are washed onto their land.
This is a playful and interactive adventure using puppetry and storytelling, transporting the audience to this magical island in the middle of the ocean where wondrous things can happen.
Perfect for ages 5+
Strawberry Starburst
I close my eyes and think back to the days when I used to stuff my face with mum’s spaghetti bolognese and I loved it, tomato juice dripping all down my chin.
OK.
Challenge accepted.
Shez is passionate about strawberry starbursts, her mum’s cooking and her boyfriend’s prickly face.
But when her life seems to slip out of control, she finds herself choosing between the food she loves and the people she cares about, never suspecting that this will become a matter of life and death.
Strawberry Starburst is a heartfelt and poignant new drama about one girl’s battle with her demons…and the lengths she’ll go to fight them.
"The playwright Bram Davidovich has taken extraordinary steps to carry out extensive research into the characters of this play [and] put the utmost effort into ensuring the extreme, raw, emotional rollercoaster of experiencing Anorexia Nervosa is portrayed"
Dr Jessica McClelland and Samantha Rennalls, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
Recommended for ages 14+ as there is strong content. Contact the theatre on 02077010100 if you would like further details.
There will be a post show discussion on Friday, 20th May.
Reviews
Supported by
PENGUINPIG
“Whilst browsing on the Internet, I found a penguinpig. A creature you could not forget, with a nose that’s just so big…”“
Phoebe reads about an exciting creature called a Penguinpig on the Internet. Filled with delight and intrigue, she sets off on an adventure to find a Penguinpig of her very own. Carefully, she follows the instructions from the website all the way to the zoo – but what will she find inside?
A fun-filled show about the Internet for 3-8 year olds and their grown ups, based on the best-selling picture book by Lincolnshire author Stuart Spendlow, illustrated by Amy Bradley.
Told with beautiful puppetry, catchy songs and accompanied by an original music score, PENGUINPIG is a funny, imaginative and magical experience for families.
“Brilliant story and great illustrations with an important safety message as well - 10/10!!! Every school and family needs a copy!”
BBC’s Claude Littner
“PENGUINPIG is a splendid book. A warning to the world and not just les enfants.”
Ian Whybrow (Children's Author)
Penguinpig was developed with support from Little Angel Theatre and the eCadets, with public funding from Arts Council England, Magna Vitae and Northumberland County Council.
The Bacchae
A wanderer returns, driving the people of the city into a ferocious and liberating frenzy. His actions excite, his message thrills, but his mission is revenge.
Euripides’ hedonistic and uncompromising final play comes to the stage in an all-new devised ensemble production. Through the use of spoken word, movement and music this thrilling production examines belief, sexuality and liberation.
A man is just a man, unless that man is God.
The production marks our return to the Blue Elephant after our sell-out production of Shakespeare’s Richard III in 2014.
The Bacchae marks the ninth Greek play in the Lazarus repertoire after Medea 2007, Elektra 2008, Hecuba 2010, Orestes 2011, Electra 2011, The Women of Troy 2012, Iphigenia in Aulis 2012 and Oedipus 2013.
Reviews
Press
Attitude Magazine on Oedipus
A Working Title (Work in Progress Performance)
It's about living in The City in a generation of renters, tinder swipers, never-left-the-nesters, budget shoppers, internshipers, over-the-recommended-daily-allowance-drinkers, minimum wage workers, sofa surfers and day dreamers.
It's about how disappointed your spotty sixteen year old self would be by their future life, dominated by Netflix, no money and sharing a shower with eight strangers.
It's about turning 25 and not having your shit together.
It's about people. Six people, and the little snippets that make up a day in their lives. Explored with a jaunty live soundtrack, poetry, dancing and silly voices.
A Working Title is presented as a work in progress and is recommended for ages 14+
25 Stories
Alex Watts worked in bookshops for years. This left him broken, embittered and incurably addicted to books, stories and words. Come to see him tell his own strange and dreadful stories, from the extremely short, to the really unbelievably brief. Where did Shakespeare go when he died? Why did that horse walk into pub? Where does punctuation come from, and is yours free range? Angry, inventive, and with at least one genuine attempt to bring about total world peace, 25 Stories was written just for you.
Press
Blue Cloud Scratch
Blue Cloud Scratch is an exciting new dance scratch night curated by Blue Elephant Theatre and Cloud Dance Festival. Blue Cloud Scratch aims to encourage and provide emerging dance artists with opportunities to present their works in progress and receive feedback from audiences and peers.
The scratch nights are a proactive response to Cloud Dance Festival's open space event in January on gender and equality in dance, to address the need identified then for scratch nights and feedback sessions.
For more about the Blue Cloud Scratch and Cloud Dance Festival, click here.
Be My Home by Konstantina Skalionta
An intimate solo performance inspired by poetic images and metaphors of the houses we live in. Exploring the notion and meaning of home it reflects on the primary human need to inhabit places and seek other kind of shelters, to inhabit new homes that mark different life stages. Choreographer Konstantina Skalionta collaborates with fine artist and prop maker Laura Elias to explore the notion and meaning of ‘home’ and whether the ‘body’ can be seen as our only lifelong ‘home’.
Konstantina is a London-based choreographer, contemporary dancer and dance teacher. She trained at Central School of Ballet and then undertook postgraduate studies at the London Contemporary Dance School, graduating in July 2012. Her choreographic work reflects upon personal experiences and aspires to explore the human behaviour and interaction.
She has been collaborating with various artists towards bringing dance and visual arts together in her performances. Be My Home, is her first collaboration with the artist Laura Elias, and it was first performed at Resolution! 2016, in January.
Signs by MonixArts
Signs is a 10-minute contemporary dance piece, fusing contemporary dance with British Sign Language. This exciting and intricate duet, performed by two female dancers, takes inspiration from Colin Thompson's poem 'If I told you I was deaf would you turn away'. Accompanied by an originally composed music score, it is a highly physical performance that explores the importance of body language in British Sign Language, and the barriers of a deaf person trying to communicate in a hearing world.
Composer: Zory Burner
Dancers: Erena Bordon Sanchez, Daniella Sellwood
Choreographer: Monica Nicolaides
MonixArts is the body of work of Monica Nicolaides, a contemporary dance choreographer based in London. Monica was resident artist at Clarence Mews Studios and her work has been presented at Resolution! The Place, Lost Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, the Riley Theatre, Edinburgh Zoo, amongst others. Choreographic credits include commissions by the University of Cumbria, Marylebone Ballet School and the British Medical Association. Monica's work combines contemporary dance with other movement languages, exploring human behaviour and body language in everyday situations. Her work has been supported by IdeasTap and Hiive.
The Art of Exposure by Bridget Lappin
“It seems almost magical, this art of night stealth that enables you to make yourself invisible in the black of night.”*
She lives in the shadows where she can thrive. She creates her own darkness and exists within it. She cultivates disguises, a ninja, a woman, a body; all deceptions in an act of self-preservation against her environment. And yet, it is in this act of hiding that she exposes herself… What will you see in her? What are you left with?
*Quotation from the Shoninki, translated by Antony Cummins and Yoshie Minami
“… beautifully staged… teasing us with her ability to materialize out of the dark and leave an indelible image… It is the art of exposure by stealth and suggestion and it is remarkably persuasive.”– Nicholas Minn
Bridget Lappin studied at London Contemporary Dance School where she graduated with a First-class BA (Hons) degree. She has performed with the Richard Alston Dance Company, Bern Ballett under the direction of Cathy Marston, and several independent choreographers and companies based in Canada and in London, including A(r)CT and Joanna Kalm (ES). Bridget has presented her own choreographic work internationally, most recently at Resolution 2016 at the Place. Having recently completed her Masters from LCDS, she is continuing to establish her presence as a solo artist, creating work grounded in improvisation, philosophy, feminism and pop culture.
Hoarding Memory by Charlotte Jarvis
Dance artist & choreographer Charlotte Jarvis, performs an impromptu movement study.
A response to past memories, released in an immediate moment of dance.
With tendency to live in the past – our identity & liberation limited.
Confused & lost in the hoards of eternal memories,
Restricting us from fully being in the present moment.
What happens when we let go, & try to forget, can we forget?
Hoarding Memories
Trapped as sculpture, nature paused
A war against time.
Performer/Choreographer: Charlotte Jarvis
Music: Lemuria Soudscape
The Girl and the Box
'The Girl and The Box’ follows the journey of our Hero, after she meets a mysterious stranger who offers to take away all of her bad feelings.
Over the years she realises that without sadness, she doesn’t know what it means to be truly happy. Without fear, how can she know how to be brave?
Fabletop Theatre tells the story of Hero’s discovery that it’s the good things as well as the difficult things that make us who we are, and her adventure to become whole again. Along the way she encounters many weird and wonderful creatures, some of whom are more helpful than others...
Fabletop Theatre are a fresh and innovative new company who explore fables through storytelling, physical theatre, live music and puppetry.
RUNNING TIME: 60 minutes
Supported by
The Little Match Girl
A magical and mischievous twist on this well-known tale, complete with puppetry, Christmas carols and audience interaction.
It is Christmas Eve, snow litters the ground and the little girl is alone. She is desperate to get warm so she lights the matches that she has been selling. With each match she is transported by its warmth into the scenes behind the glass. She becomes a part of the festivities, meeting father Christmas, playing in the snow and eating the most delicious feast but with the light of each match they fade and are just beyond reach.
Using their unique combination of visual storytelling, live music and object work, Moon On A Stick transform the stage into a stunning snowy spectacle. This beautiful, playful production is suitable for ages 3+ providing a perfect Christmas show for a younger audience and a joyful retelling of a winter classic.
The performance on December 13th will be a relaxed performance.
PLEASE NOTE: The Little Match Girl is now fully booked
School matinees
15/12 11.00am - FULLY BOOKED
15/12 1.45pm - FULLY BOOKED
16/12 11.00am - FULLY BOOKED
16/12 1.45pm - FULLY BOOKED
Reviews
Supported by
Last Orders (Rehearsed Readings)
On the anniversary of his death, a decade after the event that stole their last Christmas together, three friends meet to commemorate the life of the one they lost.
Trying to overcome the distance that life has put between them Dan, Sally and Dave attempt to piece together the relationships they thought they’d left behind. They soon realise that their memories are only one version of the past and that one of the hardest decisions is choosing between who you are and who you once were.
Last Orders explores the loyalty of childhood friendships and how, with life's experiences, we all grow up to be something we weren't.
Last Orders is a new play by Lucy Laing and there will be a post-show discussion after each rehearsed reading.
Tickets are FREE but must be booked in advance to guarantee availability. Please call 020 7701 0100 or email boxoffice@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk to book your tickets.
Dutchman (Rehearsed Reading)
Dutchman is a play written by African-American playwright Amiri Baraka and was the last play he produced under his birth name LeRoi Jones, before he became part of the Black Nationalist movement. It was originally staged at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village (New York) and it subsequently won an Obie award before being made into a film in 1967.
The play focuses on the first meeting of Lulu (a white woman) and Clay (a black man) on a New York subway in the height of summer. As the sexual tension unfolds into tension and cruelty, the play becomes an allegory for the politics of the time, struggling to find their place in a quickly changing society.
Tickets are FREE but must be booked in advance to guarantee availability. Please call 020 7701 0100 or email boxoffice@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk to book your tickets.
Trivialis
Through visceral movement, subtle theatricality and an eclectic musical score for electric guitar, we follow the lives of three people that are violently intertwined by a sudden collision in a mysterious crossroad. Despite their efforts to dismiss the incident as trivial and break free from the situation, an unexpected dialogue emerges and a web of interactions between them is woven. What was seen as an obstacle becomes an opportunity for recollection and the crossroad the setting for a unique bond to develop. Is this a trivial encounter or one that will change their course forever?
Harnessing the power of movement, visual art and sound, ‘Trivialis’ is a tale outside of specific time and place that explores the possibility for connection and intimacy in unexpected moments, contexts and against all odds.
When choreography says it all, it is beautiful. Clair Cohen - Resolution Round-Up 2015
Choreographer Chloe Aliyanni makes both theatre-based and site sensitive work at the heart of which lies the relationship between movement, music, light, space and narrative. Her approach to dance making is influenced by the sounds, myths and rituals of her Greek heritage, her contemporary dance and visual arts background as well as the desire to look beyond the individual and into the collective. Her aim is to create accessible and thoughtful dance performances, looking for original movement vocabulary, sound and set while challenging what dance and movement can communicate as non-verbal mediums.
Reviews
1992 and Over There: Two Short Plays
1992 by Lisa McGee
Two brothers hiding out in a mansion on the outskirts of Liverpool wrestle with the dark secret that has shaped their lives, as a haunting reality waits to unfold.
Over There by Jon Fosse
A couple stop for a break as they ascend a mountain. But what is that in the distance?
1992 and Over There: Two Short Plays marks the launch of EG, a new London-based theatre company dedicated to producing unpredictable, powerfully acted theatre.
The show features two plays which have never been staged before in London, by acclaimed international playwrights.
Lisa McGee is the creator of Channel 4 sitcom London Irish and writer of BBC drama Being Human. Her play Girls and Dolls won both the Stewart Parker Award and the Blackburn Prize.
Jon Fosse has won the International Ibsen Award. He is the most recent recipient of the European Prize for Literature and is perennially tipped for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His most recent productions in London include Nightsongs at The Royal Court and I Am the Wind at the Young Vic.
Please note that 1992 contains strong language and is unsuitable for children. The evening runs at approximately 45 minutes straight through.
Reviews
Trunkated
A showcase of excerpts and short works-in-progress of new material from London's most exciting artists across the arts. Physical theatre, cabaret, comedy, performance art... A Blue Elephant season in one evening!
Tickets are FREE but must be booked in advance to guarantee availability. Please call 020 7701 0100 or email boxoffice@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk to book your tickets.
Fitzgerald Honger
I tell jokes to fill the Rugrats-shaped hole in my heart, left behind when the show ended.
Charismatic, original and funny…are words I would like people to use in sentences about me. So no pressure to use them after seeing me perform.
Ana Berkenhoff
Constantly examining our practice of theatre, Ana Berkenhoff uses a range of formats in her work. She has a post-dramatic background and recently moved to London, having built a career as a solo artist and collaborator in Germany, performing, directing and making music at national theatres and fringe-venues alike. Her performance at Trunkated will be a movement language excerpt.
Pro
Maisy moves to London full of ambition and finds herself on the streets and resorting to prostitution. In this one-woman play, Maisy recounts her journey enacting the various characters she meets along the way.
Written by Rebecca Robinson.
Performed by Helen Haines
Directed by Rebecca Hanbury
A Scene From 'A Working Title'
‘A Working Title’ tells the stories of six twenty five year old Londoners and the different ways in which they are dealing with living in the big smoke. This scene tells the story of the Busker's background and how their troubled background brought them to music. It is taken from the show and is the only section of the show performed in verse.
The show is accompanied with music and the characters are always watched over by the Busker who is observing them as s/he plays.
I'm like You, Only Better
"My name is Shannon McNee and I'm going to be the best me I can be"
A poem/monologue written and performed by Heather Johnson.
Inspiration
This performance will be created by young people aged 11 to 15 from the Blue Elephant’s Free to Act group, as part of Black History Month. By researching inspirational people both past and present, they will create a dynamic and unique performance, including drama and dance, celebrating positive role models.
This performance is FREE but tickets must be booked in advance to guarantee availability. Please call 020 7701 0100 or email bookings@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk to book tickets.