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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
In the Surface of a Bubble
Inspired by animé and martial arts films, In The Surface Of A Bubble uses puppetry, half-masks, capoeira, kung-fu and live music to tell a tale of how the universe came to be. In a world where beings need only imagine something for it to come true, a love develops between the girl with the most imagination and the boy with the least. Their story turns their world into ours, where dreams are trapped inside our heads.
Reviews
Supported by
Writers at Work at Blue Elephant
As part of its commitment to supporting emerging practitioners, the Blue Elephant has run a playwriting competition to discover the exciting playwrights of tomorrow.
The winning entries are:
Saving Heath Ledger
By Suzette Coon. A winner in the longer play category, to be performed as a rehearsed reading on Tuesday 1st July at 8pm.
Directed by Glyn Williams.
Cast:
Amy Bowden - Jo
Joseph Emms - Zack
Ben Rawlings - Jamie
Gareth Murphy - Heath Ledger
Emily Wallis - Carol
Out of Oblivion
By Michael Lill. A winner in the shorter play category, to be performed as a rehearsed reading on Thursday 3rd July at 8pm.
Directed by Amy Bowden.
Cast:
Kerry Willison-Parry - Isabelle
Glyn Williams - Daniel
Water-Nix
By James Varney and Jack Nicholls. A winner in the shorter play category, to be performed as a rehearsed reading on Thursday 3rd July at 8pm.
Directed by Jacqui Marchant-Adams.
Cast:
Ade Gbinigie - 'A'
Sam Lockley - 'B'
Silver Point
By Katie Duncan. A winner in the longer play category, to be performed as a rehearsed reading on Sunday 6th July at 5pm.
Directed by Suvi Peisanen.
Cast:
Hayward Morse - Harry
Kath Perry - Maggie
Emily Wallis - Jane
Maggie Daniels - Barbara
Andrew Phipps - Stage Directions
Tickets for each show can be reserved by emailing boxoffice@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk or by calling us on 020 7701 0100. Please note that there will be a post show discussion after each reading.
Scenes from Hello Again
The joys and pains of sex are here for the asking in this adult musical fantasy inspired by Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde. Hello Again criss-crosses beds and jumps from decade to decade, intimately examining the painful secrets that drive characters into each other's arms and towards the bruising effects of reckless passion. With a score that saturates the mind, Hello Again has the luxuriance of an insistent seduction and the bite of a bitter morning after.
After the successful run of award-winning new musical The Picture House, Play Pen Productions presents a showcase of the opening scenes from Hello Again as a work in progress.
“Unexpected, charming and touching delight” The Scotsman
This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited
Running Time: 40 minutes
Reviews
The Flying Roast Goose
A story about food, survival and hope, told through the eyes of a Cantonese chef and her pet goose and set in war-torn Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation in the 1940s.
Using physical theatre, puppetry and object manipulation, this original piece delves into a dark chapter of Hong Kong’s history with playfulness and kitchen utensils.
Suitable for ages 12+
The Flying Roast Goose from Paula Siu on Vimeo.
Reviews
Supported by
Trunkated
A showcase of excerpts and short works-in-progress of new material from London’s most exciting artists across the arts.
Physical theatre, puppetry, dance, music…A Blue Elephant season in one evening!
Audience Participation
Audience Participation, but not the kind you're thinking of. When a shockingly transgressive act is made public for private reasons, a cacophony of competing voices are ignited on the internet, some less sympathetic than others. How do we navigate the deluge of opinion we're exposed to? How do we know who we are?
Tressillian Collective are a new company of Goldsmiths graduates: director Grace Gummer, writer Phil Lindsey and producer Felicity Paterson. The Collective's first outing was to Edinburgh with Phil's first play, where they received a four star review from Three Weeks. Our aim is to analyse and present the contemporary world through theatre.
Working Girl
by Sabrina Recoules Quang.
The everyday life of a successful working girl as she wakes up, goes to work, closes big deals, then goes to bed and wakes up, ready to deal again. Discover why the working girl might quit her comfort zone.
Sabrina explores the boarders between puppetry, performance and visual arts. In addition to the Little Angel Theatre, she trained with LISPA and Teatro Gioco Vita. Using a chaotic and organic collage process, she plays with geometrical shapes, music, and mixed media to create stories for waking up our “joie de vivre” ! Théâtre du 1k
Couch
Couch follows the lives of five graduates after drama school. It centres on the casting call, and the plethora of unfortunate events that can, and do, unfold when facing a casting director armed with a tripod and recording device. Woven into the drama are the personal lives of its five central characters.
Cast: Jatinder Chera and Holly Russo
Writer: Jatinder Chera
Jatinder Chera thought he had it made when he won a scholarship to drama school. He was surely going to be an overnight success, wasn't he? After eight years in the industry, Jatinder picked up a bic biro and started writing a part for himself. A role that didn't involve arranged marriages, exploding rucksacks or Indian accents, just a Brit Asian struggling with his Oyster card in the London metropolis.
One For Sorrow
A new play about the effects of child abuse.
An expressionist piece of theatre with just one character, Keith.
Keith refuses to sleep due to his disturbing nightmares.
These nightmares reveal the truths of what happened to Keith as a child.
Writer: James Ernest
Actor: Richard Foster-King
Director: Lily Levin
Shed Brain
Both experienced holders of things. Although admittedly Shed demonstrates a higher potential in this area. Tension builds. Is Brain perhaps aspiring to be Shed, the slippery little troublemaker? This sort of collaboration never works. Brain v Shed ... but it's not a competition. A projector, a tiny useless lamp, two smoking hot girls, one other object. It's been compared to porn without a TV (family friendly) and it's definitely not similar to any other show. Venus v Serena. Shed v Brain.
Shed Brain is performed by Eve Stainton and Sorcha Stott-Strzala, who are part of The Uncollective, an umbrella performance organisation of emerging contemporary choreographers, dancers and theatre makers. Shed Brain will be premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2014. The Uncollective
Unspoken Words
A life plan that changes towards the unexpected. An intimate solo based on the changes we go through in our twenties, where words take the form of movement. One dancer looks to find a way to express her innermost thoughts, fusing British Sign Language with contemporary dance.
Choreography/ Performance: Monica Nicolaides
Music: Zory Burner
MonixArts is a contemporary dance company, fusing contemporary dance with martial arts. Investigating human relationships and behaviour, our work looks at what makes us us.
www.monixarts.com
Supported by
RED
An evening of spoken word. Artists come together to share a high-energy and thought provoking mix of storytelling, rap, poetry, song, comedy and MC-ing, all inspired by the colour RED.
Expect moments of love, loss, longing and laughs in an interactive showcase of some of South London's most exciting and diverse spoken word talent.
RED is a charity event and 100% of ticket sales will be donated to the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam; a grassroots theatre organisation that works with underprivileged children in Tamil Nadu, South India.
James Sherwood
James Sherwood is the Blue Elephant's "comedy-songwriter-in-residence" though everyone prefers the word 'Minstrel'. His show features many of the songs written at the Blue Elephant, mixed in with stand-up routines from his award-winning set.
When James is not at the Blue Elephant, he works on the UK stand-up circuit. He has also written for many Radio 4 comedy favourites, including The News Quiz and The Now Show. He appears as the pianist on Radio 4's improv show Chat Show Roulette, starring Justin Edwards and Matt Lucas.
'Imaginative musical jokes and beautifully crafted original comedy songs...The material he offers is fresh, contemporary and pin-sharp original.'
The Guardian
Reviews
Ieva Kuniskis-Double Bill
Choreographer Ieva Kuniskis creates works of physical storytelling which offer snapshots into other people’s worlds.
Gone To Get Milk
The same walls, the same people, the same incessant landscape make you want to scream for change, yet that same familiarity brings you comfort. And every time you say you're leaving, you are just going to get milk...
Women’s Tales
Four female performers use their personal stories to paint honest self-portraits, offering glimpses into their own lives. Drawing on folklore traditions, the women share these intimate tales, creating a delicate and tense communion reminiscent of the scattered soundtrack of haunting folk voices and fingerpicked guitars.
Photo credits: Judita Kuniskyte
Reviews
Supported by
it goes here now
Inspired by the cultural debate on genetic modification and designer babies, 'it goes here now' creates a dystopian world through explosive and dynamic contemporary dance.
Stitching together a body of ideas from bio-clones and the alchemical homunculus to Frankenstein’s demon, Tempered Body Dance Theatre combines physicality with hard science to expose fetishes, reveries and revulsions – and asks what it means to be human.
Intricate duets and delicate solos are brought to life by an original music score, and interplay with responsive projected images, to tell the narrative of innate human curiosity. Vigorous and energetic choreography is set in contrast with intricate and detailed physicality to embody a collective, cultural inquisition.
Reviews
Supported by
The Rite Of Spring/Romeo & Juliet
A visceral marriage of two tales of slaughtered innocence, The Rite of Spring/Romeo and Juliet pairs Stravinsky’s ballet and orchestral concert work with Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy. Performed in four-hand piano and commedia half-mask, the stories interweave passion, rage, despair and sacrifice to create an exciting reinterpretation of two great classic works.
The latest production by Concert Theatre, a young company which combines live classical music and theatre, brings together pianists from the Royal Academy of Music, Lecoq-trained performers and mask specialists Trestle Theatre.
Praise for Concert Theatre's show 'Sonata Movements'
“Strikingly innovative hybrid of concert-recital and drama” Telegraph
“Poignant and beautiful.” Gramophone
Reviews
Supported by
The Butterfly Lovers
A captivating tale about friendship, The Butterfly Lovers is a vibrant new adaptation for children of the Chinese legend of Liang and Zhu.
Under the reign of the evil Emperor Hu, girls are forbidden to go to school, but Zhu disguises herself as a boy to do so. There she meets Liang, and their story becomes a legend that echoes through Chinese history…
Days and Times
Saturday April 5th: 2pm (Fully booked)
Sunday April 6th: 2pm (fully booked) and 5pm
Thursday April 10th: 2pm
Friday April 11th: 2pm
Saturday April 12th: 2pm (Fully booked)
Sunday April 13th: 2pm and 5pm
Thursday April 17th: 2pm (Fully booked)
Friday April 18th: 2pm
Saturday April 19th: 2pm and 5pm
Reviews
The Power of The Inglewood
To the court of King Arthur, in the Golden Age of Camelot, comes a mysterious knight. In the enchanted forest, where supernatural beings abound and the realm of the dead crosses that of the living, he sets the King the ultimate challenge: to uncover what it is that women most desire.
Moon On A Stick reinvent this ancient tale with their distinctive fusion of puppetry and live action. Taking us on a medieval quest where unlikely relationships lead to unexpected discoveries, this is an unforgettable fable for all ages.
The Power of Inglewood is presented as a scratch work-in-progress and there will be a post-show discussion where feedback is welcomed.
Supported by
Richard III
After years of violent and tempestuous civil war, peace has finally been restored to England with the coronation of Edward IV, a nation celebrates, but Richard, Edward's brother has other ideas...
Shakespeare’s thrilling and bloodthirsty play comes to the stage through the use of text, movement and original music in this all new ensemble production.
In an England that never rests, witness one of the most violent ascensions to the throne ever mounted and welcome your new king...King Richard III.
Reviews
Arabian Nights
A rip-roaring comedy! Hammer and Tongs Theatre tramples raucously through the far-flung fables of the Arabian Nights, thwarting the murderous intentions of a jilted king...
Kings, princesses, the odd genie, more talking animals than you can shake a stick at and a flying horse all find their way into this madcap physical comedy, played out by a rambunctious ensemble and accompanied by live music.
Prepare to be bombarded by imagination and battered with fantasy!
Praise for Arabian Nights at the Camden Fringe 2012:
“Physically inventive and brilliantly funny…This is one of the best Fringe shows - one of the best pieces of pure theatre - I’ve seen in fifteen years”
Snipe London
“The performance was great!...a clever and witty interpretation”
**** Remote Goat
“A fantastic night out!”
Camden Fringe Voyeur
Reviews
Andy Peat- Vivid Colours of Nature
Andy uses close observation to bring out the full colour and energy from the natural world. This exhibition shows some of his most vibrant work and fantasy creations.
The private view of this work will be on Wednesday the 4th of December from 6pm.