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Past programme
Showcases an eclectic range of fresh and interesting contemporary work, largely by emerging artists
Arrogant Soft
Sometimes, your partner says something and you let it slide. Not this time.
Date night has finished, John, Lola and their friends have talked relentlessly, drunk merrily and sung appallingly, well into the early hours of the morning. But after a Freudian slip, it becomes clear that there is more to discuss.
How much individualism is too much in a relationship? Are there some things that you keep from your partner? Do they have a right to know about all your decisions?
Written by Alphonso Brown, Arrogant Soft is a compelling new piece that looks into the joy, despondency and complexities that only a relationship can bring out.
Arrogant Soft is a work-in-progress presented as part Blue Elephant's Autumn residencies.
About the writer
Alphonso Brown is an actor, writer, model and workshop facilitator, proudly hailing from Croydon. After completing his University degree at the Plymouth Conservatoire, he returned to London where he has gone from strength to strength in each of his creative disciplines from touring as the lead role in Shakespeare's 'Othello', leading Drama workshops across the U.K. , modelling with Nike... writing is just the latest string to his ever-growing bow.
Found In Translation
The first showcase from CREANDO ESCENARIOS, our adult Spanish-language drama group!
For 10 weeks, participants of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds have gathered at Blue Elephant Theatre to experiment, play and create theatre together (some of them for the first time!). Come laugh, cry and ponder at their brand-new theatrical creations...
Please note the scenes presented will be in Spanish.
This showcase is made possible by Southwark Council's Public Health Grant.
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¡La primera presentación de nuestro grupo de teatro para adultos hispanohablantes!
Por 10 semanas, participantes de todas las edades, nacionalidades y procedencias se han reunido en el Blue Elephant Theatre para experimentar, jugar y crear teatro juntos (¡algunos por primera vez!). Ven a reír, llorar y reflexionar sobre sus nuevas creaciones teatrales...
Tengan en cuenta que las escenas se presentarán en español.
Esta presentación ha sido posible gracias al Public Health Grant de Southwark Council.
Supported by
The Giant Who Slept For Ten Thousand Years / The Pony Club at the End of the World
Join us for a morning of puppetry, with two shows for little ones back to back! The Giant Who Slept For Ten Thousand Years (ages 2+) at 10:30am, and The Pony Club at the End of the World (ages 5+) at 11:30am.
These events are free to attend - you can book one or both!
Donations to Blue Elephant Theatre are encouraged, and can be made while booking. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference!
The Giant Who Slept For Ten Thousand Years
Sunday 16 October, 10:30am
Suitable for ages 2+
Running time: 30mins
Adapted from a Swedish folk tale, this puppet show for families takes us back in time 10 thousand years to when giants walked the earth and sea trolls lived in the waters. But what happens when humans move into the forests and mountains? A storytelling show about nature, friendship and the places we call home.
Made and performed by Bori Mező
Directed by Amy Rose
Music by Nicolas Lewis
The Pony Club at the End of the World
Sunday 16 October, 11:30am
Suitable for ages 5+
Running Time 30mins
A wacky puppet show about the apocalypse – starting at the village fair. Featuring terror in the trifle tent, vengeful vicars and a portaloo-related emergency. A blend of storytelling, puppetry and clown aimed at anyone with a silly side. Warning: May Contain Showjumping
Made and performed by Edie Edmundson
Music by Guy Hughes
Photo by Mark Morreau
About the artists
We are Edie and Bori, two puppeteers and theatre-makers based in London. Over lockdown, we were inspired by performers bringing their work to the streets and doing shows on doorsteps, in gardens and parks. Forced out of traditional theatre spaces by the Covid pandemic, we returned to the roots of live performance: intimate, accessible to everyone and - most importantly - LIVE.
{Doorstepping (vb): performing a live, portable show on someone's doorstep}
Our new website, The Doorstepper's Map is an online map leading to a directory of doorstep performers - it will be launched this October! To celebrate we are performing our own suitcase shows, 'The Giant Who Slept For Ten Thousand Years' and 'The Pony Club At The End Of The World.' The Map will allow you to book shows like this straight to your doorstep!
Find out more at https://thedoorsteppersmap.co.uk/
Facebook/Instagram - @thedoorsteppersmap
Bori Mezö
Bori is a freelance puppeteer and maker based in London. She regularly puppeteers for the Puppet Theatre Barge and String Theatre. She co-founded Hopeful Monster, a company that creates and tours visual theatre shows in the UK and abroad. She’s recently ventured into creating solo work with a suitcase show about giants. She feels most at home when there are books around so she always carries one or two with her, wherever she goes.
Edie Edmundson
Edie is a puppeteer, writer and theatre maker. She has worked for companies including Shakespeare’s Globe, Edinburgh Royal Lyceum, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also makes her own work including cabaret acts about flamingos and a suitcase puppet show about evil ponies. She loves to dance, walk through woods, and eat chocolate - sometimes all at once.
TRUNKATED - AstroBlack edition
Blue Elephant Theatre's scratch night TRUNKATED is back with its brand new AstroBlack edition!
An evening of spoken word, music and film from some of the most exciting emerging black artists in South London.
Line-up
TATENDA MATSVAI - HOST / CURATOR
Tatenda (they/them) is a Zimbabwean born, south east London based facilitator and devised performance maker, working with spoken word poetry in theatrical and non-theatrical context, with a focus on community engagement. Their work is mainly bio-mythical, infusing their lived experience with myth, to challenge colonial cosmologies as an act of self-recovery. Their performances are joyful, participatory, and multidimensional.
EWA DINA - POETRY / SPOKEN WORD
Ewa is a Nigerian born, sheffield raised and now London based director, facilitator, actor, voiceover artist & poet.She is currently associate director at Nouveau Riche. As a facilitator, Ewa regularly works for Company Three and has worked with The Kiln Theatre, Central School of Speech and Drama, The Pleasence, The Damilola Taylor Centre. Music and movement are integral parts of Ewa’s process.
Recent acting credits include: Abidemi in Silkworm (Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Fringe first winner)
Ewa graduated from the Rose Bruford BA Acting course in 2019.
AXEL KENGNE - MONOLOGUE
Axel is a French-Cameroonian actor and writer currently in his final year of the BA Acting CDT at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, due to graduate in 2023. Recent roles in training include Hamlet in a devised production of "Hamlet", and Tobias in "Education, Education, Education". He is passionate about the history of race relations and its influence on the African diaspora.
He will perform a solo comedy drama called the "Coconut Glitch", a piece about a second-generation Black immigrant finding his sense of identity in the western world.
Instagram : @axelkengne
REBEKAH JOHNSON - MONOLOGUE
Rebekah Johnson is an actress who developed her writing skills as a way of creating work not just for herself but for others around her. Rebekah took her skills and applied them to The Cockpit Theatre In the Pound. She co-wrote and performed A Passage Through Time, which is currently online. She then started writing for actors she knew and wrote short monologues for them to film. During the lockdown, she has written a book filled with monologues which you can find at https://payhip.com/b/yPBY. This year Rebekah was a part of Passing The Spoon which was a spin on the Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters at The Tower Theatre. She also write and perform audio stories. https://youtu.be/cDarVNdkcNA.
Instagram: @Rebekah.johnson18
BRITNY VIRGINIA - VIDEO POETRY
Britny Virginia is a poet, writer, director, and creative facilitator. She is currently producing a short film she's written about her journey with disability.
Much of work is inspired by her St. Lucian culture, her disability and her faith! She hopes to inspire others one story at a time!
Sanctuary
Sanctuary is a dance theatre production around the very theme of sanctuary itself. It explores what it means to search for it and/or maintain it. We explore what it means physically (places, and objects), mentally (inside our minds/the concept of self image), and spiritually (finding connections with other people).
This work was created as a response to Covid-19 and how everyone almost at once lost any kind of security - be it financially, emotionally, physically.
A story of individual journeys of re-building oneself and reconnecting to others, and our communities.
Please note the artists will be using a Polaroid camera during the show (with flash), sometimes aiming it at audience members. The resulting photos will be disposed of immediately after the show.
About EQ Dance Company
EQ Dance Co. is an exploratory company of dance artists, working in collaboration to create and deliver dance experiences with impact based in the UK.
Led by choreographer/creative David West, EQ Dance Co. connects freelance artists with dancers to explore and enliven creative ideas in and around subjects such as mental health and the human experience.
Follow us on Instagram: @eqdanceco
Check out our website: https://www.eqdanceco.com/
Becoming
Two women. Two different countries, different backgrounds, different heritage, but one city - London.
Through a series of sensory, multimedia vignettes, theatrical collage Becoming explores cultural, political and religious differences and their impact on one’s journey of self-discovery in today’s world.
Created by European duo Morphosis Theatre Company (Weronika Maria and Andrea Van Eyck), Becoming began in 2020 as an experiment wherein the artists shot a one-minute video each day for a month. The concept evolved from video poetry expression into a theatrical essay, which takes the form of an ever-changing collage freely blending art forms.
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About Morphosis Theatre Company
Morphosis was founded in 2022 by Weronika Maria and Andrea Van Eyck. Weronika graduated from the BA in Acting (CDT) at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and Andrea from the BA Acting and Performing Arts at the TAI – Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.
Throughout their journey, Morphosis were supported by Migrants in Theatre and NDT Broadgate / New Diorama Theatre.
In May 2021 Becoming was part of Shift+Space program at Theatre Deli.
In Spring 2023, Morphosis will be coming back to Shift+Space, premiering Part Two of Becoming.
Follow them on Instagram: @morphosis.tc
Supported by
Patient Is A Verb
Welcome to the waiting room to enter the realm of Transition*. You are the 11,174th player. Only 33 players have made it through Level One this month.
The waiting list to see the Gender Identity Clinic is now 5 years long. Patient for trans people is often an adjective and not a noun, the endurance of suffering without receiving treatment. Yet our systems primarily expect trans people to move through life as a patient – subjects to medical scrutiny and approval. What does a duration of 5 years really mean, and when does patience turn from virtue to verb?
Devised through drawing on lived experiences of interviewed participants and an all-trans team, Patient Is A Verb takes you on a journey navigating the healthcare system in the UK. It melds grim realities with the world of video games, searching for agency in waiting.
Please note this is a script-in-hand work in progress.
Out Of The Blue
OUT OF THE BLUE is a festival of new work of all genres and styles.
Prepared to be taken on a journey of quirky, poignant, odd, and bitingly relevant performances at Blue Elephant Theatre!
This festival is generously supported by London South Bank University’s School of Creative Arts and Industries and produced by the South Bank Collective and Martha Fillery.
Book any 2 shows for £15!
SCHEDULE:
Wednesday 7 September, 7pm – Britney’s Peers
Thursday 8 September, 7pm – The Sisyphus complex
Friday 9 September, 7pm – Britney’s Peers
Friday 9 September, 8:30pm – The Sordid Circus
Saturday 10 September, 7pm – The Sordid Circus
Saturday 10 September, 8:30pm – The Sisyphus Complex
BRITNEY'S PEERS
By Ding for Disco
Wed 7 Sept, 7pm and Fri 9 Sept, 7pm
The ultimate IBSEN X SPEARS collab
Ding for Disco revives A Doll’s House with a noughties teen movie makeover. Britney’s Peers probes the global conservatorship that is female presenting existence. Watch as the Pavlov Dolls exist under the watchful eye of…everyone?
Prepare to laugh and gasp at 40 minutes of music, dance and silliness, all encapsulating Ding for Disco’s signature personal and honest storytelling. This show probably isn’t for your Nan, but we bet she’ll know EXACTLY what we’re talking about.
Content warnings: Sexual imagery, Body image and disordered eating discourse, Profanity, Adult themes, Flashing Lights, Loud noises
THE SISYPHUS COMPLEX
By PipeItUp Theatre Company
Thu 8 Sept, 7pm and Sat 10 Sept, 8:30pm
How do we fit in to this strange and ever-shifting world?
We have found resonances between the myth of Sisyphus and our desire to explore the decaying effect of time and struggles to live in the present moment. Sisyphus, as a punishment from the gods, is tasked to push a mighty boulder to the top of a hill, but every time he approaches the summit, the boulder rolls back down to the bottom. We are exploring the space between narrative and improvisation, drawing on the philosophy of Albert Camus, the Japanese dance of Butoh, the poetry of T.S Eliot, the teachings of Anne Bogart and the aesthetics of Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes.
Content warnings: Profane language, mild violence, potential childbirth
THE SORDID CIRCUS
By Sage Fool Theatre
Fri 9 Sept, 8:30pm and Sat 10 Sept, 7pm
Roll up, roll up. The circus is in town.
It's the summer of 1896 and you are invited backstage to E.M Wallace's Sordid Circus to gain an insight into the private lives of these hardworking performers. Marvel at the exploitation of female circus entertainers in the Victorian era and gasp at their sacrifice to keep you entertained. As this spectacular show draws you further into their world ask yourself, is it all really worth it?
Content warnings: Implied sexual abuse, Profanity, Loud noises, Flashing lights, Adult themes
Scratching The Surface
An evening of theatre, music, storytelling and comedy, presented by the recent LSBU graduates of South Bank Collective.
Line-up:
•‘This is not for you’ / ‘Silence is the most deafening sound’ by Lilly Eve Kardani-Zadeh
• Borders by Chi and Georgie
A fragmented, non-linear work-in-progress exploring borders - not just in the physical sense.
• Heresy by Billy Rose Davis
Think the Greek Gods were real dicks? Want to see them getting their asses handed to them? By whom you might ask? Well, who else but themselves? In this comedy musical about hubris, power, and temptation, will the Gods of Olympus be able to hold onto their power or will they fall from grace…
The performance will include a few songs from the in-progress show, including “Heresy”, “The Apple”, “Grown-Ass Woman” and more…
• It Takes Courage by Alicia Ellis
Addressing themes of life, obstacle and fulfillment, It Takes Courage is a truthful insight into humanity and the barriers we overcome throughout our lifetime. It Takes Courage is a play under development depicting a collection of stories that all can relate to. Audiences will recognise and learn that they are not alone in what they face, and that there is real fearlessness in unapologetically being you. The segment of It Takes Courage presented serves as the
opening for the play, setting the scene for the themes and stories to come. This will be presented through recorded audio and visual imagery as a gateway into the world of the play
Community Street Party
We are back for another Street Party!
Join us on Saturday 27 August from 12pm to 5pm for a street party on the Wyndham Road side of the Jessie Duffett Hall!
Supported by Southwark Council's Cultural Celebrations Fund, it will be a family-focused day with workshops and performances and be open to all.
Live music, dancing, performances, workshops... It's a day of celebration and a chance to get to know Blue Elephant and its activities better!
FREE
Schedule
12pm: Street Party starts! Come contribute to our craft activities or grab a bite, and learn more about Blue Elephant.
1:15 - 2:45pm: Circus skills workshops and performance, led by Dan Rose
3-3:30pm: Drama games with Pepa Duarte
3:30-4pm: Storytelling performance for little ones - The Earth Machine
4-4:30pm: Live music by Angarhad
Blue Elephant Theatre will be open for bathroom facilities, just a few minutes walk away.
Supported by
Misfits
'Misfits' is a collection of stories of people who don’t fit in. Presented by MA Collaborative Theatre Students of Fourth Monkey.
'Misfits' is a celebration of four short pieces of new work, devised and performed by Fourth Monkey’s MA Collaborative Theatre Class of 2022, showcasing their talents as boundary-pushing artists who like to take risks and shake up the status quo.
Presenting:
The Tofana Trials
An immersive courtroom play, inspired by the Spana Prosecutions of 1659, exploring women's relationship to a justice system that often fails them. You have been selected to hear the testimonies and see the evidence before giving your own verdict.
Featuring - Nicola Bohlen, Chloe Hatherley and Lucy Millett
Honour Bound
A solo show exploring honour-based violence and the anti-Blackness often found in South Asian communities.
Featuring – Zahra Jassi
Job Agency
Joe and Stan need to change careers, both are feeling the pressures of age. Expect clowning, poignance and a designated emotions corner. Change is hard. Changing is harder.
Featuring – Steven Poland and Kajo Sartori
Tales of Lethe
Four female historical villains meet in a hotel. The catch: they can’t remember anything. The second catch: only acts of villainy unlock memories. Let drinks flow and blood be shed.
Featuring – Harriet Leaf and Selin Balcıoğlu
With accompanying music from Fourth Monkey Acting Foundation graduate, Ahana Hundal.
About us
We are the MA Collaborative Theatre Students of Fourth Monkey, we make boundary pushing, exciting, contemporary art that shakes up the status quo. We are formed of 8 artists, our backgrounds vary; we are made up of a dancer, a comedian, a hairdresser, and everything in between. One thing we have in common is that we like to make bold work together.
Website: https://fourthmonkey.co.uk/
Give Me The Sun
Please note that the performance on Tuesday 19 July is cancelled due to the extreme heatwave, for the safety and comfort of all. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Why did we come here? To the UK?
Bashir and Baba live in a council house in London.
Baba, once a doctor in Egypt, works in Tesco.
Bashir plays basketball with his friends and wonders what his home country was like.
What has happened since the Arab Spring?
Give Me the Sun is a beautiful and compelling new play, exploring what happens when too much is left unsaid for too long. A seemingly perfect father-son relationship unravels to reveal grief, loss and loneliness.
Written by Mamet Leigh, a pioneer of the Tehran Underground Theatre Movement, Give Me the Sun addresses the complexity of finding your place in a new country and how different that can be for each person.
Wednesday 27 July: Relaxed Performance
Thursday 28 July: Captioned by Stagetext
Supported by
The Blue House
"Have you ever felt so sad you thought you’d never be happy again?”
Charles, Billie and Alex live in the same house but they never see each other. Charles’ wife of 50 years has passed away. Billie is reeling from heartbreak. Alex’s dad recently took his own life, and now he’s facing his own depression.
Gaia Fay Lambert’s moving debut play is a series of interweaving monologues. It blends poetry with theatre as its three characters attempt to articulate universal experiences of loneliness, loss and longing. The Blue House looks to provide the audience with hope, healing and solidarity after some of the most turbulent and lonely years in living memory.
With previous work described as “spectacular” and “boundlessly imaginative”, Helikon Theatre Company bring their bold and innovative style to the intimate space at the Blue Elephant, in an intense evening of theatre crafted by a collective of exciting new artists.
Past praise for Helikon Theatre Company
“Helikon’s modernisation is spectacular”
Mark Aspen Reviews
“This radical portrayal of A Winter’s Tale was refreshing, dynamic and most of all well performed.”
Theatrebox
“beautifully presented, addictive and compelling to watch, it strips the theatre to a cavernous space and offers it a place to breathe [...] I urge you to go and see this production, I leave the theatre rebounding and reeling with ideas, an inspiring undertaking.”
TheatreFullStop
“Boundlessly imaginative, visually poetic, joyfully queer, anarchically playful with the text, somebody give this team space”
Naomi Kuyck-Cohen, Theatre & Performance Designer
CAPTIONED PERFORMANCE: 25 June, 8pm
Captioned by Stagetext
Supported by
Cow's Rainy Day / Ana & Silly
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Your favourite cow and squirrels are back for FREE performances in libraries and community centres all around South London!
Suitable for ages 2+
Running Time: 30 minutes approx.
Tickets are FREE but should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment.
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COW’S RAINY DAY
Cow is very excited about celebrating his best friend Amy's birthday. He's planning to make her the most amazing card she's ever seen.
But things don't go quite to plan and Cow feels down.
Luckily Amy is there to help Cow feel better - but she needs some helpers. Can you join her and cheer Cow up?
Cow's Rainy Day is a short play for children, about learning new things, accepting mistakes, trying hard and being friends.
Dates:
• 20 May, 11am and 12pm at Mercato Metropolitano, 42 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6DR
• 26 May, 4pm at John Harvard Library, 211 Borough High St, London SE1 1JA
• 22 June, 2pm & 4pm at Peckham Library, 122 Peckham Hill St, London SE15 5JR
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ANA & SILLY
Ana the Squirrel enjoys a simple life collecting and counting acorns. Ana's not prepared for the arrival of cousin Silly who announces that soon all will change and they will both go to school!
A short children’s show about transitions and making friends.
Dates:
• 30 May, 11am at Walworth Library, 147 Walworth Rd, London SE17 1RW
• 30 May, 2pm at Camberwell Library, 48 Camberwell Green, London SE5 7AL
• 5 June, 1pm, 2pm & 3pm, Elephant Park, Elephant Rd, London SE17 1UB
• 21 June, 2pm & 4pm at Dulwich Library, 368 Lordship Ln, London SE22 8NB
Supported by
BLUE ELEPHANT COMEDY NIGHT
THE BIG RETURN OF COMEDY AT BLUE ELEPHANT!
A terrific line-up of up-and-coming comedians is taking over our theatre space for one night - grab a drink and witness some of the most exciting acts the UK comedy circuit has to offer!
Including:
MICAH HALL
BRONWYN SWEENEY
BRANDON PALMER
KATE LOVELOCK
More TBA!
Compered by FITZGERALD HONGER
MICAH HALL
Micah has recently been a finalist for the Southend On Sea Best New Comer award, runner-up for the Brighton Grin New Comedian competition, and Comedy Store’s King Gong Winner (August 2021)
“Definitely one to watch!” – Russell Kane
BRONWYN SWEENEY
Bronwyn is an advertising creative by day and draws on her experiences of making ads that no one wants to watch to inspire her comedy. She was the runner-up in the Funny Women Awards show in 2021 and hopes that one day, her side hustle may become her full-time hustle.
BRANDON PALMER
Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Brandon started comedy in London and has a very diverse comedy background. Performing in Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Brighton and numerous venues in London such as Dulwich Hamlet, Caverndish Arms, and Comedy Cafe Theatre. Outside of London Brandon has performed in Scotland and Norway. Also survived King Gong twice at the Comedy Store.
KATE LOVELOCK
Kate started stand up because Glamour magazine told her it was a good thing to improve confidence. That was two years before she actually tried it because they hadn’t done an article on how to stop procrastinating yet.
She was the runner up in the National "Joke For Scope" competition in 2018, semi-finalist of the “So You Think You’re Funny?” in 2019. Kate is one of "Leicester Comedy Festival's Circuit Breakers 2022", with sets streamed to Next Up Comedy and broadcast on Union Jack Radio.
FITZGERALD HONGER
A regular on the London comedy circuit, Fitzgerald Honger is a dynamic comedian who has performed in top comedy clubs across London and the UK including Up the Creek and the comedy store. When not doing comedy, Fitz is a producer. He’s worked for international companies spanning PR and broadcast television including MTV and Discovery, and has developed a wealth of contacts within the TV and entertainment industries.