A vicious tale of love, revolt and beauty.
In a drowned world – how far will you go to save your own skin?
And that is why we can’t have these
Fatally radiant creatures
Walking round the place
Reminding us how clumsy
And mean-spirited
And graceless
And cowardly
And shapeless
And flabby
and foul we all are.
What are you doing for lunch?
The usual? Crumbs all over the keyboard, phone going, inbox (43), not even 5 minutes to let your mind wander?
Let us take you somewhere else. From the hearts and minds of 8 brilliant writers experience 8 plays that are immediate, vital, and written for you, now.
Bring your lunch, take your seat and we will clear up the crumbs
The lunchtime event.
Tell your boss you’ll be back in an hour.
“I hadn’t seen Dan in years when we got together. Within twenty-four hours, we’d seen everything. We’d made love together, bathed together, slept together. He’d seen my body. I’d seen his. Which bit are you meant to fall in love with?”
After seeing everything, Shona is to move in with her boyfriend Dan. When faced with the blind and erotic Maria, Edward struggles to see her passion and to articulate his feelings. As their respective evenings unfold simultaneously on stage, illumination comes to all concerned in Glyn Cannon’s innovative and searing exploration of love and relationships.
Elliot is worried. He and his brother Darren are a unique team of party planners and their latest project, already weeks in preparation, has been brought forward to today. In a lawless and ravaged city, the boys and their team survive by bringing to life clients’ darkest fantasies. But as the light fades and events spiral out of control it becomes clear that the success of this particular party will guarantee not just their safety but their salvation. The world is at its worst. Let the party begin.
Part of the Paines Plough This Other England season.
It was reported that at least ten audience members a night left every show, unable to take the atmosphere of threat and violence portrayed on stage.
Rosia Bay, Gibraltar, 1982.
Doink, Jock and Darren have the longest, hottest summer ahead; yomping, watching pirate copies of Rambo and fighting the local lads over a lucrative fleet of octopus that have just hit the rock. With Darren’s fit older sister Tracy to sell the bounty, their dominance of Rosia Bay seems assured.
But for the sons and daughters of the British Forces, another war beginning in the South Atlantic will soon bring a dark heart to their games.
Two houses, perched on top of mountains, stare at each other across a deep valley.
A man and a woman talk about the small things – parquet flooring zigzagging down corridors, the memory of mother’s breasts, brown sauce and soggy chips. But these minutiae disguise a bigger story of brutality and unfaltering loyalty which emerges horrifically through the chit-chat.
Part of the Paines Plough This Other England season
Half Moon and Paines Plough worked together over a number of weeks to develop six extraordinary new plays for children under eight with experienced writers who had not previously written for young audiences. Script-in-hand performances of the resulting plays were held over lunchtimes at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
The project aimed to create a fresh body of work for children that connected directly with their imaginations and experience. Wild Lunch Funsize created a legacy of work for children that is now ripe for development and production. Many plays that have originated through similar Half Moon/Paines Plough projects have been produced by other companies and venues. Another aim of the project was to raise the profile of work for children in the adult world, with the selected writers attracting audiences who don’t normally attend work for children.
The plays:
Do You See What I See? by Jennifer Farmer
Clarence Carbuncle and the Kingdom of Sherbetter by Chloe Moss
Our Teacher’s A Troll by Dennis Kelly
The Hole Story by Mark Ravenhill with Alfie Buck
Hartleby, Oooglemore and Jeramee by Gary Owen
Monster Mum by Abi Morgan
Greetings from New Flood, which has just won the prestigious ‘Worst Town in Scotland’ award. The prize is £500,000 with which to ‘improve’ things.
Vincent has always been original ever since his tragically miraculous birth. When he hears of the honour bestowed on his home town he sees an opportunity both to realise his personal ambition and to double the prize money by defending the title the following year. A wry and witty satire on community and communication.
Part of the Paines Plough This Other England Season
A naked man is found lying in the snow at the foot of the Pyrenees. He remembers nothing. He believes he is British. A young woman from the British consulate is dispatched to confirm his nationality and try to piece together his identity.
When an elegant woman arrives claiming to be his wife, the world he was discovering becomes unregonisable. As the snow melts on the mountain, the man is left with an agonising choice, and may have to make a decision for the first time in his life.
Part of the Paines Plough This Other England season.
“I think the biggest threat isn’t from what people do to you, it’s from what you do to yourself.”
They were all in the pub when the explosion happened. Louise wakes up to find herself trapped with Mark, who has saved her life. Mark is always prepared for the worst and has everything he thinks they will need to survive; tinned chilli, Dungeons and Dragons and a knife – now all they need to do is to wait until it’s safe to go outside. Can they survive the attack? Can they survive each other?