JAN – APR 2018
Welcome Our FiRST BiTES collection continues as a crucible of new ideas, including three new plays in development exploring female sexuality; mental health; and neo-liberal capitalism.
Our Spring 2018 season begins with a bold retelling of the Medea myth, reimagined as a 1980’s Prog Rock gig, in Medea Electronica. Alongside this will be a new light and sound installation by artist Raquel Meseguer; join us to lie down and experience A Crash Course in Cloudspotting.
I am delighted to be directing my first Ovalhouse production Random Selfies by Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny, part of a three year research project into child loneliness supported by the Co-op Foundation.
In the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum last year, Ovalhouse invited artists to discuss their reaction to the UK leaving the European Union. Two new works have come out of this: Spanish artists Patricia and Mercè invite you to their ‘leaving party’ in Derailed. And if you thought you’d had enough of referendums to last a lifetime, This Restless State fast forwards us to 2052, with Europe ravaged by a continental war and a new referendum looming.
This season we also launch a new look Learning & Participation programme including four new performance companies for young people and adults. See pages 24 – 29 for details of how to join in. Our Spring Season concludes with Coconut, a new comedy which challenges assumptions about Islam as we follow a modern Muslim woman looking for love.
After the success of the FiRST BiTE of So Many Reasons, we’re excited to bring the completed show to Ovalhouse. During the run, to celebrate International Women’s Day, Anna Reading will read her ‘Letter to My Daughter’which inspired the play.
Owen Calvert-Lyons Head of Theatre and Artist Development
2
conTenTS PAges
PAge
PAge
4 – 17
7
18
SIx neW oVAlHouSe PRoDucTIonS
HAlfTeRm eVenT
GueST eVenT
PAges
PAges
PAges
19 – 23
24 – 29
30 – 32
fouR neW WoRKS In DeVeloPmenT
leARnInG & PARTIcIPATIon
ARTISTS’ PAGeS
PAge
PAges
PAge
33
34
35
SuPPoRT uS AnD ouR neW Venue In BRIxTon
THeATRe BAR
come RHyme WITH me
PAge
PAge
PAges
36
37
38 – 39
cReATIVeS WoRKSPAce + PRIceS & offeRS
Venue Info
DIARy
Ovalhouse Downstairs Tues 30 JANuARy – sAT 10 FebRuARy 7.30Pm (nOT THURS 1, SUn OR MOn) PReview Tues 30 JANuARy
Pecho Mama presents
Medea Electronica by Pecho Mama
Medea Electronica is a powerful and deeply moving gig-theatre retelling of the ancient Greek tragedy, set in the technological turbulence of the 1980s. With the discovery of her husband’s deceit and betrayal, Medea is driven to embark on a journey of savage revenge and destruction. This intense drama takes place amidst the brilliant chaos of a live synth gig; an all original mash up of contemporary Electronica and 80s inspired Progressive Rock.
“
A thumping good show with a high tension wire running through its centre Brighton Source A bold creative talent and that rarest of things: something genuinely new The Latest
”
Medea is the chilling tragedy, told originally by Euripides in 4 1BC and best known for its brutal act of infanticide by a mother in revenge for her husband’s adultery. Theatre lovers and live music fans alike will fall in love with Pecho Mama, a genre-defying new company.
Photo by Penelope Gwen
Age 15+ Running time 70 mins Tickets £15 | £10 | £9 ovalhouse.com PechoMama.co.uk PechoMama @Pecho_Mama Supported using public funding from the national lottery through Arts council england.
5
Ovalhouse Upstairs FRi 16 & sAT 17 FebRuARy 2Pm
Margarita Sidirokastriti and the egg present
One Item Only by Margarita Sidirokastriti Performed by Tim Bell
If you had to take a long journey away from home and you could only take one item with you – what would it be?
“ ”
A little play with big themes Stage Talk
This is the decision our young hero has to make in his story of human migration. Follow one child’s journey across continents in search of refuge from his troubled homeland, in this eventful and uplifting story of hope and resilience where the human spirit triumphs. ‘One item only’ is what most smugglers allow on their transport. What would you take?
HALF-TERM EVENT Age 6+ Running time 40 mins plus free Q&A with the creative team after each show Tickets £10 ADULTS | £7 UnDER 16s Family tickets £28 ovalhouse.com Supported using public funding from the national lottery through Arts council england.
7
Ovalhouse Downstairs weds 21 FebRuARy – sAT 3 mARCh 7.30Pm (nOT SUn OR MOn) PReview weds 21 FebRuARy Little Soldier Productions presents
Derailed Performed and devised by the company Direction and dramaturgy by Ben Kidd and Jesse Briton
Twelve years after arriving in the UK, with too many heartbreaks to count, one child, half a marathon, five drum lessons and a permanently overdrawn bank account, Patricia and Mercè are feeling the post-Brexit blues. Fuelled by rage at the state of the world, they want to turn anger into positive action. So what else is there to do apart from host the mother of all leaving parties with gazpacho, live rock music, dancing, pig noses, Theresa May, the Dalai Lama, and cava, to toast an uncertain future.
“ ”
A riot of invention and risk-taking The Scotsman
JESSE BRITON IS AN OVALHOUSE ASSOCIATE ARTIST
Photo by Pau Ros
As riotous and joyous as it is silly, this is their unpredictable but heartfelt story of belonging, failure, and wanting to change the world. Are they really going to say goodbye to the UK for ever?
Age 14+ Running time 75 mins Tickets £15 | £10 | £9 ovalhouse.com
A show for anyone who’s ever hoped to make a difference, from the award winning Little Soldier, mentored by Spymonkey, makers of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha.
littlesoldierproductions.co.uk littlesoldierproductions @littlesoldierp Produced in association with larking Arts and originally commissioned by Home, manchester. Supported using public funding from the national lottery through Arts council england.
9
Ovalhouse Downstairs Tues 6 – sAT 10 mARCh 7.30Pm Fuel presents
So Many Reasons Written by Racheal Ofori Directed by Zoe Lafferty Performed by Heather Agyepong
My Mum said to me “If you ever have children, don’t have girls. They give you too much of a headache.”
“ ”
Ofori’s excellent writing fuses poetry and prose to allow each character to vividly leap off the page The Stage on Portrait
Photo by Heather Agyepong and natalie Mitchell
So Many Reasons is a story about the unique influence our mothers have on how we understand the world, from the perspective of a first generation British Ghanaian woman. Exploring cultural and generational shifts in how women see themselves and each other, this sassy and soulful new show asks what happens when we realise mums don’t always know best.
8 MARCH INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY EVENT
To celebrate International Women’s Day, before the performance on Thursday 8 March, Anna Reading will read A Letter to My Daughter, the heartfelt letter to her seven-year-old daughter, which inspired the play. There will also be a post-show celebration involving some more extraordinary women.
Age 12+ Running time 70 mins Tickets £15 | £10 | £9 ovalhouse.com fueltheatre.com @fueltheatre co-presented with camden People’s Theatre and supported by Jerwood charitable foundation through the Home Run commission. funded by Arts council england and the leche Trust. Development supported by ovalhouse.
11
Ovalhouse Downstairs weds 14 – sAT 24 mARCh 7.30Pm (nOT SUn OR MOn) PReviews weds 14 & ThuRs 15 mARCh Fuel and Ovalhouse present
This Restless State created and performed by Jesse Fox Written by Danielle Pearson East Berlin, 1989. Alone at the kitchen table, the radio on, Margot learns the wall has fallen and with it the only world she has ever known.
This Restless State builds on the success of Jesse Fox’s recent shows with his company Engineer Theatre Collective, which have seen his work nominated for various Off West End Awards and featured in The new Yorker. He is collaborating with Danielle Pearson, Playwright in Residence at the Watermill Theatre and the winner of the EU Collective Plays! Competition.
Rome, 2052. In the wake of a devastating refugee crisis and The Continental War, Galina waits in line, ready to cast her vote in the first Europe-wide referendum. London, 2017. Jesse’s train pulls out from the platform, bearing him towards the home and childhood bedroom he’s about to see for the last time.
“ ”
superbly-crafted
####
The Stage on The Gap in the Light
Combining intimate storytelling with evocative sound, this one-man show takes its audience across our continent’s past, present and future with a story of family, nationhood, conflict and love.
Photo by Guy Sanders
Age 14+ Running time 75 mins Tickets £15 | £10 | £9 ovalhouse.com fueltheatre.com @FuelTheatre funded by Arts council england and the leche Trust. Development supported by engineer Theatre collective.
1
Ovalhouse Downstairs Tues 27 mARCh – sAT 7 APRiL 2Pm (nOT SUn OR MOn) Ovalhouse presents
Random Selfies by Mike Kenny Directed by Owen Calvert-Lyons Designed by Rachana Jadhav
Photo by The Two Richards
If I lived in the middle of nowhere, you could understand it. If I was halfway up a mountain. Or at the side of a lake. And I had no brothers or sisters. Well, you could understand it. Couldn’t you. If I said I was lonely. But I’m not any of that. I live in a flat. In one of the biggest cities on the planet. I’m never alone. But I am lonely.
“
Mike Kenny was included in the Independent on Sunday’s list of Top Ten Living Playwrights
”
A new play written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny and designed by illustrator Rachana Jadhav. Commissioned by Ovalhouse as part of a threeyear exploration into the impact of child loneliness. Performed on a digitally animated set, which brings to life the vivid imagination of ten-year-old Loretta; a lonely girl in a busy world.
Age 7 – 1 Running time 55 mins Tickets £10 ADULT | £7 UnDER 16s Family ticket £28 For schools offer see page 6. ovalhouse.com 15
Ovalhouse Downstairs weds 11 – sAT 28 APRiL 7.30Pm (nOT SUn OR MOn) PReview weds 11 APRiL The Thelmas and Ovalhouse present
Coconut by Guleraana Mir Directed by Madelaine Moore Designed by Baska Wesolowska lighting Design by Jennifer Rose Ever feel like you are constantly disappointing people?
“ ”
Mir’s writing is side-achingly funny... hits both a zeitgeist and the universality of coming to terms with your own identity FemaleArts
Meet Rumi, a British Pakistani woman who’s referred to as a ‘Coconut’ (brown on the outside, white on the inside). Born and brought up as a Muslim, Rumi spends more time enjoying fine wine and bacon than being at the mosque. When she meets Simon, a white guy, she hopes that his decision to convert to Islam will be enough to keep everyone happy. However, as Simon begins to explore his faith, Rumi’s world spins off its axis in ways she could never have predicted. Photo by Greg Veit Photography
Age 14+ Running time 90 mins (no interval) Tickets £15 | £10 | £9 ovalhouse.com thethelmas.co.uk TheThelmasUK @TheThelmas coconut has been kindly supported by the new Diorama Theatre emerging company Programme and Park Theatre. Supported using public funding from the national lottery through Arts council england.
17
Photo by Hold My Pint Photography
Ovalhouse Upstairs ThuRs 26 – sAT 28 APRiL 7.45Pm Vandal Factory presents
Whatever Happened to Vandal Raptor? by Vandal Factory | Directed by natalie Quatermass
Punk poet Henry Raby celebrates forty years of Punk Rock by breathing life into the spiky spirit of resistance.
“ ”
A perfect demonstration of a performance as protest
Henry tells the tale of fictional band Vandal Raptor. They were the greatest four-piece dinosaur-themed punk band on the scene. Snarling through songs and snapping strings, they sang about changing the world… until they broke up. Our story finds them ten years later accidentally reunited in their old stomping ground. Has their passion for DIY and protest gone extinct, or still roaring loud?
##### Broadway Baby
GUEST EVENT
Age 14+ Running time 70 mins Tickets £15 | £10 | £9 ovalhouse.com
Using spoken word, poetry, live music and raw story-telling, Henry tells a tale of rebellion, growing up and friendship.
@natquatermass @henry_raby 18
FiRST BiTES is ovalhouse’s programme of exciting new works-in-development; a chance to see raw new work that might develop into a bigger piece, or might be a way to explore an idea. This season we are offering four new works-in-development by a diverse group of exciting artists –
You’re invited to come along and be a part of the experiment. Tickets £5 advance | £8 door
TICKETS ARE JUST
£5
BOOKED IN ADVANCE our FirST BiTeS for Spring 2018 are: A Crash Course in Cloudspotting (FREE) by raquel Meseguer Rejoicing At Her Wondrous Vulva the Young Woman Applauded Herself by Bella Heesom When The Lights Go Out by Makalla McPherson Massive Sense of Urgency by Madi Maxwell-Libby 1
Photo by Stephen James Moore
Ovalhouse Café / Bar mON 29 JANuARy – sAT 10 FebRuARy Ovalhouse and Unlimited present
A Crash Course in Cloudspotting (the subversive act of horizontality) Directed by Raquel Meseguer, (unchartered collective) in collaboration with Artist / Designer Synnøve Fredericks and composer Jamie McCarthy An invitation to pause. To listen. To rest. An audio-visual journey for the ill, infirm and sick. That is all of us, if not today, then maybe tomorrow. An ode to invisible disability and acts of bravery we don’t see.
Accessible for wheelchair users, and those with hearing or visual impairments. FREE theuncharteredcollective @cloudspottinguk
An R&D project supported by Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists, with funding from Arts Council England.
Raquel is a South east Dance Research Associate. Developed with support from Tobacco factory Theatres Artists Residency programme and the elizabeth Blackwell Institute.
20
Ovalhouse Upstairs weds 21 – FRi 23 FebRuARy 7.45Pm Ovalhouse and ALL ABOUT YOU present
Rejoicing At Her Wondrous Vulva the Young Woman Applauded Herself A celebratory exploration of female sexuality A celebratory exploration of female sexuality from the team that made the ‘breathtakingly beautiful’ My World Has Exploded A Little Bit.
we need more radical honesty and honest artistry of the kind that heesom offers
##### EdinburghSpotlight
Join us on an epic journey of selfdiscovery through pleasure, shame, pride, fury and jubilation as we struggle to break free from the deeply internalised male gaze and unleash our glorious, feral appetites. Featuring unabashedly intimate stories, comic dialogues between Brain and Clitoris, and when words start to feel like a cage, dance.
Age 14+ Running time 65 mins bellaheesom.com bheesom @bellaheesom Supported using public funding from the national lottery through Arts council england.
21
OVALHOUSE ASSOCIATE ARTIST
Photo by Charlotte Anne Turner
Ovalhouse Upstairs ThuRs 1 – sAT 3 mARCh 7.45Pm Ovalhouse and Makalla McPherson present
When The Lights Go Out Written and Directed by Makalla McPherson Performed by Roger Griffiths and Miles Yekinni Wallace and nathan: father and son, first generation immigrant and second. The father who has struggled to create a better life for his son, and the son who feels so cheated because that expectation has been thwarted. Wallace dreams of a return to Jamaica but in his struggle to persuade nathan to come with him, both father and son’s differences and secrets force them to face each other in an emotionally charged story of nature vs nurture.
Age 1 + Running time 90 mins (inc. interval) makalla.mcpherson @makallam Supported using public funding from the national lottery through Arts council england.
22
Ovalhouse Upstairs ThuRs 22 – sAT 24 mARCh 7.45Pm Overdue Productions presents
Massive Sense of Urgency by Madi Maxwell-Libby In collaboration with Kirsty Housley (The Encounter, A Pacifist’s Guide to The War on Cancer) Is time really money? Is money really time? What is the ‘neo-liberal agenda’ and why don’t I have a copy? Join award-winning office temp and professional spare wheel Madi Maxwell-Libby on a journey to better understand our economic system. Prepare for drilling, dancing and some heavy-duty irony in this satirical skewering of life under capitalism. It’s economics Jim, but not as we know it.
Photo by Alex Brenner
Age 12+ Running time 60 mins madimaxwell-libby.com @Madi_ML @tempoftheyear This show has been developed with support from Battersea Arts centre, camden People’s Theatre and the omnibus clapham.
2
Learning & Participation Welcome to our new look learning and participation programme. Alongside many of our regular projects, we’ve introduced three new theatre companies for young theatre-makers, from the ages of 11 to 24, as well as a brand new adult company, special days for families and a new programme for Lambeth primary schools.
With something for everyone, we hope you can join us! mahri Reilly, Head of Learning and Participation, Ovalhouse
All our Learning & Participation projects are FRee, unless stated otherwise
24
OVALHOUSE youth Theatre 11 – 14 yrs: 11Am – 1Pm: Lead Artist Lara Lee (aka Floetic Lara)
OVALHOUSE young Company 15 – 17 yrs: 1.30Pm – 3.30Pm: Lead Artist Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu Term 1: every saturday 6 January – 31 march 2018 (excluding half term) We are very excited to launch our Ovalhouse youth Theatre and Ovalhouse young Company.
Classes are open to everyone, led by professional theatre makers and creative specialists over 12 months leading to a public performance in our main theatre in December.
TO bOOk Term 1 for either of the Youth Theatre or Young Company, please contact our Box Office on 020 7582 7680 to complete a registration form. Places are free but limited. Booking deadline is Wednesday January 2018.
25
OVALHOUSE Performance Company 18 – 24 yrs: Co-directed by georgie stephanou AkA Potent whisper every monday, 15 January – 25 June: 6.30Pm – 8.30Pm This is a brand new bespoke programme of performance and theatre-making for 18 – 24 year olds, premiering a new piece of devised political work on Ovalhouse’s main stage in June 2018, selling for three nights to a public audience.
bOOkiNg Please note sign up is for six months. There are 12 places available on this six month course. Places are free and highly competitive. Workshop audition on Monday 8 January 6. 0 – 8. 0PM. Please register your interest to mahri.reilly@ovalhouse.com before Monday 1 January 2018.
26
OVALHOUSE Adult Company 25+ yrs Every Monday, 8 January – 26 March: 7.30PM – 9.45PM £4 per session paid weekly or in advance High: Mass Movement (Inner City Ceremonies, 2018) Is like a rave but without the drugs, it’s like religion but without the dogma. H:MM is a process open to those interested in getting high through movement, music and political ritual. Facilitated by performance artist Daniel P Cunningham. Be aware that this is a queer process, open to anyone.
danielcunningham.squarespace.com Booking Please send a short biography and a letter of interest (150 words) detailing why you would like to be part of the process. A commitment to the entire process is needed, so please be sure that you can attend all the sessions. Please send your letter of interest and biography to mahri.reilly@ovalhouse.com before Wednesday 3 January 2018.
27
PALAvA 14 – 21 yrs
Lyric writing: every every monday 8 January – 26 march: 6Pm – 8Pm Recording: every every wednesday 10 January – 28 march: 5.30Pm – 7.30Pm
Using lyric writing, recording and production, in sessions led by professional artists and DJs, you will gain accreditations, meet real artists in the industry and perform your own music on stage and live on radio. Led by Class of Poets, Flames Radio and Young People Matter. funded by the Hyde foundation and Battersea Power Station foundation.
CONTACT palava@ovalhouse.com for more info
we Are London 14 – 22 yrs saturdays 6 January – 31 march: 4Pm – 6Pm Our longest running participatory programme. we Are London bridges the gap between arts and the personal, social and political issues facing young migrants, refugees and asylum seekers new to London. Celebrate your language, culture and homeland and meet new friends in these weekly sessions. CONTACT mahri.reilly@ovalhouse.com for more info
demonstrate! 8 – 16 yrs saturdays 13 January – 17 march: 11Am – 1.30Pm A fully inclusive participatory arts programme for children in Lambeth with complex needs and their siblings. Child-centred, fun, safe creative space to interact, play and perform delivered in partnership with Corali Dance Company. Commissioned by Lambeth Council Short Breaks Programme. PLACes Please note that we currently have a waiting list for Demonstrate!. For more info or to get on the list contact demonstrate@ ovalhouse.com
28
schools Programme (See page 15) Open to all Lambeth Primary schools mon 26 – Fri 30 march and mon 9 – Fri 13 April 2018 To begin our very first schools programme, we are offering a a series of post-show workshops on Mike Kenny’s Random Selfies. • Free 90 minute workshop per class of tickets booked pre or post-show. • First-come-first-served basis. • Takes place either at school or at Ovalhouse. The workshop will explore loneliness and the character’s experiences within the show. Young learners will discuss, interrogate, share and perform what loneliness means to them. In a world where millions of people are literally at our fingertips, how does loneliness affect the growing generation of digital natives?
TO bOOk a workshop please email mahri.reilly@ovalhouse.com
OVALHOUSE Family day sat 31 march: 10Am – 2Pm Come with the children in your lives to the first of our special Family Day events, linked to our stunning new children’s show Random Selfies (see page 15). Get a workshop and non-stop drop-in activities thrown in for FREE!
bOOkiNg All of the activities are free, but you must book your place at the workshop in advance. Tickets to Random Selfies at 2pm cost £10 ADULTS | £7 Under 16s. Phone 020 7582 7680 or book online ovalhouse.com
29
ARTISTS PAGeS Various spaces
Ovalhouse Café
Tues 23 JANuARy 6Pm – 9Pm
mON 29 JANuARy 2Pm – 6Pm
#COnnECT: Well-Being
#COnnECT: Emergency Tax Party!
To help you to recover from the winter and prepare you for the year ahead, Ovalhouse will provide well-being therapies including reflexology, Indian head massage and chair massage to help energise you for 2018.
Left it to the last minute (again)? Deadline is looming. Unsorted receipts are still in a carrier bag under the bed. DOn’T PAnIC! We’re here to help. With tax experts on hand to answer your questions, fellow artists on hand for moral support and Ovalhouse staff on hand to keep the caffeine/alcohol flowing!
A new Year pick-me-up, from us to you. FRee (booking essential) | Places 2
FRee (booking essential) | Places 40
0
Ovalhouse Blue Studio
Ovalhouse Blue Studio
Tues 6 FebRuARy 10Am – 1Pm
Tues 27 FebRuARy 10Am – 1Pm
How to Raise £15,000 – £50,000
Creating Autobiographical Theatre with Bella Heesom
Working with expert fundraiser Tim Burley, this workshop has an emphasis on grant fundraising and includes: trust and foundation research methods, writing compelling copy and seeing from the funders’ perspective, do’s and don’ts for effective fundraising, the budget-story exercise, current trends and funder profiles.
Theatre has the power to remind us of our common humanity, to make us feel less alone, and cultivate empathy. Creating work out of truth rather than fiction can have an even greater impact. But how do you turn thoughts and feelings into a play with dramatic structure? In this workshop Bella will lead exercises on the relationship between the performer and audience.
£10* | Places 20 *Free bursary places available – please contact us to find out more.
Suitable for writers and performers interested in creating their own work. £15 | Places 20
1
ARTISTS PAGeS Ovalhouse Blue Studio Tues 13 mARCh, 10Am – 1Pm
Ovalhouse Café/Bar
Company Formation and Charitable Status
#COnnECT: Out Thinkers
This informal half-day course will explain the legal issues and practicalities of setting up a Limited Company, the roles and responsibilities of Company Directors, the benefits or disadvantages of Charitable Status, and how to decide and assess which is suitable for your organisation. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion.
A celebration of the lives and work of LGBT+ scientists. A programme of speakers will offer fascinating insights into their remarkable work, from colliding galaxies to miniscule bacteria, as well as talking frankly about their experiences of being LGBT+ in the lab.
mON 19 mARCh 7Pm – 9Pm
Presented by the Pride in STEM group, this will be an opportunity for artists, audiences and anyone who is just fascinated by the world around them to learn about the work of such an important community.
Led by Jackie Elliman, ITC’s Legal & Industrial Relations Manager. £10 | Places 20
FRee (booking essential) | Places 80
2
SUPPORT US
A New hOme FOR TheATRe iN bRixTON OVALHOUSE is moving to a brand new purpose-built venue in 2020 and we need YOU to help us on our #RoadTobrixton! hOw yOu CAN heLP: buy A bRiCk £100 – £500
TAke A seAT £1000
NAme-A-sPACe POA
beCOme A FRONT ROw COmPANy There are many ways you can become involved with Ovalhouse as a Front Row Company: our enthusiastic network of business supporters. Contact us for more information.
TheRe ARe mANy OTheR wAys TO geT iNvOLved visit ovalhouse.com/support to find out more about how you can help us on our #RoadTobrixton Each donor will receive a certificate and be credited online. You will also be credited in our new venue once we open.
To find out more about our Capital Campaign contact: Katie Milton Development Director – Capital Campaign katie.milton@ovalhouse.com | 020 7820 727
VISIT OUR
THeATRe BAR Come and chill out in our spacious café / bar or pop-up garden before and after the show! Open from 6pm every theatre evening, we offer a hand-picked selection of Borough Wines, locally sourced craft beers including Brixton Brewery, Mondo Brewing Company, The Kernel Brewery and Brick Brewery, as well as Urban Orchard Cider. We also serve a range of gourmet coffees from Drury Tea & Coffee, Square Root seasonal sodas plus there’s free WiFi.
DID YOU KNOW? URBAN ORCHARD CIDER IS MADE USING APPLES FROM LONDON GARDENS & ALLOTMENTS!
Introducing our
Capital Campaign Cocktail!
Try one of our delicious Espresso Martinis and you’ll be supporting our new venue in Brixton at the same time! All profits go to supporting our Capital Campaign (see page for more info). For further info visit ovalhouse.com/cafe-bar 4
COME RHYME
WITH ME
Ovalhouse Café / Bar sAT 17 FebRuARy 7.30Pm The UK’s most delicious spoken word event, hosted by Dean Atta and Deanna Rodger. The meNu Appetisers: Open mic: there are six slots on offer – arrive early to secure your spot on the mic. starter: Brighton MC and producer bobbie Johnson is making moves in the UK Hip-Hop scene, having toured with Rag ‘n’ Bone Man earlier this year, and enjoyed an applauded release of her You & I EP, which highlights her talent of lyricism and sound. We are honoured to welcome a rising star to the Come Rhyme With Me line up! main Course: belinda Zhawi is a Zimbabwean born writer and educator. She is co-founder and host of the bi-monthly poetry social BORn::FREE. Belinda was the 2016/17 Institute of Contemporary Arts Associate Poet. She is currently based in London, working on her debut pamphlet. dessert: Andre Prefontaine is an accomplished slam poet from Toronto. He holds the coveted ‘triplecrown’, having won the Underground Slam Championships, Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and Canadian Individual Poetry Slam championships, and was a finalist at the World Cup Poetry Slam in Paris in 2017. Food by Streamz deannarodger.co.uk @comerhymewithus
Tickets with food £14 (recommended) without food £9 5
cReATIVeS WoRKSPAce
PRIceS & offeRS
Join our scheme and make Ovalhouse your pop-up office. We know that working from home or hectic coffee shops can be lonely or problematic, so we’ve created the Creatives Workspace scheme. As a busy, multi-use theatre, we can’t always promise peace and quiet, but we can promise a friendly, conducive space to work alongside other creatives.
mAiN hOuse shOws: £15 | £10 COnCESSIOnS | £9 UnDER 26 PREVIEWS: ALL TICKETS £9 FiRsT biTes: £5 ADVAnCE | £8 DOOR FAmiLy TiCkeT OFFeRs For children’s shows, add 2 adult and 2 under 16s tickets to your basket and pay just £28, a saving of £6. bOOk As A gROuP & sAve £10 Buy 4 tickets to any main house full-price show and pay just £50
For £ per day, £10 a week or £20 per month you get: • Space in our cafe to work or for meetings (Tues – Sat) • Unlimited tea and coffee • Access to staff kitchen • Free WiFi • Occasional discounts on theatre tickets, rehearsal space and workshops
Discount applied automatically at checkout. (Limited availability, advance booking essential).
sTudeNT AmbAssAdORs AT OvALhOuse Apply to be a Student Ambassador and get opportunities to write reviews, meet artists, and see shows for free. For more information contact emma.stirling@ovalhouse.com
iNTeResTed iN JOiNiNg? Email creative.network@ovalhouse.com
sChOOLs OFFeR Schools tickets for Random Selfies are just £5 per pupil, with one teacher free with every 10 booked. Contact our Box Office manager on 020 7582 7680 or amy.hewett@ovalhouse.com for further information and bookings.
6
InfoRmATIon ovalhouse.com @ovalhouse ovalhouse
Ovalhouse 52 – 54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW bOOkiNg
TheATRe bAR & CAFÉ Our theatre bar is open every night throughout the season from 6pm for a full bar service featuring a range of local craft beers and hot and cold drinks (see page 4). Covered garden area open daytimes and evenings.
Box office 020 7582 7680 Book online ovalhouse.com All ticket prices include VAT and a booking fee (if applicable). When booking tickets you will be asked to make an optional donation to support Ovalhouse’s work. Thank you in advance for your support.
ACCess Ovalhouse Downstairs, Café, Bar and Garden. Disabled customers are entitled to a free ticket for an access companion: contact our Box Office to book. There will be a BSL performance for Random Selfies, date tbc: please check website for details. This brochure is available in large print, braille and audio formats: to order copies, contact: emma.stirling@ovalhouse.com
geTTiNg heRe Nearest tube OVAL (northern Line) or VAUXHALL (Victoria Line and BR) buses , 6, 1 , 155, 159, 185, 4 6 Car parking for disabled visitors only, on-street parking after 6. 0pm. We are not in the congestion zone. santander Cycles dock directly opposite, on Kennington Oval.
BSL shows supported by
Supported by
ovalhouse (christ church [oxford] united clubs) is a registered charity no. 288931 7
DIARy
= work-in-development
6 JAn – 1 MAR
Learning & Participation spring Term
8 JAn
AudiTiON dAy Ovalhouse Performance Company
2 JAn
#CONNeCT: well-being
29 JAn
#CONNeCT: emergency Tax Party!
29 JAn – 10 FEB
A Crash Course in Cloudspotting by Raquel Meseguer
0 JAn – 10 FEB
medea electronica by Pecho Mama
1 JAn
Learning & Participation Family day
6 FEB
wORkshOP: how to Raise £15,000–£50,000
16 & 17 FEB
One item Only by Margarita Sidirokastriti
17 FEB
Come Rhyme with me
21 FEB – MAR
derailed by Little Soldier Productions
21 – 2 FEB
Rejoicing At her wondrous vulva the young woman Applauded herself by Bella Heesom
27 FEB
wORkshOP: Creating Autobiographical Theatre with Bella Heesom
8
1 – 3 MAR
When The Lights Go Out by Makalla McPherson
6 – 10 MAR
So Many Reasons by Rachel Ofori
13 MAR
WORkShOp: Company Formation
and Charitable Status 14 – 24 MAR
This Restless State by Jesse Fox
19 MAR
#CONNECT: Out Thinkers
22 – 24 MAR
Massive Sense of Urgency by Madi Maxwell-Libby
26 – 30 MAR
Learning & participation Schools programme
27 MAR – 7 APR
Random Selfies by Mike Kenny
31 MAR
Learning & participation Family Day
11 – 28 APR
Coconut by Guleraana Mir
9 – 13 APR
Learning & participation Schools programme
26 – 28 APR
Whatever happened to Vandal Raptor? Cover photo by The Two Richards
by Vandal Factory
39
OvALhOuse.COm | bOx OFFiCe 020 7582 7680