REBELS

llustration by Rebecca Strickson

A season of work about politics, protest, breaking the mould and celebrating difference.

Thursday 11 April – Saturday 1 June 2019

3 for 2 on shows across the season.

See back cover for details.

We are thrilled to present REBELS, a season about politics, protest, breaking the mould and celebrating difference. This work is vital, daring and captivating - we are supporting artists to push boundaries and challenge what we might expect. As a result, most of the events will be difficult to give labels or put into boxes. Just like people are.

We believe the majority of ‘real’ rebels are ambitious and bold individuals trying to shake up the status quo and create positive change. This has been an aspiration for the Albany over the last 40 years and we hope it’s reflected in what you see here.

Last year we put out an open invitation to commission four artists to create something new for Rebels. We were overwhelmed with the response - over 100 ideas for new, urgent, radical work – so much so we commissioned six artists and are supporting another nine.

We’re opening this up further now with our Rebels Legacy Commission – questioning who should be making these choices and handing over the decision making to you.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved across the season: shows and events across our three venues and beyond - encompassing theatre, spoken word, music, visual arts and more, alongside a pay-what-you-decide workshop and talks programme. There is so much on offer in fact that we couldn’t fit it all into one brochure, so do check out the website for the full line-up.

We can’t wait to see you there.

Gavin Barlow Artistic Director

Linda Bloomfield Rachel Nelken REBELS Producers

 The Albany

Rebels Legacy Commission: Pitches & Pizza Party Wednesday 22 May, 7pm | FREE

We are inviting you to decide which artists and projects we should support next. £3000 will be offered to a number of projects, to take place at the Albany (or elsewhere) within the next year.

Join us for a creative evening of hearing pitches, discussion and debate. Eat pizza and vote for your favourites!

Please note you do not need to be a ‘professional’ artist to apply, but you can be.

 Deptford Lounge Hidden Track and the Albany in association with alt space and Oxford Playhouse present

Drawing the Line

Thursdays to Saturdays, 9 – 25 May, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 12+ | Everyone is invited into a large, clear space. The walls are lined with spare parts, materials, stuff.

The floor is empty. Then we draw the line.

Drawing the Line is an interactive theatre experience combining storytelling, gaming and group decision-making. The line divides the audience into two rival nations. Each side will determine how their nation grows.

You can sit back and enjoy as the story unfolds, or you can wave flags, build cities, sing the national anthem, even defend your nation on the battlefield. All interaction is voluntary, and whatever you decide to do, you will be a celebrated citizen of your world.

Oh, and one last thing. Only one nation gets to survive.

The riotous follow up to the multi-award winning Standard:Elite.

Best Newcomer Brighton Fringe

Best New Writing Greater Manchester Fringe

Be a celebrated citizen of your world.

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‘Incredible’ Voice Magazine

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‘Brimming with energy and heart’ Spy in the Stalls

 The Albany ID Babylon, Stichting Likeminds, the Albany and Stratford Circus Arts Centre present

Double Bill: ID: Babylon & What Protects Us

Thursday 11 – Friday 12 April, 8.45pm | £7 / £5 concs. | Ages 12+

Pre-show workshops available See website for details

 The Albany Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan and the Albany present

Whose Eyes Are These Anyway?

Disruptive, radical and responsive international arts projects led by young emerging artists.

ID: Babylon is a moving spoken word performance exploring what it means to be a young person in Europe today. What Protects Us is an interdisciplinary piece, devised from stories collected in Deptford, Stratford and Amsterdam.

Supported by Future Arts Centres and Creative Europe.

Saturday 20 April, 6.30pm | Pay-What-You-Decide | Ages 14+ What does it mean to be simultaneously demanded and derided by the public eye?

Why is the liberation of Muslim women assumed to lie in making our bodies publicly visible? How can one Muslim woman try to speak in a show when she is already a “spectacle” in society more broadly?

 The Albany Zahed Sultan & re_use present

Haramacy

Tuesday 23 – Saturday 27 April

Whose Eyes Are These Anyway is a poetic monologue intervention set amidst a jarring soundscape focused on exploring whether and how Muslim women can exist outside of the gazes and labels of others.

UK-based Middle Eastern and South Asian artists will partake in a four-day collaborative residency and one-day interactive festival to explore the complexities of diasporic experience. During the residency, open hours will be held daily to engage with the artists.

On the fifth and final day, artists will present their works through a festival of storytelling, spoken word, live music and audio visual performances.

Followed by a panel discussion.

See website for times & line-up.

 The Albany Fuel, Encounter, The Place and the Albany present

The Kids Are Alright

Thursday 11 – Saturday 13 April, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 16+ When a day trip to the Natural History Museum turns to tragedy, one family is left as hollow as the cold bones of the blue whale.

At home, they attempt to make sense of the unimaginable in ways as unpredictable as the incident itself.

At the same time, with sound protective headphones and in an auditory world of their own, children storm the stage with a mandate for change.

Smashing two restricted worlds into one radical show, children and adults attempt to come to terms with their lives spinning out of control.

In their unique, experimental style, Encounter shed light on the state that we are in and ask what happens when generations collide in a battle where hope and despair fight for centre stage?

Two performances at once on the same stage

Sci-fi hallucinatory madness  The Albany SOUNDS LiKE CHAOS and the Albany present

WOW EVERYTHING IS AMAZING

Tuesday 16 – Thursday 18 April, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 12+ | Aged 13 - 21? Join us for a special Pay-What-You-Decide performance at 2pm on Thursday 18 April.

Let’s plug in to the global nervous system and harness the co-evolution of humans and technology.

We must all connect to the network and keep, keep, keep, clicking to optimise our experience.

In progress we trust.The future is here. We are in it. WOW. Everything is Amazing.

SOUNDS LiKE CHAOS’ latest production is a sci-fi hallucinatory madness, set in the new church of the future. Through an original score, that spans gospel to hip-hop combined with ambitious film, the company return with their unique style to explode the timely question...

Is technology shaping us or are we shaping it?

Curtain raiser: a brand new performance by young artists from the Progression programme at Tramshed (Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre), in collaboration with Coney.

 The Albany FRISKY presents

Frisky and their Freaky Friendz

‘Fresh, raw and totally unique’ Giles Peterson, BBC 6 Music

Friday 26 April, 7.30pm | Pay-What-You-Decide | Ages 16+ Join FRISKY to celebrate the outrageous, playful and experimental. A night of theatre, live art, poetry, comedy and film that seeks to push boundaries and kick up dust surrounding conventional performance. Unleash your FREAKY side.

 Canada Water Theatre

Lady Vendredi: Neon Dreams

Saturday 20 April, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 14+

Imagine an experience – turbulent yet seductive, surrounded by sound and bathed in love…

 The Albany

Leyendekker Friday 3 May, 10pm | £6 Early Bird / £8 Advance / £10 on the door | Ages 18+ A late night clubbing experience and a gig wrapped up in one night!

Following two incredible events with us, this bi-monthly immersive night is back to showcase visceral live and electronic music from South East London and beyond in intimate surroundings.

Cult music icon Lady Vendredi is a mythopoetic super heroine and vodou priestess popstar from another dimension.

Enter the space of Neon Dream - an imagined alternate reality of pulsating sensuality. An invitation to let go, drifting into the background microwave radiation. A constellation of Afrofuturistic sound, light and movement rendered form. Drawing from sources as wide as Haitian Vodou, Bauhaus costume and 70s synth pioneers, Lady Vendredi creates and recreates a new world in this mythic ritual gig.

‘Increasingly unhinged in the best possible way… you will need to leave your inhibitions in the cloakroom.’ ★★★★★ Time Out Featuring classical pianist Yung-Yee Chan.

 Canada Water Theatre Story Jam presents

Women Who Gave No F**ks

Tuesday 30 April, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 18+ 6 storytellers, 6 myths, 1 winner, 0 f**ks.

A mad night of mythology where six storytellers have 15 minutes to pit their myth against one another.

Whether it is killing Death, creating worlds or crossdressing, the women and goddesses in these tales gave zero f**ks, and have done since the beginning of time.

 The Albany

Who is the wildest? Who is the most courageous? Who gave the fewest f**ks?

That, my friends, will be up to you. Come, make merry, drink deep and vote for your favourite.

FRISKY presents

Girl World

Wednesday 15 & Thursday 16 May, 7.30pm | £10 / £8 concs. | Ages 14+ Tilly and Inga exist in a surreal bubble called Girl World where the only rule is “No boys allowed!” A pop-tastic, musical playground where best friends wreak anarchy, hilarity and imagination. But when Tilly thinks the unthinkable and asks, “is there anybody out there?”

Girl World descends into a foulmouthed, sex-obsessed battleground with both girls vying for dominance against each other when they discover there is a hole in their world...

Expect laughter, love songs and brutal wrestling on a journey of genuine friendship between two girls who are growing up.

 Canada Water Theatre Anna-Maria Nabirye and Jess Mabel Jones present

Motherhoody Sunday 12 & 19 May 11.30am – 4.30pm | FREE |

Are you a mother? What is it to be a mother? Can you become a mother? Have you ever decided not to become a mother? Have you never even thought about motherhood?

We are Anna-Maria and Jess - two women in our 30’s on a reproductive precipice! Join us as we hold space and invite you to come and smash it all open, start a conversation, listen, share and validate.

Politics isn’t just some grey old men talking on TV. Cabaret is for everyone.

A cabaret show about the state of the nation  The Albany Talia Randall presents

Question Time Cabaret

Thursday 2 May, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 16+ Following a UK tour, Talia Randall brings her glitter-drenched version of Question Time to the Albany for one last fun, rowdy and political knees-up! A playful, surprising and hilarious cabaret show about the state of the nation.

Daring to throw a political panel in the middle of a wild cabaret, this show is unlike any theatre or political rabble-rousing you’ve seen before.

It will move, inspire and challenge you.

Witness provocative performances from some of the UK’s best comedy, spoken word and drag acts. Debate with radical and inspiring journalists and activists.

 The Albany Apples and Snakes presents

Rallying Cry

Tuesday 28 & Wednesday 29 May, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 13+ The planet is spinning off its axis.

Humankind is at a tipping point.

We are heading towards disaster.

Divided, we will fall.

It has never been more vital to stand up for what you believe in.

Rallying Cry is a call to action from a collection of the country’s most vibrant and charismatic spoken word poets, as they address the state of the nation.

‘I think it’s the duty of everyone to be a political activist, but poets and musicians have a special role to play in mankind’s conversations.’

Benjamin Zephaniah #RallyingCry Supported by Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation, London Community Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trust and Cockayne Foundation

‘After Rallying Cry, I feel like we can at least imagine a better tomorrow’ London City Nights

Celebrate those taking a stand.

Together we can make a positive change in the world.

 The Albany Scottee and HOME present

No Frills: Working Class Dinner Party Saturday 11 May, 7.30pm | Pay-Whay-You-Decide | Ages 16+

Scottee is making a new solo show commissioned by HOME about the c word – class.

Scottee grew up and lived in social housing for 31 of the 33 years he has been alive. His dad is a roofer, his mum works for the council, Scottee now works in the arts and so middle class people keep telling him he can’t be working class anymore. Scottee is inviting you to sit with him and ask questions about working class identity, middle class elitism and what it means to be proud and embarrassed about where you come from.

We’ll talk for a bit, ask questions and then we’ll eat pizza.

 Canada Water Theatre Katie Greenall presents

Fatty Fat Fat

Wednesday 22 May, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 14+

 The Albany

Albany Young Creatives Takeover

Wednesday 10 April | Pay-What-You-Decide | Ages 12+ |

A raucous and anarchic celebration of ideas by and for the young people of South East London. The event will be produced, programmed and presented by local young people aged 16-30.

Check the website for times and details closer to the event.

Do you ever feel like your body takes up too much space in a world that doesn’t want to make any room?

Katie is fat. She’s pretty much always been fat, and probably will be fat forever more. Join her in the ‘Cha Cha Slide’, munch on some crisps, and have a listen to what it’s like to live in a body that people can’t help but have an opinion on.

Fatty Fat Fat is a funny, frank and provocative solo show about living in a body the world tells you to hate. Leave your diet books at the door.

 The Albany Heart n Soul presents

JB Rose, Lizzie Emeh and Grace Savage

Thursday 23 May, 7.30pm (doors) | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 14+ |

‘Impressive poetic, musical and narrative skills’ Exeunt

 Canada Water Theatre Jack Dean presents

Jeremiah

Tuesday 21 May, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 14+ | From the critically acclaimed rap storyteller behind Grandad and the Machine comes a raucous new show with live music about England’s forgotten revolution.

On 9 June 1817 Jeremiah Brandreth assembles a crew of malcontents in a pub near Nottingham. Their plan is to march on London, overthrow the government, wipe out the national debt and end poverty forever.

What Jeremiah doesn’t know is that there is a spy in his ranks with other ideas…

Featuring an original score and live band, Jeremiah tells the incredible true story of the muchmisunderstood Luddite rebellion.

Three unique women. Three unique voices. Artists JB Rose, Lizzie Emeh, and Grace Savage are bringing their radically different sounds together for an unmissable evening of original music.

Hear the soulful sounds of JB, eclectic styles and rhythms from Lizzie, and electronic pop and beat boxing from Grace. They will each be showcasing their unique individual sounds, before joining up to perform brand new tracks they’ve created together.

 Canada Water Theatre Jess Green and the Mischief Thieves in association with Discerning Nights present

A Self Help Guide to Being in Love with Jeremy Corbyn Thursday 9 May, 8pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 14+

When Jess joined the Labour Party at university in 2007 she doubled the number of members who met weekly in a Liverpool pub. Since then she’s stuck by the party through the downfall of Blair, the disappointment of Brown and the monolith of Miliband. Now, after a decade of keeping her membership card firmly at the back of her wallet, she’s fallen head over heels in love with Corbyn’s raw socialist magnetism. If only everyone else agreed...

A Self Help Guide… sees Jess ask how the party will ever win another general election when the left is so divided.

Jess Green’s rousing, lyrical and humorous show follows the success of Burning Books, which received 5H acclaim at Edinburgh Fringe.

 The Albany

The Cocoa Butter Club x House of Burlesque Friday 17 May, 8pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 18+ Rebels at the ready!

The Cocoa Butter Club returns to the Albany, with a cabaret championing bravery and breaking boundaries! Joining them, in the mission to marvel and make way for change, the UK’s most sensational striptease sisterhood, House Of Burlesque, who have been ruffling feathers for over 10 years with their unique brand of the satire, sass and stilettos.

Two Cabaret powerhouses side by side, for one night - this collaboration will change the way you see cabaret.

So, are you ready to rebel?

satire, sass and stilettos

 Canada Water Theatre Boundless Theatre and Boom Shakalaka Productions present

The Parakeet Experience Friday 24 May, 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 14+ Enter a world of electronic punk, amazing music and exotic birds with Brigitte Aphrodite and Quiet Boy, staging a musical performance taken from their brand new show Parakeet.

A genre-crossing feast for the eyes, ears and heart, Parakeet features punk poetry, sparkly-sharp fashion, wild dance moves and storytelling. The show is a fantastical tale of a young girl’s journey to make a new kind of punk: a gentler punk...

Punk with empathy.

A genrecrossing feast for the eyes, ears and heart.

 The Albany Ravioli Me Away and Block Universe, International Performance Art Festival present

The View From Behind the Futuristic Rose Trellis

Saturday 1 June, 2pm & 7.30pm | £14 / £10 concs. | Ages 12+ | The View From Behind the Futuristic Rose Trellis enthusiastically sings and dances its way through inner and outer realities, sifting through its characters to reveal moments of golden clarity shared by all.

Escape escapism through this vivid, witty-wry opera about greed, aspiration and freedom.

Written and performed by artists and musicians Ravioli Me Away (Alice Theobald, Sian Dorrer and Rosie Ridgway).

 The Albany Entelechy Arts and the Albany present

A 21st Century Tea Dance: Revolutionaries!

Tuesday 21 May, 1pm | £5 / FREE to carers and Under 5s | All Ages |

Unleash your inner rebel in the company of the Entelechy Arts Tea Dance Team when they join forces with their friends at Meet Me at the Albany for an afternoon of wild and subversive entertainment all washed down with the very best tea and cake.

 The Albany AZ Magazine presents

AZ Hub

Sunday 28 April & Sunday 26 May, 2pm | FREE | Ages 16+ The AZ Hub is a social space for QTIPOC* by QTIPOC. This is a space for workshops, screenings, art display, discussion, performance, information sharing and general chilling!

This space is a direct response to the lack of alcohol-free, daytime spaces for QTIPOC in London.

You don’t need to participate in order to be in the space. The only requirements are that you’re QTIPOC, respectful of others using the space and that you book your advance free ticket to reserve your spot. *QTIPOC stands for Queer Trans Intersex People of Colour.

Access

Join us for a series of experiences and workshops that will tap into your inner rebel

Whine ‘n’ Cotch

Initiative.dkf Let’s whine, twerk and get sensual! For females of all colours, shapes and sizes to be mentally and physically expressive through dance and movement. FREE wine, chocolates and strawberries!

All our venues are Relaxed venues and we aim to make our events accessible for all.

If you require assistance for your access needs, please call or email our Box Office or visit our website for more information.

Please notify us of access needs when booking so we can facilitate a great experience.

The Land’s Heart Is Greater Than Its Map

ivo theatre An audio walk which will transport you to an unnamed metropolis - the only city that exists twice, once on earth and once in heaven; Yaboos.

Debtford

3 for 2 offer

Junkyard Utopia

The 3 for 2 offer applies when you book at least one ticket for three separate shows or more. See the Albany website for full terms and conditions.

Cecil B. Dyslexic, K3mp & special guests Spoken word, dance, rap, poetry, trap, digital punk: responses to gentrification, racism, and cultural and class appropriation.

FRISKY & Sam Petherbridge Part interactive arts & craft, part immersive theatre event: from milk cartons to cat food boxes, we will turn this junkyard into a utopia.

Rebel Kids @ Deptford Lounge & Canada Water Library May Half Term Family-friendly and FREE! Have a go at zine-printing, banner-making, creative writing, and guerrilla gardening. Meet your favourite authors and see some exciting performances too.

The Land’s Heart Is Greater Than Its Map

Pay-What-You-Decide Workshops Programme

Explore ARTIVISM, have a go at protest drumming, learn how to grow your own food, find out about creating art across borders or discover your inner drag king or queen!

For full details including dates and times, please visit the website.

Book Online thealbany.org.uk Box Office 020 8692 4446 reception@thealbany.org.uk

The Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford, London SE8 4AG /albany.deptford

@TheAlbanySE8

Registered Charity No.1112521