Arcola Theatre provides space for a small group of writers to develop as playwrights. The writers meet regularly, sharing work among themselves and with tutors. These five no-décor plays are performed as part of a collaboration between Arcola Writers and third-year directing and acting students from the Drama Centre, London.

 

   

 

 

 

 

THE PLAYS

The Fox by Tom Hill
Director: Adam Berzsenyi Bellaagh
Wednesday 25 April 8pm 

Where is the line between love and dependency? 1918. A fox is killing chickens on a farm in rural England where two women struggle to make ends meet. A young soldier returns from war. He offers a solution but at a price. Bloody feathers fly as passion encircles the threesome. An adaptation of the novella by DH Lawrence.

Luna Park by Barry Wilson
Director: Hannah Kaye
Thursday 26 April 8pm  

Obsession. Sex. Bugs. Noodles. Rubbish. Dogs… and a warm summer’s evening. Two strangers, Carla and Jamie, find themselves in the back garden of a flat that belongs to neither. From dusk ’til dawn, under a full moon, they battle for control of their destinies.

Gift from God by Suraya Sidhu Singh
Director: Kelly Lyne
Sunday 29 April 6pm  

‘You can’t doubt me because you can’t hear me.’ Nathan, musician turned alcoholic loathed by the industry that once hailed him, comes to after passing out and finds a homeless deaf-mute living in his apartment. She cooks, cleans and “listens” to his rants about the necessity of drinking, the elusiveness of creativity and everyone else’s desire to thwart him. It’s as if she were a gift. Soon Nathan has stopped drinking, is making music again and people are taking him seriously – what could possibly go wrong? Inspired by The Muse by LA Green.

No Smoke by Annabel Dearing
Director: Jens Heuwinkel
Sunday 29 April 8pm

Summer 2001: Race riots are raging in Burnley and Bradford. Lisa returns to her home town to report the story for the national radio. Her ex-boyfriend Matt, a local solicitor, can help her with her story. But how can he reveal his old feelings for Lisa, when he is secretly dating Rafeeqah, a Muslim girl? And would Matt ever defy his football mates by agreeing to marry Rafeeqah? Her brother Mohammed wants to push her into an arranged marriage: but what lengths would she go to, to prevent it? Scenes of passion and betrayal, as three young people struggle to reconcile their cultural heritage with their personal destiny.

Arcola Writers Group