by Meredith Jones Russell
Often misunderstood, neglected and under-reported, Northern Ireland is just across the water but can often feel a million miles away. Kate Reid’s new script tackles this issue with a powerful and compelling look at real-life, contemporary Northern Irish stories.
by Emma Lamond
Poor mental health can make us horrible people, and nobody talks enough about it. This play does just that with nuance and painful realism.
by Matthew McGregor-Morales
Memes, mysteries and musical showboating – the indie karaoke anthem gets a very British tribute.
Tim and Hannah really want it all, so they pack nostalgic pleasure points, one after the other, into their tribute to the Killers’ breakthrough 00’s anthem. “Mr Brightside” hit the UK charts 16 years ago and it hasn’t left since, setting sweaty dancefloors, muddy fields and plush, well-lit living rooms into a comparable frenzy. And those are just my memories.
by Bryony Rae Taylor
I’m Bryony.
Hi Bryony – what’s your accent?
I’m from Burnley in Lancashire.
‘BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURNLEH!’
by Laura Kressly
Like many teenage girls past and present, Amy is riddled with insecurity about her body to the point that she struggles to see her strengths. She wants so desperately to have everything that her best friend Ellie has – popularity, good looks and a date for the dance. Fortunately, Amy’s super pro-active so she’s gathered together everything she needs to cast a spell that will make her pretty. Things don’t go to plan though – instead of suddenly transforming into a conventionally attractive girl, she summons an unexpected guest.
by Evangeline Cullingworth
Angus’ dog died last week. Dain was his best friend. It’s like one day it was there, and the next it wasn’t. I mean, nothing is really making much sense lately.
by Fergus Church
[/activate sensory simulation database]
[sensory simulation database pending]
[sensory simulation database complete]
[location: vault festival]
[/play]
[/see:] dim corridors. neon and spray paint and brick.
[/smell:] must. vimto-flavoured vape. cigarette smoke. beer.
[/feel:] water sweat-dripping onto crowns of heads. dusty warmth.
[/hear:] chatting. applause. glasses clinking behind the bar. a pub quiz announcer.
[/taste:] breath mints. mould in the air.
By Keagan Fransch
Adham is a bodyguard, steady and serious, and a stickler for propriety and safe proximity. Raushan is an excitable and curious Imam with a joy for life and an (almost) unshakeable positivity that’s hard to resist. On a rainy day in London, outside Raushan’s mosque, the two unlikely companions strike up a conversation that leads to an odd-couple friendship that changes and grows as they do. However, when Adham asks Raushan to pretend to be his husband (so that he can avoid being ‘set-up’ by his boss), their easy friendship is inevitably put to a difficult test.
by Euan Vincent
This play literally packs heat. Airlock theatre’s one-woman show tackles guns, deprivation, and asks what it’s like when a young mind is faced with life-affecting choice. It hurtles through its hour driven by the insistent, virtuosic energy of writer and performer Rosanna Suppa.
by Laura Kressly
Essie’s fine. Her job search is going well, she has savings in the bank, her friends and family are nearby. But she doesn’t know how to describe herself in interviews, spends way too much time online, and recently split up with her girlfriend. Her big and exciting world is shrinking, and her body feels more and more like it’s not her won.
The Play's The Thing UK 