Improbable’s directors Lee and Phelim have been improvising on stage all their adult lives. Then one day they had a fantasy: what would happen if they took older actors in their 70s and 80s, actors who had spent their lives on stage bringing life to a writer’s words, actors who - now they are old - appear in our theatres less and less; what would happen if they put those actors on stage without a script? What scenes would they create? What stories would they unfold? What might they tell us about what awaits us all at the other end of life?
We are about to find out. Lost Without Words – a theatrical experiment.
Improbable’s Artistic Directors Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson will co-direct with Colin Grenfell as Lighting Designer and music by Steven Edis.
IMPRO FOR ELDERS & LIFEGAME – Cockpit Theatre, 30 November & 1 December 2016
IMPRO FOR ELDERS: The wisdom of making it up as you go along.
Improbable will be working with a group of older people local to Church Street, Westminster, to create a brand new performance. This show will be presented in a double bill with Improbable’s Lifegame.
Keith Johnstone’s LIFEGAME: Part chat show, part impro show.
Improbable have been performing Lifegame around the world since 1998. A member of the public is interviewed on stage about their life. The stories they tell are dramatized by a company of improvisers. A different guest every show, a different show every night. Instantaneous theatrical biography. In this special version of Lifegame, a member of the Impro For Elders group (also a resident of the Church Street area) will be the guest. What are the stories that only a Church Street local could tell? Join us to find out.
DEVOTED & DISGRUNTLED 12 - Passenger Shed at Brunel’s Old Station, Bristol 14 – 16 January 2017
Improbable’s 12th annual Devoted & Disgruntled event gets under way in January 2017, in partnership with Theatre Bristol.
At a time of economic and social uncertainty, it’s more important than ever for the UK's theatre and arts community to unite around the issues that really matter, share concerns, and work together to strengthen the creative community. D&D is an opportunity for arts people at every point in their careers, from audiences to artists, CEOs to FOH staff, grassroots groups to seasoned professionals, to come together and focus on the question WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THEATRE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS?
The biggest ever D&D - For its 12th annual event, Devoted & Disgruntled heads to the magnificent Passenger Shed at Bristol Temple Meads, providing space for more people than ever before to come together and get to grips with the issues that really matter to the UK arts community.
Why Bristol? - 2015’s event in Birmingham - the first annual D&D outside London - was a sell-out success, with 300 people generating almost 100 reports over the weekend. Bristol, as a creative hub with a thriving theatre community and an embedded Open Space practice, seemed the natural next location for this national event. D&D 12 is being hosted in partnership with Theatre Bristol, the city's unique network of theatre producers and organisations, and is also supported by Tobacco Factory Theatres.
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Listings Information
Impro for Elders & Lifegame
Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street, London NW8 8EH
30 November & 1 December, 7.30pm
Tickets £10 / Church Street Ward residents: £5 / Out & About ticket scheme: £1
Box Office 020 7258 2925
Online bookings: http://thecockpit.org.uk/show/impro_for_elders_lifegame
Westminster residents aged 60+ - and especially those in the Church Street ward - can get involved in FREE weekly drama group sessions. They run Mondays 1.30pm - 3.30pm from 17th Oct to 28th Nov at Church Street Library in Westminster. For more info or to sign up contact Lucy Foster - Improbable Participation Director - on 020 7240 4556 or email lucy@improbable.co.uk
Funded by Create Church Street, part of the Church Street Futures Regeneration programme, and Arts Council England
LifeGame© created by Keith Johnstone, TM & © Copyright 1970-2002
All Rights Reserved Keith Johnstone Workshops Inc.
Exclusively licensed by Keith Johnstone Workshops Inc.
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Devoted & Disgruntled 12
Brunel's Old Station, The Passenger Shed, Station Approach, Bristol, BS1 6QH
Saturday 14 January 11am – Monday 16 January 2pm, 2017
Tickets £25 Early Bird (book before 1 December 2016); £14 (students, unemployed and registered disabled); £21.60 (groups of 5)
Online bookings:
http://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/events/devoted-disgruntled-12/
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Lost Without Words
Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre, Upper Ground, London SE1 9PX
4 – 18 March 2017
Tickets £20/£15
Box Office: 020 7452 3000
Online bookings:
http://www.improbable.co.uk/portfolios/lost-without-words/
