One person’s stroke of luck is another’s sheep sh!t
The Award-Winning (and Recently Standing Ovation Nominated for Best Comedy and Best New Writing awards 2024) and critically acclaimed comedy Past Tents is concluding its 2023/2024 tour at the Golden Goose Theatre in Camberwell this Autumn. The brain child of award-winning writers and producers David J Keogh and Seth Jones, Past Tents is a rip-roaringly funny, cathartic exploration of mental health, grief… and tents.
When Alan's (Seth Jones) car crashes in the middle of nowhere, he hopes his bad day (which started with his wife leaving him) can't get any worse – but it does. After trudging through muddy countryside, he comes across a campsite, run by the rather eccentric Virgil (Mark Keegan). With no other options and no phone signal, he has no choice but to stay.
Unfortunately for Alan, there's only one plot left, situated in between a sheep-poo bin and the rather annoying Justin (David J. Keogh). Justin appears to be everything Alan despises – a positive family man with his life in control. However, things are not what they seem, and the campsite tension escalates as they start to reveal their true selves, with hilarious and unfortunate consequences.
Past Tents deals with important universal issues: poor mental health, grief, loneliness and depression, using humour and drama. Supported by the leading men’s mental health charity MANUP?, Past Tents is the story of two desperate people at the end of their tent ropes, forced into each other's company. It's about life, death and ultimately, how people need to talk more about the things they are going through. Past Tents is about getting things off your chest – talking about small and big things that matter – because talking helps.
Cormac Richard’s Best Actor and Best Writer Award-winner Seth Jones (A Christmas Carol, European Tour; To Kill a Mockingbird, The Ashcroft Theatre; One Man Show, South Coast Tour) is devastatingly distraught as protagonist Alan, while David Keogh (the highly anticipated John Sunshine’s Lost Rock and Roll Tapes, 2025; Journey’s End; Vengeance: The Demise of Oscar Wilde) excels as the slightly over-enthusiastic and annoyingly calm character, Justin. Mark Keegan (Dry land, Jermyn Street Theatre, 2015; Sad Girls, Edinburgh Fringe, 2017; Precious Little Talent, Courtyard Theatre, London, 2018) is bringing the role of Virgil to life, and stealing the show with all of the funniest bits.
Cormac Richards Best Writer Award-Winner and Best Actor Nominee David J Keogh comments, We are proud to bring the award winning Past Tents play to The Golden Goose at the culmination of the 2023/2024 tour. As writers and performers, we use comedy and drama to bring to life a story of how men often struggle to talk about and deal with their mental health – with often catastrophic effects. Past Tents gives three of those men a voice and our audience an escape into a strange, but hilariously dysfunctional, grotty campsite. But there’s more going on than meets the eye here… We’re so excited to bring Past Tents back to London – with the hope that we can take it to bigger audiences in the future. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
Good news for those who don’t follow camp rules – more show dates to be added!
Previous praise for Past Tents:***** ‘Perfectly pitched. This is a well-acted and scripted comedy that runs smoothly has
some laugh out loud lines and slapstick moments, mixed amongst some more serious and
thought-provoking moments. A good piece of Off West End theatre… Excellent.’
Numb Bum Press***** ‘From the first word to the final scene Past Tents is a play that is so well written and
with characters that are so believable you are right alongside them.’
Dream Cage***** ‘it’s playful, it’s outrageous, it’s courageous’
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