Raucous historical theatre with bite, anarchy, and a bouncy castle.
August 1792. Twenty-thousand people storm the palace of King Louis XVI. Six months later he is guillotined: France is a Republic.
July 1794. Fifteen thousand more people have had their heads chopped off. Republican leader Robespierre gets guillotined as well. The Revolution is over.
January 2024. Members of the international elite assembled in Davos for the final meetings of the World Economic Forum where they enjoyed saunas, spas, and high-class food. Child poverty levels are the highest they’ve ever been. The richest 1% own half of the world’s wealth. A politician was hit by a flying egg.
Award-winning YESYESNONO are making their biggest show yet - the story of the French Revolution. It’s a show about angry, hungry citizens demanding a better world (It’s not Les Mis). It’s a show about rage and violence and taking to the streets. It’s a show with some music and a bit of dance (It’s really not Les Mis though). It’s about what it would feel like to guillotine a king… or maybe like… a billionaire? Just thinking about it, obviously not actually DOING it… just imagining… just a thought experiment… not serious, obviously we’re not serious but maybe… maybe… maybe..?
Drawing on a fiery tradition of Brechtian political theatre, five actors blast us through one of the most vital, controversial moments in European history in a completely one-sided, biased, irreverent account of what it feels like to crave a guillotine today.
Speaking about the production, Sam Ward says ‘We’re thrilled to be making our biggest production yet with the brilliant NDT. This is a huge new step for us as we explore a massive, exciting, controversial and deadly bit of European history and ask chewy, knotty questions about what type of violence we’re told to remember and which we’re asked to forget.’
This world premiere production is devised with and performed by Joe Boylan (Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Theatre Royal Haymarket), Paul Brendan (Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare’s Globe), Sha Dessi (Les Miserables, Sondheim Theatre), Jessica Enemokwu (THE PAPPY SHOW: 10th Birthday Pit Party, Barbican), and Alice Keedwell (The Tempest, Regents Park Open Air Theatre).
Written & directed by Sam Ward
Produced by Rhian Davies
Set/Costume Design by Hazel Low
Lighting designer Han Sayles
Sound Designer/Composer Tom Foskett-Barnes
Dramaturgy Josie Dale Jones and Ben Kulvichit
Cast: Joe Boylan, Paul Brendan, Sha Dessi, Jessica Enemokwu, and Alice Keedwell
Co-commissioned by New Diorama Theatre
Venue: New Diorama Theatre
15 - 16 Triton Street, Regent’s Place, London, NW1 3BF
Dates: 14 Nov – 14 Dec 2024
Times: Mon - Sat 7.30pm, Sat mat 3pm
Tickets: £22 full price (Previews £16, £3 unemployed/on strike)
Captioned 7:30pm, Thu 21 Nov Relaxed 7:30pm, Thur 28 Nov Babes-in-Arms 2pm, Thur 28 Nov
Photo credit: Alex Brenner
