Comus

I was very pleased to be the Assistant Director to Lucy Bailey on Comus in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe. It ran from 26th October – 19th November. All details here.

2016/WonderNoir/Comus/1

 

 

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Day of the Living

On the back of These Trees are Made of Blood (Southwark Playhouse, March 2015) I was approached by producer Sarah Weatherall about an exciting project she is developing with her company We Light Up the House.  Day of the Living was a performance-in-progress at Drama Centre on the weekend of 31st October 2015.

Here is our Kickstarter video (we made the target, you can watch it just for info!)

 

 

We used Day of the Dead imagery, live music, mask and storytelling to explore the story of contemporary Mexico, taking inspiration from the 43 Disappeared students from Ayozitnapa last September. Unfortunately, this horrific incident is only the tip of the iceberg. For further information about how to get involved at the next stages drop me an email: amy@amydraper.co.uk

 

Creative Team

Producer – Sarah Weatherall

Composer – Darren Clark

Designer – Charlie Cridlan

Writer-  Lin Coghlan

Mask consultant – Roddy Maude-Roxby

Cast: Greg Barnett, Anne-Marie Piazza, Eilon Morris, Jimena Larraguivel, Darren Clark.

 

 

 

 

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Dusk

In September 2014 I assistant directed on a two week R&D workshop on a new piece of outdoor theatre called Dusk. The director was Olivier Lamford and the producer / writer Catherine Willmore.
Dusk is a theatrical event for a small audience which places the spectator at the heart of their very own fairy story.

Spectators walk one by one deep into a wood at dusk, guided only by a torch, and there they encounter a variety of characters and scenarios that they may – and some that they may not – expect to find.  

The experience takes place in three parts – each with a distinct set of character encounters – varying from dark and wild, to colourful and celebratory, but all very definitely uncanny.

Will each person make it home transformed?

 

We workshopped with three performers (Irene Bradshaw, Norma Cohen and Val Jones) and the fortnight culminated in a work in progress showing in Epping Forest on Friday 12th September.

There are plans for this to become a bigger event next year.

 

 

 

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Splinters

Development fortnight

 

Following on from the weeklong workshop I did at Ovalhouse in July, Co-Artistic Director Rebecca Atkinson-Lord offered me some more space to continue developing the idea in February as part of their FiRST BiTE season.

 

 

 

With a few key differences! Before, we were exploring how to adapt Tony Harrison’s TV play Black Daisies for the Bride for the stage. What we learned during the July week was that we are actually more interested in creating our own new piece of theatre about memory and memory loss. Which is what we did.

We still used orginal live music, singing, movement and naturalistic dialogue – all styles we looked at before – but this time with a different story and a new emphasis.

The new working title is Splinters and we workshopped the idea for ten days. This led up to four public work in progress performances, after which audiences gave us helpful feedback.

Workshop participants included:

Composer/musician: Darren Clark

Designer: Ele Slade

Writer: James Huntrods

Performers: H Plewis, Emma Drysdale, Hugo Bolton, Fiona Watson and Ellie Dickens.

Producing Consultant: Paul Jellis

 

Video from day 1 of the workshop:

Splinters workshop day 1

 

It all went really well and we’re now in a position to write the script and go into rehearsals. Now just need to find a venue and begin fundraising! Do get in touch if you’re interested.

 

All photos from the workshop credited to Kamal Prashar @kampra

 

 

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MTF – work in progress

Following on from our collaboration on Angel Cake at Camden People’s Theatre, performer Rhyannon Styles and I started working together again on her new show in 2013. An exploration of her transition from male to female, it will incorporate spoken word, choreography and live music.

 

Picture from UnderConstruction at the RVT, credited to David Walker

Rhyannon had already workshopped some material at the RVT and from 9th-13th September 2013 we reworked this during a development period at Camden People’s Theatre alongside the following creative team:

Writer: Rebecca Walker

Designer: Ele Slade

Musician/composer: David Ryder Prangley

Producer: Kelly Golding

 

There was a public sharing of the material createdand actually it ended up feeling more like an almost developed show rather than a “scratch” in that we had almost an hour’s worth of material. Some had been created before the week, some was new. The feedback we got from the audience was very positive.

**Update** Rhyannon is actually taking a break from performing so this project is on hold for the foreseeable future.

 

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The LipSinkers

This was a fledgling collaboration with The LipSinkers who, in their own words, are “the infamous alt-drag super-troupe who lip-synch to a jukebox of pop-tastic tunes, prance around looking ludicrously fabulous, and drive audiences wild!”

 

les-mis-5

 

I recently helped them devised their Les Mis parody number, which went down really well at their RVT show on the 1st March 2013. We haven’t had a chance to work together again since then but I hope to.

 

Here are some photos of the Les Mis number, all credited to Alfonse Debonair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“All Messed Up” at UnderConstruction

On the 21st February I directed a short piece for the work in progress night UnderConstruction at the RVT.

 

all-messed-up-8

 

The idea was to create a piece of “protest dance” – protesting against disillusionment with politicians and the media (deliberately pretty generalised at this stage!) I worked with performers Steph de Whalley and Charlotte Worthing. The piece was to the song “Getting Away With it All” by James and incorporated newsreading, lipsynching and manic tap dancing.

This may yet have further life so watch this space!

 

Here are the photos. All credited to David Walker

 

 

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Scene & Heard

Scene & Heard is an amazing charity that provides playwriting and acting courses for children in Somers Town. A few times a year they hold (free) performances where volunteer professionals – actors, directors, designers – showcase the new writing of the children. If you want to spend a completely joyful night at the theatre I can honestly not recommend it highly enough.

 

 

I was one of the directors for the shows “Hitting the Road – The Travelling Plays” – from 21st – 24th March 2013. I directed Chantelle’s brilliant play featuring the characters of a James Bond inspired hamster and a teenage hamburger.

I then directed another play for the shows “Bold Plays – Best Foot Forward” from 28th Nov – 1st Dec 2013. Imad’s inspired and hilarious piece told the story of Greedy George, the Large Poisonous Dart Frog and Deadly Danny, “The Diabetes”.

 

 

 

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“Ride”

 

I worked again with performer Rhyannon Styles on her new solo piece, which premiered at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in April 2013. We used the Lana del Rey song “Ride”.

Here is Rhyannon performing her act to Camille O’Sullivan’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”:

 

 

 

 

 

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Black Daisies for the Bride

 

Development week – Arts Council funded

Ovalhouse 8th-12th July 2013

 

 

This was an initial workshop week on the first ever stage adaptation of Tony Harrison’s 1992 TV play Black Daisies for the Bride. It is a beautiful and poignant piece about Alzheimer’s that uses drama, documentary, verse and song to explore the lives of three elderly patients of the High Royds Hospital in Yorkshire.

Following the workshop we decided that we are actually going to create our own new piece about memory as opposed to adapt this exisiting play.

I strongly believe that mental illness needs to be talked about more openly. Following on from plays such as Really Old, Like 45 at the National and Melanie Wilson’s Autobiographer, I am hoping to explore these ideas in my own theatrical way using music, movement, dance and dialogue.

 

Workshop participants were:

Writer/adapter: Dawn King

Composer/ musician: Darren Clark

Designer: Ele Slade

Performers: RashDash, Paul Treacy, Judith Paris and Eva Magyar.

 

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