London fringe hit heads for Greenwich Theatre
This time of year is huge in the theatre calendar, not because of the range of family summer shows that open or the influx of international tourists that descend on the west end, but because of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Thousands of theatre makers from across the UK spend their year gearing up to present their work in the Scottish capital, particularly those early career artists who are still looking for producers, venue partners and the ever more elusive attention of reviewers. Historically, the industry has relocated for pretty much the whole month, so if you want your show seen by venue programmers or want to meet future supporters or have the quality of your show endorsed by critics, that’s where you need to be.
We have supported countless companies over the years in achieving their Edinburgh ambitions, but as prices do continue to escalate, it is becoming all the more important for those same industry professionals to explore the tiny venues around London to unearth some of the stars of the future – some of the talented, enterprising theatre creators who simply cannot afford the travel, accommodation, venue fees and living costs of a month in Scotland.
One of those venues well worth keeping an eye on is the Bridge House Theatre in Penge. Now open for ten years, with artistic director Luke Adamson in post for the last three, I have seen a number of high quality shows there over the years that may otherwise have struggled to find a home – the most recent of which was Great Egg Theatre’s When Atlas Met Tantalus.
Studio venues like The Bridge House are ideally suited to house single location dramas, shows which settle in and feel right in intimate, maybe claustrophobic settings. For Great Egg’s show, that setting is a parlour in Victorian London.
Set in the aftermath of Oscar Wilde’s incarceration in Reading Gaol, where he was imprisoned for two years for gross indecency – in reality, for his sexuality – the play sees two men trapped together in a room, each avoiding the outside world for their own reasons, each dealing with their own identity in their own way. The two men’s worlds seem far removed from one another, divided by class and status, but with the clock ticking they must each face up to their similarities and the secrets they keep.
The play is written by Tiff Milner, who co-directs with Emily Layton, and the show features two great performances by Simon Christian and Luke Livesey.
Having seen the show in Penge and loved it, I am delighted that the company have agreed to transfer to the Greenwich Theatre studio for a one-week run at the end of this month, with tickets now on sale.
Without venues like The Bridge House, companies like Great Egg Theatre would have little or no chance of launching their shows – and as we prepare to open When Atlas Met Tantalus in Greenwich I’ll be out looking for the next exciting debut on the London fringe.
Tickets are available now at www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk/events/whenatlas
Photo courtesy of Great Egg Theatre.