When we launched our Fringe Support Competition over Twitter, we were hoping to find theatre companies that align with Clean Break's values - we never dreamed we discover anyone as wonderful as the team behind Power Play!
Power Play is an activist theatre campaign that analyses and exposes gender inequality in grassroots and fringe theatre, using data-activism, immersive theatre and bold stunts. As well as taking four brand new plays written by women and featuring all-female casts to this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, they are launching the first ever statistical study of the Fringe’s gender breakdown.
We were beyond impressed by this young company, and are delighted to be offering them free rehearsal space, marketing advice and a social media bump during their Fringe run - congratulations Power Play! Find out more about this ambitious and impressive company here.
The Plays
FUNERAL FLOWERS
written by and starring Emma Dennis-Edwards
4-25 August, 14:30
£12 (£10)
Originally commissioned as a short play for the Royal Court’s Tottenham Festival and now expanded to an hour-long piece, Funeral Flower makes its Fringe debut!
Angelique loves flowers, her mum and her boyfriend... in that order, but at the moment it seems like floristry classes are the only thing working out for her. Part-play, part-interactive floristry masterclass, FUNERAL FLOWERS takes you right inside Angelique’s world as she copes with the chaos of her Mum’s incarceration.
NEXT TIME
written by Jess Moore, directed by Polly Creed
3-25 August, 16:00
£12 ( £10)
Offie-nominated writer, Jess Moore, follows her ‘stylish debut play on mental health issues’ (The Stage), Gin for Breakfast, with a site-specific play addressing the topic of domestic violence.
On average, victims of domestic violence experience 35 assaults before calling the police. Why does it take abuse survivors so long to leave? NEXT TIME examines this question through its excruciating, yet compelling exploration of one woman’s story. Set within the claustrophobic confines of a real house, the play follows a woman in her twenties, as she plans to leave her abusive relationship. Minute-by-minute, it explores the practical and emotional barriers that victims face.
SOMEBODY
written by Matilda Curtis, directed by Bethany Pitts
3-25 August, 13:00
£12 (£10)
What makes a woman? This is the question at the heart of Matilda Curtis’ new play, SOMEBODY. The site-specific play follows Girl, a twenty-seven-year-old finally on the cusp of womanhood. Facing motherhood and marriage, we are taken back in time through the events that shaped her identities and values, moving from Girl’s childhood to her present. Consumed with questions of identity and womanhood, this is certainly a play for 2018.
THE EMPTY CHAIR
written by Polly Creed, directed by Seren John-Wood
3 - 25 August, 17:30
£12 (£10)
Straight from its award-winning London performances at the Duchess Theatre and Pleasance Theatre (winner of Best New Writing and Best Performance at the London Student Drama Festival), THE EMPTY CHAIR - a play about celebrity culture, the #MeToo Movement, and the arts industry - hits Edinburgh! This site-specific, immersive play takes you behind the walled communities of Beverly Hills into the cloistered setting of a Hollywood after-party in the early hours of the morning, examining the human experiences behind the #MeToo movement.
