The Life of Molière

An Evening of Chekhov’s Vaudevilles

7 Assilon Place

They came from who knows where and now they’re here to stay. Three strangers – or is it four? forced to live together through no fault of their own. As time passes, they learn to live, love, laugh and lament. But will they ever find a way out of 7 Assilon Place?

We explore the notion of sharing the place in which we live and our attitudes towards living in a multicultural society. 7 Assilon Place is a metaphorical tale performed in a style that combines humour with dynamic physical acting, live music and an original score.

7 Assilon Place was co-directed by internationally acclaimed director Gennadi Bogdanov from Moscow, along with James Beale of Talia Theatre. The directors and a cast of three performers collaborated with writer Nathan Osgood who recently returned from Hollywood where he wrote and directed the film "The Ditch Digger".

Back to the top

Home

In the Spring of 2002, we created our second piece for theatre. Home marked the culmination of a five-year collaboration with Russian director and leading Biomechanics expert, Gennadi Bogdanov.

We brought together an ensemble of five performers, a director, designer and lighting designer to work on the creation of Home. The piece was written by Clare Duffy of previous Edinburgh Fringe First winners Unlimited Theatre and toured venues in the North of England in 2002.

What is home? In creating this piece of theatre, it’s a question we asked ourselves and many others, including members of the UK’s immigrant community. The answers, as you may suspect, were many and varied, some simple, others complex, some surprising, others blindingly obvious but each very personal and all integral to the creation of this tragic-comic tale.

The show integrated a performance style based on Meyerhold’s Biomechanics with live music and an original score.

Following the success of Home, we were inspired to create a further piece based on themes surrounding asylum seekers, refugees and cultural mixing. 7 Assilon Place toured nationally during Spring 2003.

Back to the top

“Excellent, engrossing, visually very innovative…” (Audience member, Eccleston)

“Thought provoking, entertaining, clever, amusing, fun visually, fast moving, lots of action, good music”. (Audience member, Lancs)

“Excellent visual experience” (Audience member, Bardon Mill)

“Absolutely brilliant…The performance worked on many levels. The simplicity of set and action helped to create a many layered drama…This is the first thing I’ve really enjoyed locally since I came up from London.” (Audience member, Lancs)

“Entertaining and thought provoking….A very different type of ‘theatre’”. (Audience member, Hexham)

Is there Anybody Out There?

This piece was one of three commissioned by three northern rural touring networks: Spot On, North Pennine Highlights and Rural Arts On Tour who came together with the brilliant idea of the Boundaries Project. This trans-regional Millennium funded project enabled three companies, one from each region, to produce new work especially for rural communities.

We picked up the brief from Spot On, Lancashire’s rural touring network, in November 1999 at short notice. James Beale and Chloe Whitehead teamed up with Terence Mann and Writer/Director Matthew Harvey to create the piece and began our first rural tour with “Is There Anybody Out There?”.

The play is set in the North of England during the Autumn of 1916. The Battle of the Somme is still raging, and spirtualists and mediums are seeing a rise in popularity, with wives and mothers eager to make contact with the husbands and sons the war has taken from them. When the strange and miraculous clairvoyant act of Lance Corporal Henry Hargreaves arrives in town, inquisitive crowds gather in the hope of answers…

Is There Anybody Out There? incorporated live music, a strong visual style and an intriguing narrative, resulting in a piece of theatre which was at times moving, at times comic and ultimately very poignant.

Back to the top