A Film and Theatre project Brighton, United Kingdom
Students of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama are producing Sophie Swithinbank’s imaginative new play ‘The Superhero’.
My name is Sophie Swithinbank. I am a Masters students of Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. I am soon to graduate and my company and I are beginning to produce original works of theatre.
Our aim is to write fun theatre which is appealing for both young people and adults. We want to educate through comedy, entertaining and inspiring audiences of all ages and backgrounds, in order to make theatre a more culturally diverse artistic medium.
The first piece my company and I will be producing is The Superhero, a play for young people and fun adults. It is being produced by Starboard Festival in Brighton on 5th July 2016.
http://www.starboardfestival.com/
The Superhero is a dark comedy. Its themes include climate change, puberty and identity. It is set in the fictitious future. The Gulf Stream has shifted and the majority of the planet is blanketed in ice. As a result, a group of humans have evolved into superheroes. The story follows Kate, a strange, bookish girl who is a Superhero but does not know it yet. Defrosted mammoths roam the streets, while pesky penguins meddle with recycling systems. This show is likely to be the most entertaining 70 minutes of your life.
The festival are unable to provide us with any funding, so we are appealing to you, the kind and generous public. Any donations given will be spent on props, costume, and travel, and would be greatly appreciated.
Will will be documenting our rehearsal process and posting photos here and on all other social media platforms.
But for the time being, here we are in all our glory:
The Writer:
Sophie Swithinbank, Playwright, 23 years old.
Sophie was born and raised in West London, but her writing career began in Los Angeles, where she undertook a course in short story writing. Her first published work was in ONCA a magazine concerning the arts and the environment. Her story followed a salmon who witnesses a woman drowning.
However, Sophie’s main interest and life long love has always been theatre. This led her to re-write my short stories as play scripts. And this was what really clicked.
She is now a student of MA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and is writing scripts as often as possible. She is really enjoying the course so far, especially having the chance to hear other people’s work. Recently, Sophie has written for and produced a night of short plays in London called 8Squared, where her play SLEEPOVER was staged. THE SUPERHERO is Sophie’s first full-length play.
The Director:
Phoebe Hit, Theatre Devisor, 23 years old.
Phoebe Hitt studied English and Drama at Oxford Brookes University before beginning her MA course in Advanced Theatre Practice at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She directed her first play at Oxford Brookes (Twelfth Night) and followed this up with a production of Alice in Wonderland that was featured at Alice Day in Oxford in 2014. Since then her focus has been new writing, directing short pieces for Playground, SLAM. and the Brockley Jack. She is currently working on a devised comedy performance for her final project and is excited to be involved in another student’s final project and take the show to such an amazing new festival.
The Costume and Prop Designer:
Lotte Brockbank, Artist, 23 years old
Artist and Prop-maker Lotte Brockbank studied Art and Literature at the University of Sussex before spending a year at The Royal Drawing School in London. Having worked for commercial and television art departments, she is currently set-building for Gifford’s Circus which will tour over the summer. Lotte’s passion for craft and story-telling feeds into each new project as well as her own art practice, which she continues to develop both within and alongside the energy of collaborative work.
The Theatre:
Brighton Open Air theatre
Brighton Open Air Theatre is an amphitheatre formed of eight artificially turfed terraces leading down to a sunken thrust stage. A bespoke acoustic wall retains sound, improving the experience for audience member and prevents noise pollution. The capacity is 425.
B•O•A•T operates from May to September each year and provides a space for local artists, schools etc. alongside national touring productions. The programme is primarily made up of theatre but B•O•A•T also plays host to music, comedy, screenings and spoken word events.
B•O•A•T is a democratic space with no artistic director and no artistic policy. Uniquely, construction costs were met by fundraising events and private donations. Companies of all scales and experience are welcome. The venue will be self-sufficient. Income from box office splits will help meet on-going costs.
Audiences are encouraged to cycle or walk to the venue. Performances finish no later than 10:00PM in line with event licensing in other public spaces in the city.