Post-lockdown 2021 : Theatre, Vids and Rehearsed Readings

The [post-lockdown] WHAT :

Directing short plays, rehearsed readings, live performance and playwriting.

1. Session 5 — by Mike Gould with Polly Nayler and Simon Bass, directed and edited by Rad Popp.
   Video performance (5 min 7 sec) – theatre of suffering and elation
2. Bob and Muriel Take A Walk On The Wild Side — by Madeline Puccioni with Marina Tapakoudes and Ross Scott, directed and edited by Rad Popp. Video performance (3 min 57 sec) – comedy and satire
3. Manifest Release Machine — by Simon Jaggers with Oriana Charles, Andy Cantillon and Marina Tapakoudes, directed by Rad Popp.
   Rehearsed reading (aprox. 20 min in all) – comedy, distraction and satire
4. Restructuring — by Ben Canon with Lydia Cashman, Kait Feeney, directed by Rad Popp.
   Rehearsed reading (aprox. 13 min in all) – theatre of suffering and satire
5. Night Call — by Carolyn Bell with Polly Nayler directed by Rad Popp.
   Live performance (5 min 30 sec) – theatre of suffering and elation
6. An Audience With Thespis — by Chris Fletcher with Kait Finney, directed by Rad Popp.
   Live performance (4min 38 sec) – comedy and elation
7. Tomorrow’s Applause — by Rad Popp.
   Short play, theatre of suffering and elation

The [post-lockdown] WHY :

An attempt to answer through practice the now perennial questions: should we go back to where we were? can we go back? do we want to go back? or do we want, and are compelled to move forward with new practices, both virtual and hybrid at best? Practices that are adaptable to ever-changing COVID rules and much reduced live audience numbers that exacerbates competition in the creative field, where many are likely to starve or give up.

Could this new theatre be a home for ‘lived trauma’ a ‘theatre of suffering’ or the current context is better served by comedy, elation, laughter and distraction. Can we mix both? In the light of BLM and Brexit do we need a ‘theatre of reconciliation’ that should provide clear warning of the tokenism and hypocrisy of Western white narratives that project(ed) a unified image of society for so long to the detriment of the migrant voices (in the theatre too).