Theatre November 2017

THE DUMB WAITER Tues 7 – Sat 11 Nov Rialto Theatre

Two assassins hide in a basement, waiting for their next victim to walk in unaware. The senior reads the paper. The junior fidgets and jabbers. They argue over semantics. An envelope slides under the door. Then the dumb waiter, a remnant from the old café above, whirs into life, delivering orders that can’t be met. One of Harold Pinter’s finest and most absurd plays, The Dumb Waiter deals with suspense, suspicion, paranoia and the unspoken between two assassins struggling with their consciences. It reminds us that we’re perhaps not completely in control of our lives. Just beyond the edge of perception, higher powers are taking decisions out of our own hands.

THE KITE RUNNER Tues 14 – Sat 18 Nov Theatre Royal Brighton

Following two acclaimed West End seasons, this unforgettable theatrical tour de force brings together David Ahmad and the award-winning Emilio Doorgasingh. Based on Khaled Hosseini’s international best-selling novel, this haunting and powerful story has been adapted into a stunning stage production. This tale of friendship which spans cultures and continents, it follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. Afghanistan is a divided country on the verge of war and two childhood friends are about to be torn apart. It’s a beautiful afternoon in Kabul and the skies are full of the excitement and joy of a kite flying tournament. But neither child can foresee the terrible incident which will shatter their lives forever.

The MITFORDS Tues 14 – Weds 15 Nov Rialto Theatre

Performed by Heather Long, this new one-woman show by award-winning playwright, Gail Louw, looks at the most famous six sisters in history. The Mitford’s’ privileged and fantastical lives brought them into contact with aristocracy, celebrities, world leaders. In many ways they were the reality stars of their era. Diana was married to Oswald Mosley and a lifelong fascist. Unity was a great close friend of Hitler’s. Jessica, was a dyed-inthe-wool communist. Deborah became Duchess of Devonshire. Nancy was a well-loved novelist. And Pamela kept chickens. This astonishing show follows four of the sisters and their part in some the world changing events.

THE PILLOWMAN Tues 14 – Fri 17 Nov Marlborough Theatre

The only duty of a storyteller is to tell a story. But when the stories escape from the pages they are written on…what then? An interrogation and a spate of gruesome murders in a totalitarian state, create a contrasting backdrop to a twisted imagination rich with equally gruesome and equally grim tales. A ragtag gaggle of performers and musicians bring a new twist to Martin McDonagh’s award-winning work. Slurring Words Theatre Company want to show you a puzzle without an answer. We want to give you sympathy for murderers. They want to take you to once-upon-atime in a land as close or as far away as you can handle.

MINEFIELD Weds 15 Nov – Fri 17 Nov Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts

After stunning audiences in Brighton Festival 2016, Lola Arias’ moving work returns to ask: ‘What is a veteran? Survivor? Hero? Mad Man?’ Minefield is an apt demonstration of the power theatre can wield when it’s used to full effect. This astonishing and moving work sensitively looks at the effects of war on the soul, memory and history. Six Falklands/Malvinas war veterans, who once faced each other across a battlefield, now face each other across a stage. Together they share memories, films, songs and photos as they recall their collective war and embody the political figures that led them into it.

BRAVADO Fri 17 Nov The Marlborough Theatre

Scottee grew up around strong, brave and violent men and boys. This show is his memoir of working class masculinity from 1991 to 1999, as seen by a sheep in wools clothing. Bold, astonishing and uncompromising, this is not for the weak hearted – it includes graphic accounts of violence, abuse, assault and sex. This work may be full of cruelty, confusion, self-loathing and lust, but at its core are a series of uncomfortable truths which need to be heard. It explores the graphic nature of maleness and the extent it will go to succeed. Blood, spit and tears are set against the drunken backdrop of aggressive sensitivity and Oasis songs.

SEXY Fri 17 – Sat 18 Nov The Basement

As a young woman who loves poetry, smashing the patriarchy and a well-timed slut drop, these questions have plagued Vanessa Kisuule her whole life. In Sexy , she harnesses truthful wit and clever verse to explore our conflicted relationship with our bodies and sexiness. The writer, performer, burlesque artist and empress of blag explores our obsession with what is sexy through comedy, spoken word, dance and various states of undress. “ Do you think you’re sexy? What do you find sexy? What does sexy even mean?”

A THOUSAND FACES Weds 22 Nov The Old Market

A bold dance-theatre featuring Amina Khayyam using Ang Abhinaya, A Thousand Faces subverts imagery of Bollywood beauty and Hollywood glamour. This powerful and extraordinary production explores the objectification of women in indiscriminate abuse and violence. Ang Abhinaya is a major Indian dance form that often gets overlooked. Amina Khayyam has developed beautiful new approaches in this new work by bringing influences of European experimental forms, physical theatre and mime movement to give the piece a wholly unique and innovative treatment.

$ELFIE$ Sat 25 Nov The Marlborough theatre

This is the third work in a series built around understandings of black and queer aesthetics, performed against our current political moment. Malik Nashad Sharpe suggests a new relationship with the emotional landscape amidst the intense highs and lows of the body’s wear and tear. Malik’s work is suitably polarised, inhabiting a world of unabashed, unapologetic joyousness, the advent of political melancholia and ambivalence to extreme forms of desire and violence. $elfie$ holds a mirror to the audience and says no to the stranglehold of authoritarian powers on our present and future aesthetics. Such work acts as a springboard for themes reflecting and responding to our times.

THE MINISTRY OF BISCUITS Thurs 23 – Sat 25, Thurs 30 Nov Lantern Theatre

Produced by the award-winning The Foundry Group, Philip Reeve’s brilliant, satirical, musical demands we think before munching that next biscuit. In post-war London, The Ministry of Biscuits casts its sinister shadow over every tea-time and elevenses in the land. Established to “control biscuits, and to control the idea of biscuits,” it prohibits decadent sweetmeats, such as the Gypsy Cream. But when Cedric Hobson, a junior designer, falls in love and designs a biscuit to “shake confectionery to its very foundations,” his world – and the ministry – are turned upside down.