Rada Lab Works: Wheels
(This is a past event and is no longer running)
Four original pieces exploring the thematics of pain through self reflective and socio-political pieces, representing the voice of London today: diverse, intercultural, subversive, funny, angry and bold.
The pain of loneliness, the pain of getting older, self inflicted pain or psychological trauma: pain is all around, may it be internal or external, voluntary or imposed, and it has always been the ideal distiller of the richest essences of art.
Shows in this program (in order): Coronation, Maso Schism, Doddery But Dear, Amreeka xx.
Coronation
Written and performed by Barnaby Simmons.
Is being alone a failure or the ultimate success?
Living alone Liam decides that this loneliness isn’t something to run from. Quite the opposite. Maybe being alone is the source of his power.
Content warnings: themes of loneliness and partial nudity.
MASO SCHISM
Written, devised and performed by Anna María and Catherine Abigail-Ward.
Who would willingly seek out pain? Where is the line between catharsis and self-harm?
From the hard-learned lessons of childhood suffering to the trials we willingly endure as adults, pain is the ever-present force that shapes our bodies and psyches.
MASO SCHISM is a feminine exploration of the human relationship with pain, and how willing collisions with it can be equal parts destructive and reclamatory; it demands that the audience bear witness to the splintering effect of pain on women, and how they choose to revel in the power of their bodies.
Content warnings: This show explicitly references sexual assault, depicts sexual trauma, and features self-injurious behaviour from both actors.
Doddery But Dear
Written, devised and performed by Craig Edgley, Genevieve Labuschagne and Arianna Calgaro.
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances.”
Regardless of what someone has given during their lifetime, when do we decide they are no longer useful or even become a burden? Doddery but Dear explores the human need for connection, the fragility of life and the challenges of growing old.
Amreeka XX
Devised and performed by Saddam Hussain, Kevin Kelly and Ahmed Malek.
What do a Bengali and an Arab have in common? Amreeka, baby. Two neighbours are set on a mission to help each other. Based on the Cargo Cult of John Frum movement, actual political facts, fake news, baseball, mommy issues, Friends, George W. Bush genius speeches and many many more great influences. Our play deals with the post traumatic disorder of a character who left the cult of John Frum and wants to start a new life, but his past is hunting him, and now his neighbour.
Content warnings: themes of colonialism, cultural oppression, abstract depictions of torture. Includes loud noises (shouting and screaming) and strobe lighting.
