INTRODUCTION

On March 19th 2011 eighty-nine groups across the UK, the USA and Germany, took these plays and made them their own. In a unique theatrical event, nearly a thousand people nationwide came together to use theatre to make a stand, to simultaneously raise their voices in a theatrical protest that said no to the spending cuts announced by the Coalition government in October 2010. In theatres, in bars, in universities, in kitchens, living-rooms and bedrooms; these plays were performed, read aloud, read privately, discussed, thought about and used as a catalyst to action. Theatre Uncut had begun.

Theatre Uncut has been extraordinary in many ways. Growing above and beyond all expectation, capturing the imaginations of theatre-makers up and down the country, Theatre Uncut’s overriding ethos is participation and collaboration. From the extraordinary support of Mark Ravenhill and David Greig, without whom the project would never have happened, to the help of Casarotto, The Southwark Playhouse, Prospero PR, our wonderful casts and crews, our incredible Creative Producer Libby Brodie, the Reclaim Production and Meeting Point Production teams and other contributors too numerous to name check: Theatre Uncut proves that collaboration is the key to creating extraordinary theatre.

Theatre Uncut is of course a politically motivated collective, which exists entirely because groups across the country took part and stood in solidarity. I believe very strongly that we are at a crisis point, both in the finer detail of how and where the cuts manifest themselves, but also in the move towards a society that is more selfish, more greedy, and less altruistic than ever. What theatre does best is explore the society around it, existing in the crossover between the ephemeral and the retrospective. These plays do that magnificently: from Jack Thorne and Dennis Kelly’s blistering and hilarious summation of pedagogy dressed as politics, to Mark Ravenhill and Lucy Kirkwood’s exploration of the birth of the welfare state, to David Greig’s Fragile, a visceral exploration of a beleaguered mental health care system, Laura Lomas’ beautiful allegory for the heart of the nation, Anders Lustgarten’s hard-hitting call to arms and Clara Brennan’s emotional and personal portrayal of a mother of a disabled girl in a residential care unit. These plays are quality explorations of the issues at hand. They stand them up and make them real. They use theatre’s lifeblood, empathy, to show what these cuts mean and force us to address the cuts on an emotional and intuitive level.

So what next for Theatre Uncut? How can we continue to make ourselves heard? I hope that this volume will play a major role in the future life of Theatre Uncut. These plays need to be read, performed and discussed. We need to continue to use theatre to protest against these changes: changes that unfairly target the poorest sector of society, rest most heavily on the young, hit women where it hurts and take support away from the vulnerable. We need to continue to use the medium we love to fight for a society that doesn’t cut essential welfare payments and the disability mobility allowance before it raises taxes on banking profits. We need to say no. This volume ensures Theatre Uncut will continue to provoke thought. These plays should be read as they were meant: as part of a movement that began on March 19th, a movement made up of hundreds of theatre-makers joining voices. A movement that I am ceaselessly proud to be part of and am delighted to see continue.

Hannah Price, April 2011

Theatre Uncut

THEATRE UNCUT’s flagship London production was at Southwark Playhouse from 16^th–19^th March 2011. On March 19^th eighty-nine groups nationwide (with 6 additional groups internationally) performed the plays as part of a theatrical uprising in protest against the spending cuts announced by the Coalition government on October 20^th 2010.

Produced by Reclaim Productions
and Meeting Point Productions

Artistic Director
Hannah Price

Creative Producer
Libby Brodie for Meeting Point Productions

Open Heart Surgery by Laura Lomas
Directed by Blanche McIntyre

Lisa – Kate O’Flynn
Danny – Kett Turton

Things That Make No Sense by Dennis Kelly
Directed by Cressida Brown

A – Matthew Pearson
G – Julian Stolzenberg
B – Ruth Everett

The Fat Man written and performed by Anders Lustgarten
from an original idea by Anders Lustgarten and Simon Stephens

Fragile by David Greig
Directed by Hannah Price

Jack – Syrus Lowe

Whiff Whaff by Jack Thorne
Directed by Katie McAleese

Nigel – Nick Caldecott
Julie – Melissa Woodbridge

Housekeeping by Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Lucy Morrison

Coal – Zawe Ashton
Joan – Ashley McGuire
Mrs Dean – Marlene Sidaway

A Bigger Banner by Mark Ravenhill
Directed by Hannah Price

Shona – Susan Wokoma
Raquel – Jo Miller
Marge – Emily Taaffe
Fred – Gunnar Cauthery

Hi Vis by Clara Brennan
Directed by Amy Hodge

Linda – Lisa Palfrey

Production Team
Production Designer – Carla Goodman
Lighting Designer – Catherine Webb
Production Manager – Ruth Parry
Sound Designer – Steve Brown
Stage Management – Amy Jewell, Kirsten Turner

For Reclaim Ltd
Assistant Producers – Nina Feldman & Anna Perkins
Assistant Producer Participation Events – Chrissy Jay

Publicity
Elin Morgan at Prospero (www.prosperoarts.co.uk)

All profits from tickets sales
were donated to the Child Poverty Action Group

The Writers

Clara Brennan’s plays include Rain as part of Lough/Rain at the Edinburgh Festival Underbelly and Theatre Royal York, The Curator at One Night Stand, Soho Theatre, Portmanteau with The Miniaturists at The Arcola Theatre and Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter. Rain is currently being made into a short film with Reclaim Productions. Clara’s most recent play Bud Take The Wheel, I Feel A Song Coming On was critically acclaimed at the Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010, and is published by Oberon. She is currently under commission to The Drum and Theatre Royal Plymouth.

Since David Greig’s first main stage production Europe at The Traverse in 1996, his plays have been produced by most of the major theatre companies in the UK. His plays have also been translated and produced throughout Europe, the USA and Canada, Brazil, Australia and Japan. From 2005 to 2007 he was the first dramaturg of the National Theatre of Scotland. Plays include: Monster In The Hall, Dunsinane, Midsummer, Kyoto, Brewers Fayre, Being Norwegian (Oran Mor), Damascus (The Traverse Theatre), Yellow Moon (TAG Theatre Co. – TMA Best Play For Children and Young People, 2008 Brian Way Award), Pyrenees (Paines Plough, Tron Theatre), The American Pilot (The Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford and London), San Diego (Edinburgh International Festival, Tron Theatre – Best New Play, Tron Theatre Awards, Herald Angel), Outlying Islands (Traverse Theatre, The Royal Court – Scotsman Fringe First, Herald Angel, Best New Play, Scottish Critics Awards), Not About Pomegranates (Al Kasaba Theatre, Ramallah, Palestine), The Speculator (Edinburgh International Festival, Grec Festival, Barcelona, Traverse Theatre), Caledonia Dreaming (7.84 Theatre Company – Herald Archangel), The Cosmonaut’s Last Message To The Woman He Once Loved In The Former Soviet Union (Paines Plough, Tron Theatre – John Whiting Award), Victoria (RSC), The Architect (Traverse Theatre), Europe (Traverse Theatre), and Stalinland (Citizens Theatre).

Dennis Kelly is an internationally acclaimed playwright. Stage plays include Debris (Theatre503 and Battersea Arts Centre, 2003 & 2004); Osama the Hero (Paines Plough and Hampstead Theatre 2004 & 2005; winner of the Meyer Whitworth Award 2006); After the End (Paines Plough, Traverse Theatre, Bush Theatre, UK and international tour, 2005); Love and Money (Young Vic Theatre and Manchester Royal Exchange, 2006); Taking Care of Baby (Hampstead Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 2006; winner of the John Whiting Award 2007); DNA (NT Connections, National Theatre, 2007-8); Orphans (Paines Plough, Traverse Theatre, Soho Theatre and Birmingham Rep, 2009; winner of a Fringe First and Herald Angel Award 2009) and The Gods Weep (Royal Shakespeare Company and Hampstead Theatre). In 2009 Dennis was voted Best Foreign Playwright 2009 by Theatre Heute, Germany. Work for radio includes The Colony (BBC Radio 3, 2004; Prix Europa Award – Best European Radio Drama and Radio & Music Award – Scripting for Broadcast 2004) and 12 Shares (BBC Radio 4, 2005). Dennis co-wrote the award winning comedy series Pulling (Silver River and BBC 3, 2006-09) and wrote the book for Matilda, the Musical (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2010).