A Bench at the Edge By Luigi Jannuzzi
Directed by Nicola Todd
The Steamie, Govanhill Community Baths
Thursday 11th- Saturday 13th June 2015, 7:30pm
Jannuzzi’s play is beguiling and serves as a jumping off point, veering from the absurd to the commonplace. Its contemporary resonance lies in its exploration of current concerns regarding the damage people are capable of inflicting on themselves and on others, to morbid black comedy, delighting in the absurdity of everyday life.
Excitingly, the production has already come to the attention of the playwright all the way over in New Jersey, USA and he has reached out via Facebook to send us his best wishes, urging us to ‘break a bench!’.
The team at CROSSFADE Theatre is comprised of recent graduates and current students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the University of the West of Scotland and the Edinburgh School of Stage Management, Lighting & Sound. We are extremely excited to be presenting the play at the Govanhill Baths, a venue with a rich history as a Victorian bathhouse which the local community bought over to save from demolition. Having itself quivered on the edge of existence, the Baths seemed a fitting venue for us to tackle the themes and issues within the play.
Our ambition is to tackle the stigma surrounding mental wellbeing, shed light on topics that aren’t often staged or openly spoken about, and encourage young people in the local community to engage with the theatre medium and to open up about their own experiences.
Awards for A Bench at the Edge:
Winner! Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival
Winner! 2014 Best Production at Eastern Ontario
Drama League Festival
Winner! 2012 Whitemoss Trophy (UK)
Winner! 2007 Best Play at All Ireland Finals, Rossmore, Ireland
Winner! 2007 Best Play at Scottish Community Drama One Act Festival, East Kilbride, Scotland
Winner! 2001 Best Play: British One-Act Finals Praise for Luigi Jannuzzi and A Bench at the Edge:
New York Theatre: “Jannuzzi brings quirky, imaginative perspective.”
Los Angeles Times: "Pretention is avoided with ingenious narrative turns and electric repartee."
Dramalogue: "Dialogue riddled with humour and empathy for the human condition and the decisions of life and death. [A Bench at the Edge] is a fine piece of writing."
In the role of WOMAN 1 is HANNAH CHARLES, a graduate from the BA Acting course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is currently a member of the Tron 100 Club and previous work includes The Govan Cat (Cran Theatre) and Friends Disunited (Theatre&) and The Nine Lives of Roddy Hogg (Theatre&) and Chekhov’s Three Sisters (Citizens Theatre). Hannah has also written and performed her own original work including Flo Just Doesnae Know (NTS/Oran Mor) as part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Five Minute Theatre event and A Selkie Sea (Arches) at the On the Verge festival.
Appearing as MAN 2 is ANDREW DAVIES, a current student on the HNC/D Acting Course at City of Glasgow College. Previous work includes Animal Farm and Teechers. Andrew was also a cast member during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Director NICOLA TODD studied at the University of Glasgow, graduating from the MLitt in Theatre Studies programme in 2014. She is a member of the Tron 100 Club, the Traverse Director's Pro-gramme and the Scottish Society of Playwrights. Her Assistant Director credits include: Edwin Morgan's Dreams & Other Nightmares (Tron), Sunset Song (Sell A Door) and Colquhoun & MacBryde (Tron). Other credits include: White Gold (Iron Oxide), Three Little Pigs (Platform), The Pitchfork Disney (Heroes Theatre), An Audience with Marco Polo (Kevin Carr/Arches Live) and Cross/Fade (CROSSFADE/Beacon Arts Centre), which she also wrote under the mentorship of playwright, Douglas Maxwell, whose most recent play Fever Dream: Southside was largely set within the Govanhill Baths.
Creative Associate RACHEL D’ARCY studied alongside Nicola and is also a graduate of the MLitt in Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow. She is currently based in London as a trainee producer with Paines Plough, having successfully contributed towards sold out productions at the Tron Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and worked as a director of youth theatre in New York. Her credits include: The Pitchfork Disney (Heroes Theatre/Tron), Cross/Fade (CROSSFADE/Beacon Arts Centre) and The Villains, the Vote and the Black, Black Oil (Caught Red-Handed Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe).
Tickets: £8 (£6 concession) available online:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1559729
Cast and Creative Team
Woman 1 Hannah Charles (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
Man 2 Andrew Davies (City of Glasgow College)
Director Nicola Todd (University of Glasgow)
Creative Associate Rachel D'Arcy (University of Glasgow)
Stage Manager Jenny Kassner (Edinburgh School of Stage Management, Lighting & Sound)
Assistant Stage Manager Andrea McAlonan (University of West of Scotland)
Designer Fraser Lappin (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
Lighting Design Abbi Dawson (Edinburgh School of Stage Management, Lighting & Sound)
Sound Design Davie Green (Platform, Glasgow)
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