This October, fell, Chris Salt’s moving new play, exploring the friendship and challenges between two troubled teenagers growing up in the Lake District, is set to have its London premiere ahead of a tour of England.
Produced by Edgeways Productions and directed by Janys Chambers, fell, will open in London at the Barons Court Theatre from 2 to 7 October and then tours till 29 October, with the final two performances at the Arcola Theatre, London.
Cumbrian schoolboy Lyle walks out of his life and up into the mountains of the Lake District. On the edge of a mountain lake, he meets Jake, whose life is as far removed from Lyle’s as possible. Over the course of 24 hours together, they each discover they are no longer sure who they really are or what the future holds for them. At the mercy of the elements, all they have is each other.
Chris Salt’s play fell is a compelling and moving story of two funny, sensitive lads trapped by a lack of hope and facing the challenges of being young adults in a rural community.
fell’s cast will feature Ned Cooper (Treasure Island, Hall for Cornwall, Spark, Arcola Theatre and The Full Monty, Disney+) and Tom Claxton (A Manchester Anthem, Vault Festival, as well as appearing in SAS Rogue Heroes, BBC, and George Clooney’s forthcoming film The Boys in the Boat, MGM). The production is designed by Jane Linz Roberts (Everything Goes, a collaboration with the Manic Street Preachers at the Sherman Theatre Cardiff.).
Runner-up at both the Octagon Theatre National Prize and the Papatango Prize competitions, fell has been adapted for the big screen by Chris Salt, with the help of BAFTA award winning director Philippa Lowthorpe (Three Girls and Call the Midwife, BBC, the award-winning Netflix series The Crown, Willow, Disney + and the film Misbehaviour) and with the support of the BFI and Hurricane Films.
fell originally toured briefly in February 2020 to sell-out audiences but was cut short due to the Covid pandemic.
Chris Salt is a playwright, applied film and creative writing practitioner and community artist. Until 2014 he balanced an award-winning television career with a wealth of non-broadcast work, but for the past nine years has been prioritising his writing. In 2017 he was selected as a founder member of the Royal Court (Northern) Writers’ Group.
Playwright Chris Salt said: “I am excited to be touring ‘fell’ this autumn. The themes of friendship, emotional resilience and mental well-being explored in the play seem more relevant than ever. And in an era where the idea of what it means to be ‘a man’ or ‘masculine’ continues to expand it feels important to diversify this conversation to include young men who live in isolated communities or who feel isolated from any sense of community. Jake and Lyle represent the marginalised lads who lack positive role models and whose future can be devoid of hope and ambition with often devastating consequences.”
fell opens at Barons Court Theatre in London from 2 to 7 October and will then tour till 29 October.
For more information on fell please visit edgewaysproductions.co.uk/fell
