First look rehearsal images have been released for new play Village Idiot, written by Samson Hawkins and directed by Theatre Royal Stratford Easts Artistic Director Nadia Fall.
Village Idiot is a co-production between Theatre Royal Stratford East, Nottingham Playhouse and Ramps On The Moon.
The cast includes Mark Benton as Kevin, Maximilian Fairley as Harry, Philip Labey as Peter, Joseph Langdon as Liam, Eileen Nicholas as Barbara and Faye Wiggan as Debbie.
A pioneering initiative, Ramps on the Moon is a consortium of theatres which aim to enrich stories and the ways in which they are told by putting deaf and disabled artists and audiences at the centre of their work. Village Idiot will mark the first new original play staged by the Ramps on the Moon project.
All performances of Village Idiot are Captioned and will be in a Relaxed Environment. There will also be designated Socially Distanced & Masked, BSL Interpreted and Audio Described performances.
“If I were an animal there would be legislation to protect my home, but because I’m just a bloody human they can do whatever the f**k they like.”
Townies have decided they want a lie in, so they’re building a new high-speed railway. Issue is, it’s going right through Barbara Honeybone’s house, and she ‘ent having none of it. Barbara’s grandson Peter works for the townies and it’s his job to convince the village that having a two-tonne bullet hurtling through the cabbage patches will actually be for the best.
Then there’s Harry, Barbara’s younger grandson, he ‘ent that bothered about trains, he’s only got eyes for Debbie Mahoney. But the only thing Barbara hates more than townies is the Mahoneys.
Welcome to Syresham, South Northamptonshire. It’s not quite the Cotswolds, not quite one of those posh villages Americans have in movies but it does have Syresham’s Got Talent, the headline event of the village fair. There’ll be songs, dancing, magic, drag, a bit of wrestling, and Kevin’s doing a meat raffle (vegetarian option two tins of Strongbow).
Village Idiot is an audacious comedy, where family feuds kick off around a country fair that you townies are all invited to.
Village Idiot is at Theatre Royal Stratford East Thursday 13 April – Saturday 06 May 2023.
