Alexandra James stars in the acclaimed Croydon based theatre company Zoo Co’s Night Shift at the Stanley Arts Centre.
This new production, written by Alfred Fagon Award winning playwright Paula B Stanic, tells the story of a group of night workers who, while most of the population sleep, are forced together for one life-changing night shift. What unfolds over the course of a fateful Croydon evening is an epic tale of ordinary people doing extraordinary things which questions why society often overlooks the people and things we rely on the most. Night Shift will feature Zoo Co’s signature blend of ensemble movement, projection, sound and light, and each performance will be performed using innovative combinations of spoken English, BSL, visual vernacular and creative captioning.
The production is part of This is Croydon, a London Borough of Culture initiative for 2023.
All Zoo Co performances are relaxed and all performances of Night Shift are creatively captioned, use BSL and are suitable for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. The performance on Friday 24 November is audio described. Tickets are on sale here.
You’re starring in Night Shift at Stanley Arts, what can you tell us about the show?
Night Shift is about night workers. You don’t realise how important they are when you’re asleep at home… but they’re people who make your life so much easier. For example, when I order something online and I just expect it the next morning… or if I go to a party late, I can get home no problem. We don’t realise how hard people are working to make that stuff happen. You never know the background of the people working through the night, or what they’re going through. This show tells us a little bit about that world.
What was it about Paula B Stanic’s play that appealed to you the most?
When I found out that Paula’s amazing play was finally being produced by the wonderful Zoo Co, I just had to audition. I worked on the R&D for this show which we did online during the pandemic. It was such a powerful idea for a play. I was so delighted when I found out that I was going to be in the full production.
It’s made by Zoo Co who have been making accessible theatre for ten years, tell us more about why that’s important to you and the people who come to see these shows?
Why should you exclude anyone from anything? Everyone should enjoy coming to a show like this. That’s fair. When I was growing up, as a deaf person I didn’t have access to a lot of shows. I would watch other people enjoying them, sitting there laughing at the jokes or whatever… and that made me feel shit, because I didn’t understand. So, I’m happy to be part of something that’s different. It’s about equality. And fairness. There are a lot of variations in disabilities – a show like this gives deaf and disabled artists a platform to share their talents.
Tell us a little about your character?
My character is called Jaye. She is a delivery driver, a mother, a shift worker. This is not in the script, but I just feel in my gut that she’s a single mother – providing for herself and her daughter. One day, something happens in Jaye’s life that makes her realise that this isn’t what she wants. She knows that she can do more, that she can have more, but she needs to believe in herself. That’s when the change happens.
What do you think you’ll find most challenging about the role?
The first week – when we were working on translating the script from English to BSL. Translation isn’t my strong suit. It was hard. But it was worth it because now we have a play that is accessible both to people who speak English and BSL. It’s a bilingual play. And that’s cool.
What would you say to anyone thinking about booking to see Night Shift?
Just book! Have a night off, come to the theatre! Bring your friends, and enjoy your evening! Bring a date! Why not! Just click on the link, and get your tickets while you still can!
