For the second consecutive year, recent graduates from The BRIT School return to Southwark Playhouse with two brand new commissions exploring issues at the centre of young people’s lives: sex, mental health, trauma and fierce fashion.
The BRIT School, the UK’s leading and free performing arts and technology school, will team up with award-winning playwright Molly Taylor and Director Matt Hassall to premiere the play What Was Left which will also run in rep with a brand new musical The Sandman written by Harry Blake and directed by Jennifer Fletcher.
Simon Stephens, Producer of Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Bridge Company says, “We are thrilled to be able to commission two brand new pieces and extend the opportunity to involve more young people than ever before. We are excited to have found a home for this work at Southwark Playhouse which has such a fantastic reputation as a venue for the UK’s most innovative emerging companies.”
What Was Left presents a year in the life of three siblings who are learning to survive in unknown territory, struggling with trauma and mental health as the world around them is falling apart.
Loosely based on the short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, The Sandman features fierce fashion, jump scares, the supernatural and a bold contemporary score in the story of a nightmarish character from childhood who steals people’s eyes and stalks a talented young artist who is about to start university.
Both shows are produced through the School’s unique training initiative entitled Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Bridge Company, which creates and presents dynamic, socially relevant work in a professional context, serving as a link for young actors between education and professional practice. The course is two days a week allowing students to secure paid employment from a part time job in conjunction with their training.
What Was Left and The Sandman are at Southwark Playhouse 14th June – 29th June 2019.
