Shades of Lipstick

Shades of Lipstick

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Twisted Willow Theatre present an entertaining evening of monologues performed by the charismatic, chameleonic actress Saskia van Ryneveld.

The two monologues “Bed Among the Lentils” by Alan Bennett and “Medea Redux” by Neil Labute both explore complicated women who are unsatisfied with their lot in life and take drastic actions to envigorate their lives or take control. They are presented by special arrangement with Samuel French.

Tickets are only a mere £1. Not only that, if you’re coming to see the show then you can get 10% off CB2’s delicious food!

Buy your tickets on the door in CB2 Bistro Basement.

Butterfly Effect

Butterfly Effect

Twisted Willow Theatre, in partnership with WRiTEON, recently produced a fully-staged play that was shown at the Corpus Playroom between Wednesday 25th May and Saturday 4th June.

The Production

Wait … what has just happened? Oh.

In the time it takes a butterfly to flap its wings, whole lives fall apart. We collide or even just brush against each other and in that moment, we cause immense changes. Changes that have practical, legal, emotional, relational or societal consequences which no one could have predicted. With each decision we make, we change the world which, in turn, changes ourselves.

Imogen and Jack are spending a Saturday morning in the park with their daughter Sarah who is going off to university soon. There’s cracks in the family relationships. Meanwhile, Ben is having a hard time coping with his loved one’s depression and is putting his own job at risk. At the same time, Melissa struggles being a single parent with only her friend Clare to confide in. But in a blink of an eye, their worlds are turned upside down by a terrible accident.

Do accidents really happen? Or is everything someone’s responsibility? Could all tragedies be avoided? Unlikely.

But once a tragedy does happen, what remains? What is it that made us who we are and how much of ourselves can we hold on to after an accident that split our lives open?

Butterfly Effect is a collaboratively written piece by local playwrights who have been challenged to explore cause and effect via a new dramaturgical approach. This innovative production is being brought to you by WRiTEON in partnership with Twisted Willow Theatre.

The Cast

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Directed by Richard McNally, the cast was as follows:

Imogen– Suzanne Emerson
Jack– Declan Lynch
Sarah– Emma Von Schreiber
Melissa– Amber-Page Moss
Clare– Tamsin Baty
Ben– Max Digby Carpenter
Beth- Saskia van Ryneveld
Lawyer– David John
Pete– Colin Simpson

The Writing Process

The collaborative process by which the play has been created (led by Dramaturge Kim Komljanec) started with a playwriting workshop with 25 writers:

Butteryfly-effect-writters

Inspired by the central scene of this new play written by Kim, the writers were then given two weeks to write scenes of their own. Ten of these scenes were then chosen to be used in the final production. The writers of the chosen scenes were:

Melanie Taylor, James Stedman, Richard Peoples, Rachel Mariner, Philip Webb Gregg, David Lambert, Trish Rawson, Sue Whitney and Julia Bolden.

Anglesey Abbey Winter Lights- A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Sochel

At the end of 2015 Twisted Willow Theatre brought an illuminous, invigorating piece of theatre to Anglesey Abbey for their sold-out Winter Lights Festival. In this unique interactive piece performers invited you to become immersed in their world of magic and mystery. The performance included elements of physical theatre and Shakespearean wordplay and brought the supernatural conflict at the heart of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ into this place of natural beauty turned supernatural by the festival of lights. Oberon (Richard McNally) & Titania (Sochel Rogers) were illuminated by colourful, majestic costumes which brought them to life in a way never before seen. The piece certainly breathed life and energy into the venues’ eclectic, electric evening of entertainment.

Seven Words For Love

Seven Words for Love

A Devised Project

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Seven Words for Love was a successful collaborative devised play about Love. It was staged at the Corpus Playroom from Tuesday 26th – Saturday 30th May 2015.  Here are some of the reviews of the production:

“There are instances of skilled dramatic craftsmanship, as the play structures itself beautifully around the character of John, homeless, isolated, and unloved, an ingenious core for the events to circle around, and played with incredible rawness by Jonathan Totman.” Varsity- Sarah-Jane Tollan

“The weaving together of agape, storge, philautia and eros amongst other aspects of love is often startling and poignant” Cambridge Theatre Review- Elizabeth Crowdy

Below is the blurb for the play:

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Love is undeniably the most potent force known to humanity. The Ancient Greeks had many different words to describe its plentiful forms. Through seven of the most powerful words this compelling new play explores contemporary interconnected stories set in Cambridge.

 

Heart-warming moments demonstrate how love can keep a couple together despite age and sickness, or bind a family together unconditionally. Meanwhile, burning passion and love-sick intensity threatens to tear lovers apart and bring their lives to ruin.  In moving scenes one woman finds out if the mindfulness she teaches can actually help her through a silent crisis. This riveting play reminds us of the importance of having empathy for humanity and how we are unified through our shared experience as human beings.

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The words that inspired the play were:

 

Agape – The Love of Humanity

Storge – Family Love

Pragma- Love that Endures

Philautia – Self-Respect

Philia – Shared Experience

Ludus – Flirting, Playful Affection

Eros- Romantic and Erotic Love

 

Meet the Writers

 

The play was written by a team of writers, who wrote one act each and brought their unique perspective and writing style to each of our words for love. They were:

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   From left to right; Ian OslerDavid LambertRachel MarinerThomas Dedola,

Kim KomljanecHamish WilsonColin Hume.

 

Meet the Cast

 

The play had a cast of eleven actors. You can read all about them below:

 

Final Cast

   From left to right; Sochel Rogers, Sam GowansJonathan Totman,

Kim Komljanec, Richard McNally (Director), Emily Calderbank, Andrew Shepherd, Michael Southgate,

Jodie Sully, Heidi Bowes, Tom Ellis, Colin Simpson.

 

The Book of the Play

 

Book of Play

 

The book of the play was self-published in 2015 and is available to purchase. Please email richard@twistedwillowtheatre.com if you’d like to purchase a copy. The book costs a bargain £4 + £1.20 p&p, and includes a colour cover, foreword, notes on the authors and appendix.