the MISANDRIST

by LISA CARROLL

THE ARCOLA

10 MAY - 10 JUNE 2023

Prickly freelancer Rachel is at the beginning of an existential crisis. Trapped in endless short-term contracts for a faceless government department as the economy continues its slow decline, jobs are being squeezed. Nothing feels safe or secure. Nothing feels like it’s progressing.

Maybe this existential limbo is Rachel’s punishment for stealing Tupperware at the office Christmas party. But that wasn’t her fault. It was the really good kind “The boxes fit into each other! They just stack so perfectly. You know what, there’s structure, that’s what it is”. And we all know that’s just too tempting.

Adrift, isolated, and insecure, they scramble for new ways to connect. Somewhere along the line, they decide to explore flipping the narrative. Metaphorically, and very, very literally. As they navigate their “situationship”, Rachel decides it’s time to TAKE BACK CONTROL. Can some playful, passionate pegging provide a pathway of discovery to new parts of themselves, and each other?

Written by Lisa Carroll, directed by Bethany Pitts and starring Elf Lyons and Nicholas Armfield, The Misandrist is a story of loneliness, disconnection, a relationship of sorts, and whether pegging is really the best band-aid.

the prince

by abigail thorn

southwark playhouse

september 2022

Have you ever been trapped in a bad relationship, playing a role that doesn’t suit you? Jen and Sam are also trapped… in a multiverse of Shakespeare’s complete works.

On their quest to discover the doorway back to reality they notice something unusual about Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy. Now Jen and Sam must decide; do they risk losing their way home to help someone who might be like them – someone who does not yet know who she truly is?

The Prince is a sharp new play that weaves through Henry IV Part One and other of the Bard’s works, providing fun for the audience whether they be Shakespeare scholars or verse virgins. With sword fighting, lesbianism, and disappointed parents, this thrilling new work was written by Abigail Thorn, celebrated creator of Philosophy Tube.

Recommended for ages 12+.

the king of nothing

by ben glasstone

little angel theatre

september 2022

King Reginald is a ruler who likes to keep in style. But the fashions change so fast, he’s afraid he can’t keep up…

Hearing of the King’s predicament, two fast-talking “Weavers” head to the palace with their brand new fabric: it’s “smart” and it’s “in” and it NEVER goes out of fashion. Soon the Kingdom is alive with talk of the magical cloth and Reginald can’t wait to wear his “smart” new suit to the Big Parade. But what are these “weavers” really spinning…?

MONSTRO and Little Angel Theatre’s latest Puppet Musical is an anarchic re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s Emperor’s New Clothes, in which the characters (and the audience) discover that people can be made to believe ANYTHING. With songs, puppetry, slapstick and more, the two Swindlers (or should we call them “actors”?) will weave their cunning magic on children and adults alike…