Motortown
Triple Helix
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
29th July 2017 at 5pm and 8pm
Triple Helix
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
29th July 2017 at 5pm and 8pm
Danny returns from Basra to a foreign England and a different kind of battle. He visits an old flame, buys a gun and goes on a blistering road trip through the new home front.
'I don't blame the war. The war was alright. I miss it. It's just you come back to this.'
Written during the London bombings of 2005, Motortown is a fierce, violent and controversial response to the anti-war movement - and to the war itself. Chaotic and complex, powerful and provocative, Simon Stephen's play portrays a volatile and morally insecure world.
Motortown premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London on 21 April 2006 and now Triple Helix are bringing this much acclaimed production to Southend's Dixon Studio for just two performances.
'I don't blame the war. The war was alright. I miss it. It's just you come back to this.'
Written during the London bombings of 2005, Motortown is a fierce, violent and controversial response to the anti-war movement - and to the war itself. Chaotic and complex, powerful and provocative, Simon Stephen's play portrays a volatile and morally insecure world.
Motortown premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London on 21 April 2006 and now Triple Helix are bringing this much acclaimed production to Southend's Dixon Studio for just two performances.
It's been sixteen months since Triple Helix brought us their last play, Punk Rock, to Southend's Dixon Studio as its creators, Josh Picton, Sam Thomas and Harry Neal have all been away, settling in to their university lifestyles. However, despite the three of them being miles apart, the idea of putting on another production with the added knowledge gleaned from their first year of studying acting, drama and lighting design, was just too tempting. So, after a period of emailing, texting and putting together a hand picked cast for the the play, director, Josh, now finds himself with just a week before curtain up with the shortest rehearsal period he has ever had before a production. Fortunately, Josh tells me, he has a brilliant eight strong cast who managed to have their lines down before they even started rehearsals.
Danny, the protagonist of the play, is played by Jack Rowell, 18, who is currently studying Musical Theatre at Chichester. This is not only the first time that Jack has performed with Triple Helix but it will also be the first play he has ever done. This is because Jack's roots have always been in musicals. He has performed with The Palace Youth Theatre on numerous occasions and will be starring as Tony in this summer's production, West Side Story, something he is really looking forward to. "It's been quite challenging adapting to performing for a play'" he tells me, "but Josh has helped me a lot, I'm really enjoying it." He also adds that as part of his research for the role, he watched the film American Sniper, which gave him a good insight to what it was like coming back from a war zone.
Josh is very much enjoying being able to implement what he has been learning at East 15 into his direction of the play. In fact, he was lucky enough to have met and been taught by Richard Graham who played the seedy role of Paul in the original West End production of the play at the Royal Court. Josh informs me, "Richard told me that at one point during the performance there were a number of audience members who walked out because the play was so disturbing."
Motortown was the Simon Stephen's play which inspired Josh to want to become an actor and many people will recognise Stephens' name as the playwright who adapted the Mark Haddon novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which has had huge success at The National, West End and is currently touring the UK.
Josh continues to tell me, "We've got a really good show. It's certainly not for the faint-hearted. I think that it's a really relevant story. It presents a taboo side of British culture in a very open way, without apologising for it."
The play is only being performed twice on the 29th, so don't miss out on the opportunity to see this exciting piece of theatre.
You can purchase tickets online by going to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or by calling the box office on 01702 351135
Danny, the protagonist of the play, is played by Jack Rowell, 18, who is currently studying Musical Theatre at Chichester. This is not only the first time that Jack has performed with Triple Helix but it will also be the first play he has ever done. This is because Jack's roots have always been in musicals. He has performed with The Palace Youth Theatre on numerous occasions and will be starring as Tony in this summer's production, West Side Story, something he is really looking forward to. "It's been quite challenging adapting to performing for a play'" he tells me, "but Josh has helped me a lot, I'm really enjoying it." He also adds that as part of his research for the role, he watched the film American Sniper, which gave him a good insight to what it was like coming back from a war zone.
Josh is very much enjoying being able to implement what he has been learning at East 15 into his direction of the play. In fact, he was lucky enough to have met and been taught by Richard Graham who played the seedy role of Paul in the original West End production of the play at the Royal Court. Josh informs me, "Richard told me that at one point during the performance there were a number of audience members who walked out because the play was so disturbing."
Motortown was the Simon Stephen's play which inspired Josh to want to become an actor and many people will recognise Stephens' name as the playwright who adapted the Mark Haddon novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which has had huge success at The National, West End and is currently touring the UK.
Josh continues to tell me, "We've got a really good show. It's certainly not for the faint-hearted. I think that it's a really relevant story. It presents a taboo side of British culture in a very open way, without apologising for it."
The play is only being performed twice on the 29th, so don't miss out on the opportunity to see this exciting piece of theatre.
You can purchase tickets online by going to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or by calling the box office on 01702 351135
The cast are:
Elliot Bigden- Lee
Jack Rowell- Danny
Morgan Eves- Marley
Matty Kirk- Tom
Alex Abineri- Paul
Ela Kozoglu- Jade
Daniel Steward- Justin
Christina Waymark- Helen
Below: Some of the cast in rehearsal
Elliot Bigden- Lee
Jack Rowell- Danny
Morgan Eves- Marley
Matty Kirk- Tom
Alex Abineri- Paul
Ela Kozoglu- Jade
Daniel Steward- Justin
Christina Waymark- Helen
Below: Some of the cast in rehearsal