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GREAT JOB!

1 May

An improvised comedy show about jobs!

Find your boss irksome? Swamped with tedious admin? Deal with clients who make you pray for a speedy apocalypse? Well the Great Job team want to hear about it! We listen to audience stories about jobs and turn them into hilarious, improvised scenes.

Don’t miss our weekly podcast every Saturday, featuring some of the best improvisers and comedians in the UK, such as Joz Norris, Bec Hill, and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, Lara Ricote!

BLOSSOM

10 May

A fun and touching evening of new writing.

Short new work by writers with decades of life experience, ensuring a fun (sometimes outrageous), insightful and touching evening. Three plays and three genres in a cabaret style evening staged-read by a talented versatile blossoming acting ensemble.

TOP PICK

STOP TRYING TO LOOK AT MY D**K!

13 - 31 May

An autobiographical black comedy about grief and vulnerability.

The piece was inspired by a book titled ‘For Jacob’- a collection of letters and stories about Jacob’s late father who passed away when he was a child. The book was curated by his dad’s close friends and family.

Jacob first looked at the book while studying for his masters at Mountview as part of his creative project and from this birthed Stop Trying To Look at My D**k!

The show is an autobiographical adventure of anecdotes and rap music that explores grief, identity and vulnerability through Jacob’s adolescence. As much as this performance is a reflection of his life, he believe it taps into the wider human experience.

'Grunberger has stage presence, charm and pathos in abundance, with a rare ability to shift the mood on a sixpence.'   ★★★★ Plays to See

WHEN THEY FELL IN LOVE

16 - 19 May

An older couple meet 40 years after a magical night when they first fell in love.

When They Fell in Love is a poignant, witty, poetic, and timeless love story.

It’s based on a true story of two young lovers who are youth leaders meeting by chance on a blissful , almost eternal summer evening and falling romantically in love that night.

About 40 years later they meet in a park and recall that night as they move in between, love, anger, remorse, dance, poetic exchanges and acerbic gender banter as the memory of when they fell in love pulls them back to that special night, and the mutual hurt and frustration as to what failed to happen in between brings them back to the reality of now. As to the future…

LADIES WHO LUNCH

7 - 8 June

An intimate evening exploring the catalogue of one of the greatest theatre composers.

“So much love in his words… Forever with his colours”

Ladies Who Lunch is an intimate exploration of what makes Sondheim’s writing so special. From the hauntingly beautiful melodies of Into the Woods to the touching reflections of Company, the stirring complexities of Sweeney Todd to the whimsical yet poignant narratives of A Little Night Music, Sondheim had an unparalleled ability to encapsulate the human experience through music.

Ladies Who Lunch explores both the Composer’s popular and lesser-known catalogues, with a talented cast of local emerging performers. Celebrate iconic tunes, perfectly placed lyrics, and timeless tales of love, ambition, and heartache. This is a reflection of what it means to live, die, laugh, love, and cry; told through the words of a Broadway legend.

This production is presented by Work In Progress Theatre; a collective of emerging creatives working to create new musical theatre with a message. It is the first production presented within our new commitment to provide regular development and performance opportunities for emerging talent from across the UK.

A Balloon Will Pop at Some Point During this Play

20 - 21 June

An existential dark comedy about not knowing anything, and how that might be okay.

People spend a lot of time trying to be sure about things. We always have. It used to be whether there was a sabre tooth tiger hiding in the bushes, and now it’s… well it’s other things.

When Elijah shows up to do a show, something else happens instead. The something is a balloon, and it is happening no matter what.

A Balloon Will Pop at Some Point During This Play is an existential, one man dark comedy show about a lot. Come say hi.

A Balloon Will Pop at Some Point During This Play is appearing at Canal Café Theatre for two nights only before a run at the Edinburgh Fringe. It is also the debut play of brand new theatre company East & Under: A theatrical collaboration between Australia and the UK working to platform up and coming actors, writers and directors.

TOP PICK

YOGA & SEX… For Women (Over 40)

8 - 13 July

Being a woman! Being over 40! Sex! Kath has found the solution to all three of these problems. YOGA!

Based on three real Australian self-help books from the 1960s, Yoga for Women, Sex and Yoga and Yoga Over Forty by Nancy Phelan and Michael Volin. Are they out-of-date? Of course not!

Kath (Kathryn Haywood) has found loads of helpful ad-vice and practical exercises that are still relevant today to help you “stay slim for your hus-band,” “destroy your wrinkles” and “save your unhappy marriage.”

You don’t have to be a woman, you don’t need to be over forty and you don’t even have to be sexual. Join Kath as she delves into the Kama Sutra, finds out what ‘the four different types of women’ smell of and almost does some yoga.

SOUR CANDI

19 - 20 July

A raucous rollercoaster ride of red flags, dating mishaps and ludicrous lessons in love.

An intimate semi-autobiographical drama-comedy that is a vibrant, hilarious and candid take on gaslighting, control and power in modern relationships.

In a South London police station, Candi relives her recent love affair. Tinder date anecdotes, a trip to Thailand, a dodgy threesome… Candi has much to share as she enters a new phase of her life. Catapulted into a whirlwind of lust and bad decisions, the sweetness of new love turns sour as Candi loses sight of who she is.

Sour Candi explores the delicate art of dating in today’s complex world, whilst shedding light on how desire for true love can cloud judgment and lead us astray, when our trust is placed in the wrong hands. Full of humour and touching moments, join Candi as she embarks on a new phase of her life, navigating her way back to her true self.

TOP PICK

ED: the totally unofficial ginger-inclusive sketch show

22 - 24 July 7.30pm

A  comedy of remixed pop hits parodying Ed Sheeran’s rise to stardom return.

Accompanied by a glittering live band and transferring from five star reviews at Edinburgh Fringe, don’t miss Ed: the totally unofficial ginger-inclusive sketch show, charting the story of the ginger pop sensation who just wants to play music. He’s our ginger hero!

Starring Rosie Parrish and ensemble cast, Ed combines joyful comedy, first-class musical talent and a kid with suspiciously decent guitar skills. Can Ed survive fame, fortune and being ginger? A cheeky and raucous night out of remixed pop hits, slammin’ music industry pccadilloes and championing auburn culture.

Compared to the works of Bo Burnham (Varsity newspaper) and featuring multiple inauthentic gingers, Ed is packed with parody remixes of pop songs, character sketches and cameo appearances including a sequin-jacketed Rocket Man. Audience members also have the chance to participate onstage in a live game show. The show is classic sketch comedy with a modern twist, and best consumed before or after dinner with drinks (you can take your drinks into the theatre which has cabaret tables ideal for the purpose).

“Every second is comedy gold … Out-there, intelligently written, and unafraid of having fun … A rip-roaring, hilarious parody” – Edinburgh Fringe Review –        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️