The Albany - Playlist Spring 2014

Jan - June 2014

www.thealbany.org.uk TheAlbanySE8

every show (See page 11)

spoken word . theatre . music cabaret . dance . families . festivals

Image: Matilda & Me

Playlist

ÂŁ1 tickets 10 available for

Brilliant Nights Out for a Quid Welcome to 2014 at the Albany, and a bumper programme of theatre, music, spoken word, circus and more. This season, we’re trying out something a little different: our £1 ticket scheme. Every show has an allocation of 10 tickets for £1, available on a first come, first served basis.

Last season, we spent time out in Deptford Market with our (bright pink) stall, chatting to local people about their relationship with the Albany. It became clear that people want to try new things – but feel sometimes it is too much of a risk. Our £1 tickets go some way to address this, and we hope that, because they cost less than a cup of coffee, you will be encouraged to try somthing you normally wouldn’t (see page 11 for more details).

How about joining us for a night of intriguing collaborations between circus performers and urban artists at BITES: Remix (pg.11); a fascinating take on the science behind DNA in How to be Immortal (pg.2); or some of the finest spoken word in London at our hugely popular Chill Pill (pg.7 & 10)?

Two very special events in the programme see the return of Kate Tempest to the Albany: both her brilliant play Glasshouse (pg.3), and her phenomenal one woman spoken word show, Brand New Ancients (pg.9).

We continue to support the development of the most interesting emerging artists. In Hatched, two companies, one at the beginning of their career and one a little more seasoned, will be given the Albany’s support to work on new pieces that you’ll have the chance to see here for the very first time.

Yam Yam! (pg.2), our festival of arts and food, is back, following the great success of the event in the autumn, and this time will have an East and Southeast Asian flavour, kicking off at the Chinese New Year.

Our hugely popular family shows continue, with the best in theatre for families, including Macbeth: Blood Will Have Blood (pg.7), one of the finest and most accessible introductions to Shakespeare a 9-13 year old could have.

So why not take a chance and try something new?

You never know, you might just like it…

Gavin Barlow

CEO The Albany son anuel Va Photo: M

Tuesday 28 & Wednesday 29 January, 7.45pm

From Saturday 1 February, various times

Penny Dreadful Productions & the albany present

How to be Immortal Written by mira dovreni

the albany presents

Henrietta Lacks died in West Virginia in 1951, but her cells are still alive today, dividing endlessly in laboratories, their every detail studied by scientists all over the world. It’s taken Deborah years to come to terms with her mother’s death. Now she’s got to deal with her immortality.

The Albany’s festival of arts and food is back, inspired by East and Southeast Asia and with a bigger and better programme, including pop-up restaurants, theatre, music, workshops and much more. See the YamYam! brochure or visit our website for more details.

Love, death and DNA intertwine in three twisted true tales about what we leave behind, including one from a local Catford resident. There’s live music on cello, squeezebox and ukulele, 1950s science, animations, and a song composed from human DNA coding.

#YamYamFest

Yamyam!

A Festival of Arts and Food

A bold, humorous and original new play directed by Kirsty Housley about our connections to the dead and why they matter.

Post show discussion: Tuesday 28 January £12, £10 Concs, £8 Schools + every 11th ticket FREE

14 +

theatre

Supported by the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food scheme.

Priced separately with many FREE events ALL AGES

festival

2

Wednesday 5 & Thursday 6 February, 7.30pm

Friday 7 & Saturday 8 February, 7.30pm

Cardboard Citizens & Time Won’t Wait present

Sadler’s Wells presents

directed adrian jackson

Lyrikal Fearta

Photo: Hugh Hill

Glasshouse Jonzi D Written by kate tempest

Glasshouse is about family and how hard it can be to keep loving. Three interwoven stories take us into the lives of members of a single family – fragile as any of us, tested by the times in modern Britain, they struggle to stay together, fail to survive apart. Sown through Kate Tempest’s haunting poetry, the play draws us into a dark and gritty city illuminated by moments of unexpected tenderness.

This is not theatre as you know it. Forum Theatre invites the audience to stop the action in the second part of the evening, and come on stage and rehearse alternative scenarios to lead to positive changes.

Cardboard Citizens has been making life-changing theatre with homeless and marginalised people for over 20 years. They are one of the world’s leading practitioners of Forum Theatre.

£12, £10 Concs, £7 Schools + every 11th ticket FREE

14 +

theatre

Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and Artistic Director of Breakin’ Convention Jonzi D presents a triple bill, including his acclaimed solo The Letter, top guest artist Jane Sekonya and a new work, continuing three decades as a pioneering creative voice in hip hop dance theatre.

Co-directed by Dawn Walton, The Letter explores the responses to Jonzi being offered an MBE and is accompanied by a score from a member of the Speakers Corner Quartet and Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients, Kwake Bass.

The evening will also feature a newly commissioned piece, exploring the broken lineage between the old skool and new skool generations. An exciting collaboration with Ivan Blackstock of BirdGang Dance Company, it promises to captivate audiences with Jonzi’s trademark wit, social insight and style.

£12, £10 Concs

14 +

dance theatre 3

Saturday 15 February, 7.30pm (doors) SASA Music presents

Carthy, Hardy, Farrell & Young

Four of the finest female players in British music, Eliza Carthy (Mercury Prize nominee), Bella Hardy, Lucy Farrell and Kate Young bring together passion, soul and enormous talent. Their four part harmonies and quartet fiddle playing revive old favourites and initiate brand new songs.

‘These four all sing together, playfully delighting in the harmonies and colours they create. With their fiddles they complement, echo and counterpoint each other, and come together in joyous unison.’

Songlines Magazine

Tuesday 18, 11am & 7.30pm, & Wednesday 19 February, 7.30pm Fingersmiths & Birmingham Repertory Theatre present

Frozen

Written by Bryony lavery

One sunny evening, ten-year-old Rhona goes missing on the way to her grandmother’s house.

Her mother, Nancy, retreats into a state of frozen hope. Agnetha, an American criminal psychologist, comes to England to research a thesis entitled Serial Killing: A Forgivable Act?. Then, there’s Ralph, a loner with a bit of previous who’s looking for some distraction. Developed in collaboration with the National Theatre Studio, this production will see a cast of four deaf and two hearing actors bring Fingersmiths’ visual and physical theatre style to the play. It will be performed in British Sign Language and spoken English.

Post show discussions: Tuesday 18 November Overstepping the Mark with clinical psychologist Dr Sally Austen.

Wednesday 19 November Making Frozen with director Jeni Draper and cast members.

From £12 ALL AGES music

£12, £10 Concs, £8 Schools + every 11th ticket FREE

14 +

theatre

4

e for Best in theatr

families

Thursday 20 & Friday 21 February, 1 & 3pm Pickled Image presents

16 March ry, Feb ents days 2Wel pres Sun lsrua Sadler’

Fireside Tales with Granddad

& 4 May, 2–5pm

the albany presents

Kids k! Come in fancy Discoder land is bac

Boogie won Year (2 Feb), dress inspired by Chinese New r) and Ma (16 d rlan Underwater Wonde Spacetacular (4 May).

£7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages 3+ Sunday 2 March, 3pm makin projects presents

er 7s £6, £20 Family Ticket. Und

Little Howard and the Magic Pencil of Life and Death

23 & 30 March; Sunday 16 February; 2, 9, pm 2–3 , May 18 20 April; the albany presents

Following the success of their TV show Little Howard’s Big Question (CBBC) real human Big Howard and animated six-year-old Little Howard are bringing their family comedy show to the Albany.

Up Club Growing door (weather dependant)

Indoor and out for ages 2–7. gardening and craft activites £3

£7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages 6+

Sunday 16 February, 1 & 3pm Peaceful Lion Productions

presents

Sunday 9 March, 1 & 3pm

!

Hey, Presto of aspiration, friendship,

Folded Feather presents

Nice

A heart-warming tale chief adventure and a little bit of mis gs. son hy catc accompanied by £7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages

Half Term

Cuddle up around the campfire as Granddad recalls a daring escape from a hungry shark, featuring exquisite puppets and captivating storytelling.

Life has suddenly become very confusing for young Lucy. One minute she is in a toy shop, waiting patiently for a simple repair to her beloved puppet, the next she is being chased by a giant chicken…

3–8

£7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages 4+

For Older Children Macbeth – Blood Will Have Blood Tuesday 4 March, 7.30pm & Saturday 8 March, 1.30pm

Mouth Open Story Jump Out

Page 7

Saturday 15 March 1 & 3pm

Page 8

Rubbish

Page 12

Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 May, 1 & 4pm

Why couldn’t the chicken find her eggs?

5

Because she misl aid them.

Sunday 23 March, 1 & 3pm

Sleeping Beauty in the Woods

Buy a family tic k and saveet !

£7, £24 Family Ticket. Under 3+

Sunday 20 April, 1 & 3pm

Sunday 30 March, 1 & 3pm

Dogs Don’t do Ballet

Little Angel Theatre presents

This bold production uses puppetry, imaginative video projections, automata and live music to weave an irresistibly magical storytelling experience.

Blunderbus presents

Dotty the Dragon

Dotty is a baby fire dragon. She lives at the top of a mountain with her grumpy dad, Mr Dragon. Everyone fears for their lives, for dragons eat children! Or so they believe... £7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages 3+ Wednesday 9 – Sunday 13 April, 11am & 2pm Long Nose Puppets presents

Shoe Baby

Easter Special

A fantastical sing-along adventure with a baby who takes to the sea, the air, the zoo all in a shoe! Meet the puppets afterwards. £7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages 2+

Little Angel Theatre presents

Back by popular demand! Biff is not like ordinary dogs. He likes moonlight. And music. And walking on his tiptoes. You see, Biff doesn’t think he’s a dog, Biff thinks he’s a ballerina…

£7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages 2–6 Sunday 27 April, 12 & 2.30pm

Upswing & the Albany present

Circus Family Workshop

Tumble, fly, swing and spin with your children.

Each child must be accompanied by a paying adult. £7. Ages 3+ Sunday 18 May, 1 & 3pm

Norwich Puppet Theatre presents

The Frog and the Princess

A poignant and humorous puppetry re-telling of the traditional Frog Prince tale by the Brothers Grimm.

£7, £24 Family Ticket. Ages 4+

5

find 5 u o y Can gs hidden eg yellow is page? on th 6

Thursday 20 February, 7.30pm (doors) Chill Pill & the Albany present

chill pill

South London’s coolest spoken word night returns.

Our poets have been plucked straight from the field and frozen within three hours to provide you with only the freshest spoken word from Indigo Williams and Strangelove. Plus, rising talent on the open mic – arrive early to sign up.

‘Here is an art that remains fresh and undefined’ The Telegraph £7, £5 Concs

12 +

spoken word

Tuesday 4 March, 7.30pm & Saturday 8 March, 1.30pm Contender Charlie, China Plate and Warwick Arts Centre present

Macbeth Blood Will Have Blood

Thursday 27 February – Saturday 1 March, 7.30, 8.30 & 9.30pm StoneCrabs Theatre Company & the Albany present

play.ground StoneCrabs Young Directors’ Festival

Nine pieces of electric theatre from young and upcoming directors that inspire, entertain, and challenge. This fascinating collection of work includes dramatisations of plays by Zinnie Harris, Kieran Lynn, Eugene O’Neill and Peter Brook, engaging with a variety of themes from the workings of the psyche to the complexities of everyday life.

A rare opportunity to see fresh talent and creativity brought together in an eclectic and diverse festival of powerful theatre. For full details see the Albany website. £12 Evening Ticket (3 shows), £5 per show

14 +

theatre

A macabre porter invites us into Macbeth’s castle, taking us right into the dark heart of Shakespeare’s play. Razor-sharp storytelling, eerie projections and a heart-stopping soundtrack take us on an immersive, breakneck journey through the bloodsoaked world of Macbeth.

Reinvented for young audiences, Macbeth – Blood Will Have Blood is an accessible and unforgettable introduction to Shakespeare’s shocking story of ambition, greed and the abuse of power. £10, £8 Concs

9-13

family theatre 7

Fridays 7 & 21 March, 7pm

Hatched The Albany presents

Saturday 15 March, 1 & 3pm Battersea Arts Centre on tour presents

polarbear’s Mouth Open Story Jump Out

Hatched, the Albany’s programme for supporting artists’ development, returns! For two weeks in March two different artists will be testing ideas and hatching something new. Join us each Friday for a sharing of freshly laid works-in-progress. Theatre, circus, spoken word – anything could hatch.

Polarbear makes things up; stories, jokes, adventures – a master maker-upper. But where did it all begin? Mouth Open Story Jump Out is about the moment that started it all, and how one little decision set off a chain reaction that changed his life forever. International assassins, secret codes, dog eating boa constrictors and much more fill the hole left when a father disappears and a boy discovers a talent for telling tales.

Pay What You Can (£1 minimum)

£10, £8 Concs, £32 Family Ticket

14 +

8-11

family spoken word theatre

8

Saturday 22 March, 8pm

Tuesday 25 – Friday 28 March, 7.30pm

Battersea Arts centre on tour & the albany present

Menagerie & Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds present

The gods are in the betting shops, the gods are in the cafe, The gods can’t afford the deposit on their flat...

Winged sandals tearing up the pavement, Me, you, everyone, brand new ancients

As the Anyias, a British-Nigerian family, pack their suitcases and prepare to head home to Lagos for a memorial service in honour of the late Mr Anyia, they soon realise they will need to get rid of some excess baggage first!

EgusiSoup Ancients Written by Janice Okoh Written by kate tempest

Brand New

Poet and spoken word artist Kate Tempest tells an everyday epic over an exhilarating live score played by tuba, cello, violin, drums and electronics, that finds the gods of today all around us and reveals that our true heroes are much closer than we think.

spoken word

From award-winning (Bruntwood Prize) writer Janice Okoh. £12, £10 Concs, £8 Schools + every 11th ticket FREE

£12, £10 Concs

14 +

A fast, furious and funny new family drama about inter-generational and cross-cultural relationships.

theatre

16 +

theatre

The Albany’s Uncover Programme for Young Creatives If you’re young, creative and up for new experiences, check out our latest Uncover projects. Uncover is FREE for anyone aged 13-19 interested in exploring theatre, music, spoken word and everything in between.

To find out how you can get involved please email us at uncover@thealbany.org.uk or call on 020 8692 4446.

9

Saturday 29 March, 7pm ‘til late

Thursday 24 April, 7.30pm (doors) ‘til late

PILL Amplify CHILL spring special Chill Pill & the Albany present

THE B

IG ON

E

uncover & the albany present

The Uncover Music Company take over the Albany’s main stage with Amplify, an eclectic music night programmed and produced in collaboration with a special guest artist. Previous collaborators include Chunky (Swamp 81, Hessle Audio) and Illum Sphere (Hoya:Hoya, Ninja Tune).

The Big One is back! South London’s coolest spoken word night gets supersized for spring – join the whole Chill Pill team with their biggest line up yet!

‘something for everyone’ Huffington Post

£10, £6 Concs, £4 Uncover members

13 +

music

Uncover Music

Uncover Music is a collective of music lovers who create an eclectic new music scene through our live music events, Amplify.

So whether you are a solo artist, in a band, a DJ, producer or promoter we have something for you.

£9, £6 Concs

12 +

spoken word

Uncover THEATRE

Uncover Theatre is a free weekly drama group that creates performances that excite audiences and challenge perceptions of young people. The next round of auditions will take place on Tuesday 14 January 2014.

10

Friday 25 April, 7.30pm

Tuesday 29 April – Friday 2 May, 7.30pm

Upswing & the Albany present

Extant presents

BITES: Remix

thechairs

BITES is a cabaret night of unusual artistic collaborations, with circus at its heart. Forget everything you think you know about circus; BITES offers new perspectives by placing outstanding acts alongside artists from the worlds of music, dance, theatre, spoken word, and comedy.

An old couple aged ninety-four and ninety-five, live for years in isolation in a house surrounded by miles of water. Repetitious enactments of their past experiences are now interrupted by the need to welcome an ever-growing crowd of invisible visitors. The old man and old woman accumulate a roomful of chairs for the invisible guests, who await the arrival of an orator to deliver the old man’s world-changing speech - but to what effect…?

BITES: Remix takes inspiration from underground dance and street arts. Expect a night of awe inspiring – and gravity defying – tricking, parkour, dance and more.

BITES is an evolution of Upswing and the Albany’s Circus Bites event, featuring the same outstanding quality of circus from some of the UK’s finest performers.

£12, £10 Concs

16 +

cabaret

£1 tickets

10 available for every show

Written by eugène ionesco translated by martin crimp

Extant’s casting of blind actors in the two main roles will bring a new interpretation to this classic text. As ever, access for Extant’s visually impaired audiences will be imaginatively integrated, existing as the characters’ inner monologues. Presented within the general sound design, it will be a rich, audible, imagined interior space that becomes an extension of the imagined visual geography created on stage by the two main characters.

£12, £10 Concs, £5 companions and supporters of disabled attendees

circus

11 +

theatre

Why not take a risk on something new?

This season we are offering 10 £1 tickets for every show in our season, so why not use this opportunity to try something new?

Subject to availability. Only two tickets per show per person.

Up to three shows per person.

11

Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 May, 1 & 4pm

Thursday 29 & Friday 30 May, 7.30pm

Rubbish

Ria Hartley presents

Theatre-Rites presents

Matilda and Me

Imagine a world that celebrates its rubbish. A world where, at the touch of a puppeteer’s hand, the contents of a bin bag can transform before your eyes.

Four inquisitive excavators explore the unexpected value of discarded objects. What will emerge from a bag full of sludge and what could possibly happen when they find a lost glove? Come and enjoy the beautiful, silly and inventive world of Rubbish.

‘Matilda is my Grandma. She migrated from Jamaica to England in 1962. Now all of her memories have faded. I need to remember for her, for me, for us’

£10, £8 Concs, £32 Family Ticket

£10, £8 Concs

5+

families theatre

A conversation between two women, fifty years apart; this colourful performance weaves together storytelling, dubpoetry, live art and reggae music.

16 +

theatre

Wednesday 4 June, 7 & 8.45pm

‘So cunningly and playfully constructed that it feels like a gift’ The Guardian

Hannah Jane Walker & Chris Thorpe present

I Wish I

Was Lonely

I Wish I Was Lonely is a participatory show about contactability. A show in which the audience commit to leaving their phones on. A show investigating what it means to participate in communication – or not. There will be poems, there will be stories and there will be conversation.

From Fringe-First winners Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe (following 2011’s The Oh F*ck Moment).

£10, £8 Concs

14 +

spoken word

theatre

12

‘Meet me at the Albany is outstanding – it’s my winter tonic’

Meet me at the Albany participant

at

the

Arts activities, lunch and much, much more for the over 60s.

Every Tuesday, 10.30am – 2.30pm £6 for lunch and activities

All materials included in the price, free tea and coffee all day.

For an informal chat about the day or to book your place, please contact Sally on 020 8692 0231 ext 280 or email sally.pembroke@thealbany.org.uk

Places must be reserved in advance to secure lunch.

You may also be interested in...

Tuesday 18 March, 1–3pm Entelechy & the albany present

A 21st Century

Tea Dance Meet Me at the Albany comes together with Entelechy’s Tea Dance team to conjure up an afternoon of dance, tea, cake, music and gentle delights for all ages. £5, carers and under 5s FREE, £5 Groups + every 6th ticket FREE ALL AGES

13

Sister Venues

Over the last couple of years the Albany has been programming events at our sister venues, Canada Water Culture Space and Deptford Lounge, working in partnership with Southwark and Lewisham Councils respectively. Both of the new, state-of-the-art buildings contain libraries as well as a number of other rooms and spaces.

Canada Water Culture Space

Deptford Lounge

Spring sees a brand new line up of great events landing in Canada Water Culture Space’s beautiful theatre. Highlights of the season include Per-mission: aka Love and Sex (Thursday 13 February, 7.30pm), a hard hitting dance theatre show looking at themes of love, sex and consent, and A November Day (Wednesday 12 March, 7.30pm), a moving puppetry performance set in the First World War. Cracking comedy comes from the likes of Robin Ince and Josie Long with Shambles (Friday 7 February, 7.30pm) amongst others.

A short hop across Deptford High Street, Deptford Lounge is the striking gold building on Giffin Square, with a regular programme of events for all the family, many of which are free to attend.

The Deptford Lounge provides a range of community services including a public library, computer labs, study areas, café, room hire, events and a roof-top ball court. The Lounge is part of an innovative community development that connects and shares facilities with state-ofthe-art primary school Tidemill Academy, and includes Resolution Studios, a development of affordable apartments, studios and exhibition space.

Don’t miss out on your favourite family shows including Hey Presto (Saturday 15 February, 1 & 3pm), Sleeping Beauty in the Woods (Saturday 22 March, 1 & 3pm) and Dogs Don’t Do Ballet (Saturday 19 April, 1 & 3pm).

CWCultureSpace

DeptfordLounge

canadawaterculturespace.org.uk

Website coming soon

T. 020 7525 2931

T. 020 8314 6399

14

Diary Title

dates & times

How to be Immortal YamYam! A Festival of Arts and Food Disco Kids Glasshouse Jonzi D Lyrikal Fearta Carthy, Hardy, Farrell & Young Growing Up Club Hey, Presto!

Frozen Chill Pill Fireside Tales with Granddad Play.ground

Tue 28 & Wed 29 Jan, 7.45pm From Sat 1 Feb Sun 2 Feb, 16 Mar & 4 May, 2–5pm Wed 5 & Thu 6 Feb, 7.30pm Fri 7 & Sat 8 Feb, 7.30pm Sat 15 Feb, 7.30pm (doors) Sun 16 Feb, 2, 9, 23 & 30 Mar; 20 Apr; 18 May, 2– 3pm Sun 16 Feb, 1 & 3pm Tue 18, 11am & 7.30pm, & Wed 19 Feb, 7.30pm Thu 20 Feb, 7.30pm (doors) Thu 20 and Fri 21 Feb, 1 & 3pm Thu 27 Feb – Sat 1 Mar, 7.30, 8.30 & 9.30pm Sun 2 Mar, 3pm Tue 4 Mar, 7.30pm & Sat 8 Mar, 1.30pm Fri 7 & 21 Mar, 7pm Sun 9 Mar, 1 & 3pm Sat 15 Mar, 1 & 3pm Tue 18 Mar, 1-3pm Sat 22 Mar, 8pm Sun 23 Mar, 1 & 3pm Tue 25 – Fri 28 Mar, 7.30pm Sat 29 Mar, 7pm ‘til late Sun 30 Mar, 1 & 3pm Wed 9 – Sun 13 Apr, 11am & 2pm Sun 20 Apr, 1 & 3pm Thu 24 Apr, 7.30pm (doors) ‘til late Fri 25 Apr, 7.30pm Sun 27 Apr, 12 & 2.30pm Tue 29 Apr – Fri 2 May, 7.30pm Sun 18 May, 1 & 3pm Sat 24 & Sun 25 May, 1 & 4pm Spe Thu 29 & Fri 30 May, 7.30pm box oak to the Wed 4 Jun, 7 & 8.45pm mo ffice for

Little Howard and the Magic Pencil of Life and Death

Macbeth – Blood Will Have Blood Hatched Nice Mouth Open Story Jump Out A 21st Century Tea Dance Brand New Ancients Sleeping Beauty in the Woods Egusi Soup Amplify Dotty the Dragon Shoe Baby Dogs Don’t do Ballet Chill Pill: Spring Special BITES: Remix Circus Family Workshop The Chairs The Frog and the Princess Rubbish Matilda and Me I Wish I Was Lonely

page

G Groupreat availa rates ble! re info .

2 2 5 3 3 4 5 5 4 7 5 7 5 7 8 5 8 13 9 6 9 10 6 6 6 10 11 6 11 6 12 12 12

Book Online thealbany.org.uk Box Office 020 8692 4446 The Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford, London SE8 4AG BUS 21, 36, 47, 53, 136, 177, 188, 199, 225, 453 TRAIN Nearest stations New Cross & Deptford CAR Free on street parking nearby Visit our website for more directions and access information

TheAlbanySE8 /albany.deptford

The information in this brochure is available in large print, electronic format and on our website.

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