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BOOK SHOWS HERE

Better Yesterday

written and directed by Anna Stephen

produced by Honest Fool Productions

16th - 20th April at 7pm

‘I had to check the newspapers to check on my own husband’

One evening in 1977, married stage actors Harold and Sylvia return home after performing in Macbeth. Over the course of the night, they come to blows over the exhausting pressures of fame, faithfulness, and emotional game-playing.

In an exchange that swings between kittenishness and cruelty, the couple discuss overprotective neighbours, voyeuristic headlines, lewd limericks, method acting, seafood risotto, and the exploitative public and press. However, as the friction between their personalities starts to generate heat, confessions are made and dark secrets brought to light. Harold and Sylvia must face up to the subjects they have always avoided, digging to the heart and guts of their relationship and unwrapping the bandages of untreated wounds.

Better Yesterday is a dark comedy that explores the boundaries between public and private; between passion and revulsion; between what is genuine and what is performed. The play won Oxford University Dramatic Society’s 2023 New Writing Competition, judged by award-winning playwright Sophie Swithinbank.

Happily? Ever? After?

21 April

produced by Debden Fugatives

A collection of self-penned monologues from a happy bunch of emerging artists in the London area, most of them with a dark past from Zone Six.

In the monologues, the CHARACTERS (the stories, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious) address the main questions that have been plaguing humankind for centuries:

Will I make it as a composer? Is this really being alive? Will she ever be proud of me? How can we fall in love a 16th time? How to get away with murder?

Come join us for a night of fun and existential crisis! We’re the Debden Fugitives, and we escaped just for one night!

TOP PICK

Wor Bella

produced by Wisecrack Productions

written by Ed Waugh, directed by Russell Floyd

22 - 24 April

The incredible story of the cup-winning Blyth Spartans Ladies and their unbeaten football team during World War 1.
An exhilarating play about the selfless women footballers who worked in dangerous jobs as munitionettes at the Port of Blyth, unloading and loading shells from and for the front.
Despite their daily, hard, physical work and competition from dozens of teams based on Tyneside, Wearside, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Darlington, Blyth Spartans Ladies became the best team in the North East in 1918. Sadly these heroic women have been largely forgotten...until now!
These limited London shows at the Bread and Roses theatre are an out-of town run before Wor Bella transfers to the 1200-seat Newcastle Theatre Royal.

visit www.worbella.co.uk

" A rollercoaster ride of laughter and euphoria to sadness and anger... mesmerising" - The Journal 
 “Unbelievable... special” - Shields Gazette 
  “Rave reviews with both staff and customers. A must see!” - Kyle Crook, Theatre Operational Manager, Blyth Phoenix
 “Brilliant...went down a storm with the audience” - Katy Taylor, Artistic Director, Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
 " Wor Bella was fantastic" - Becky Kelly Marketing & PR Officer, Alnwick Playhouse
 “We were thrilled to see how well the show was received” - Phil Smith, Theatre Director, Playhouse Whitley Bay

Bella Reay: Catherine Dryden (Pitman Painters, The Play that Goes Wrong) Wor Bella features a to-camera cameo by Alan Shearer.

Robin Hood (that sick f**k) 

written by the cast, directed by Hannah McLeod
produced by Baby Lamb Productions

26 - 28 April

The daring and dashing outlaw Robin Hood is on the run with his band of Merry Men– hiding from the dastardly Sheriff, who is after them for no good reason at all! I mean… it might have something to do with all the stealing, kidnapping, fire starting and murdering they’ve been getting up to, but that’s all in good fun, right!? 

Following their sell-out, five-star adaption of The Emperor’s New Clothes, Baby Lamb Productions brings Robin Hood to the present day in this pantomime-noir (a genre you never knew you needed) to answer for his crimes. Featuring original music and full of silly jokes, you won’t want to miss this twisted take on the beloved classic, performed in a way you’ve never seen before! 

SPRING SOCIAL NETWORKING EVENT

The Bread & Roses Theatre

27 April 3 pm - 6 pm

The Bread & Roses Theatre - SPRING SOCIAL NETWORKING EVENT

27th April from 3pm - 6pm

The Bread & Roses Theatre invites all theatre-makers to our spring social networking event!

Held in the Bread & Roses Pub (garden room), this casual get together is a chance for creatives to network, view the space, learn about upcoming opportunities and chat to the team about putting forward a proposal for our programming or Fringe Festival.

Free but space is limited so please book!

The Defectors Present: Scratch 'n' Sniff

30 April

Hosted by Harrison Cole, Produced by The Defectors.

Smell that? That's the return of the scent-sational Scratch 'n' Sniff, the exciting variety scratch night presented by comedy curators The Defectors!

Come on down to the Bread & Roses on the 30th April and get a whiff of all the incredible talent that's been hiding right under your nose. Expect a well balanced, full-bodied evening of comedy, with notes of sketch and stand-up, a hint of music, and other aromatic antics.

The Unicorn In Captivity

1 May

written by Angelika May, directed by Mayra Stergiou and Julia Mandler
produced by Vertebra Theatre

The Unicorn In Captivity” follows the redemptive and psychologically (sometimes physically) abusive relationship between ‘M’ and ‘F’.

The play’s synopsis centres around ‘M’, who, in the aftermath of his mother’s death, discovers his girlfriend’s hidden illness, leading him into unhealthy obsessive explorations and exploitations. It is a tale of forced vulnerability when living with a chronic illness, leaving some susceptible to receiving help from wolves in sheep’s clothing and a metaphorical depiction of patriarchal control in the medical industry.

i exist

written by Charlie Marshall, directed by Soeren Wellens

produced by In a Pickle Productions 

4th & 5th May at 7pm

2020. Drama student Rose has a deadline to create an online piece on existentialism. Isolated in her bedroom, drowning in existentialist theories, she begins a journey of self discovery, almost losing her grip on reality. With no-one else to talk to, she turns to her only outlet … her camera. 

Glorious

6 - 8 May

a new play written & performed by Laura Patch

directed by Dolly Wells and Babs Wiltshire

Gloria could have been a star, instead she's turning up to her daughter's play a little late, a little drunk and causing havoc. Lots of characters, a possessed answerphone machine from 1992,and a nosey neighbour that gets more than she bargained for. A silly, dark, heart-warming show.

Glorious was first performed at the Leicester comedy festival this year and was nominated for the audience choice award.



TOP PICK

YOGA & SEX...for women (over 40)

by Kathryn Haywood, directed by Dan Mersh

9th - 11th May at 7pm

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 advice and practical exercises that are still relevant today to help you “stay slim for your husband,” “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.

★★★★★"Sheer delight...Haywood's timing is pitch perfect, her expressive face like an Australian Fleabag. You laugh and laugh and it's all over too quickly. Brilliant." The Reviews Hub

★★★★ "Hilariously written and effortlessly performed...a rejuvenating experience that will leave anyone gasping for breath from laughter." Adventures in Theatreland
★★★★ "A witty and genuine laugh-out-loud show...her whole performance was wonderful." Binge Fringe

Kitchen Underwear

4 - 8 June

written by Maria Goikhberg & Kate Stamoulis

directed by Becca Donley

How far can you push a sex metaphor, a romantic friendship, and questionable interior décor choices?

When Ash and Zee move into their tiny Edinburgh apartment, they begin to navigate the emotional rollercoaster of their early twenties. What they don’t expect is confronting the age-old question of, "do I want to date you or do I just want to be you?"

Told through diary entries of two (endearingly strange?) flatmates, Kitchen Underwear follows their search for what queer love means and how to show it.

The Real Improvised Housewives of Clapham

directed by Cristina Jerney

produced by Catapult Theatre London

11th - 15th June at 7pm

Gather your favourite slut pigs and step into the chaotic, unfiltered world of "The Real Improvised Housewives of Clapham" – the show that's not scripted, not rehearsed, and definitely not your typical reality TV.

In this wild ride, the glamorous streets of Clapham become the backdrop for a group of diverse and quick-witted individuals who will have you laughing, cringing and wanting to throw a glass of wine (or leg) across a table.

Say goodbye to the overproduced and hello to the “real”, the raw, and the ridiculously entertaining. Don’t be all like… uncool - get ready for a binge-worthy experience brought to you by the morally corrupt Catapult Theatre London.

Disclaimer: We are NOT responsible for what comes out of their mouths… But who gon’ check em, boo?

TOP PICK

It’s a Mystery!

written and performed by Tim Benzie & directed by Sarah Chew

produced by Tim Benzie

25th - 29th June at 7pm

2nd-4th July at 9:30pm

5th & 6th July at 5pm

Tim Benzie, the acclaimed creator and host of Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote presents his new one-man show, a funny and engrossing deep dive into the appeal of murder mysteries. 

The audience are summoned to the drawing room as Tim takes on the role of detective, examining the clues that drew him to the genre as a child, a journey from Scooby Doo and Encyclopedia Brown, to German mystery-puzzle books via reading the entire works of Agatha Christie as a teenager. Along the way he draws connections between obsessions with detective films, the TV series Murder, She Wrote, his role as Detective Tim for Disney TV and his current Solve-Along show.

Funny, touching and showcasing the delight in pop culture minutiae that has made Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote a cult hit, It’s a Mystery! will appeal to fans of the genre and anyone who’s ever wondered whodunnit (and why).

West End Best Friend

***** Five stars

“Benzie is a great host. His enthusiasm for this genre is immediately apparent and his journey through the topic, heartfelt … This is a great insight, lots of fun and a joyful production at this year's Fringe. A killer of a show!”

BOOK SHOWS HERE