Shrapnel Live & Online
Pandemic show Shrapnel gets Zoom premiere
Edinburgh grassroots theatre company Production Lines is staging cmfwood’s pandemic play Shrapnel live online for four performances at the end of November.
The new script has been written by cmfwood to be staged in an online format and will be performed live. It is billed as “a darkly funny look at life in a pandemic and all the forms the fallout takes”.
Shrapnel publicity image. Pic: Judith Fieldhouse
The company had planned to stage cmfwood’s script crackers during this year’s Fringe but were scuppered by the Covid-19 restrictions. Instead of producing an online version of the show, however, cmfwood decided to write something new and hope to stage crackers live in 2021.
She says: “Rather than reinventing an existing script for performance online, I was interested in writing a play that could only be performed online.
“Keeping the performance live rather than pre-recorded felt really important. Part of the buzz of theatre is its defiant unpredictability.”
Shrapnel follows best friends Martha and Viv, who live alone at opposite ends of the country and are both refusing to leave the house.
Single mum Helen is juggling her job as a nurse, her kids and weekly four hour round trips to deliver food to her mum – Martha. Helen’s kids are getting paranoid that the pandemic is turning them into social outcasts.
However Martha has a secret that threatens to shatter the already stretched familial loyalty. And she needs to tell someone before it’s too late…
social contact
cmfwood says: “Whether you live alone or in a busy household, most people have missed social contact during the pandemic and consequently found their way onto video platforms.
“But does virtual contact leave you feeling less lonely or does it make you feel worse?”
cmfwood is joined by co-director Alan Patterson and designer Jennie Landels, with technical support provided by Andy Ellis and Bob Wood. Shrapnel is currently in rehearsal online with a cast from across Scotland.
The performances are free but need to be booked in advance. All audience members will be invited to donate to Acting For Others (a charity that supports people who work in theatre), Age UK or Scottish charity Tiny Changes which supports young people experiencing mental ill-health.
Listings and links
Shrapnel by CMF Wood
Online (details on booking)
Thurs 19 – Sun 22 November 2020.
Evenings: 8pm.
Running time: 1 hour
Tickets and details: https://shrapnel.eventbrite.co.uk.
Production Lines: Website
Twitter: @ProductionLines
ENDS
