Trav 50 join in down the pub

Village Pub Theatre this Thursday, 28 February

By Thom Dibdin

Details of the February Village Pub Theatre event have been announced, with six short plays being presented as rehearsed readings at the Villager, South Fort Street on Thursday, 28th.

Jenna Watt, the award winning live artist and director whose fringe first-winning show Flâneurs is coming to the Traverse in May, has curated this month’s plays as well directing.

Her strong mix ranges from the completely new and raw to more finished works that are preparing for a future life at the Edinburgh fringe and beyond. Two of the six pieces chosen are by members of the Traverse Fifty group of mentored-playwrights.

VPT gives writers an opportunity to try out their work in from of an audience in a relaxed and informal pub setting, using professional actors and directors. This month’s actors are Ros Sydney, Mark McDonnell, Kenny Blyth and Kirstin Murray. Caitlin Skinner joins Jenna Watt on direction duties.

Doors are at 7.30pm with the first play starting at 8pm and performances expected to finish around 10pm. Entrance is £3 – rather less than the cost of a pint – and the Annals understands that at least one kind of baked goods will be on offer, in addition to the alcoholic beverages available behind the bar.

The six pieces are:

Rattus Rattus
By Ben Blow
“Three small time revolutionaries kidnap a billionaire and take over his life; setting in motion a bizarre series of events which will lead to an armed insurrection on the streets of London.”
Ben is an establishing playwright living in Edinburgh. This is an excerpt from a larger play which Ben will be taking to this year’s Edinburgh Festival fringe.

What Would Jesus Do?
By Jennifer Adam
“A resident Reverend, stuck in his old ways, finds himself in a more than mucky situation when a keen new minister moves in to help modernise the running of the parish.”
Jennifer is an establishing playwright.

The Bench
By Belle Jones
“After the end of an unhealthy relationship, little – if anything – is salvageable and shock tactics are embarrassingly transparent.”
Belle is familiar to the VPT audiences as an actress. This is a 10 minute short and Belle is a newer playwright.

Winter Fuel Allowance
By Jen McGregor
“A short, based – according the central heating engineer who condemned Jen’s boiler one freezing day – on a true story. Who needs boilers when there are more sinister ways to keep warm?”
Jen is director and writer for Edinburgh’s Tightlaced Theatre Company.

Samsara
By Kris Haddow
“Shanti is a Buddhist. He believes that we live, age and die, only to be endlessly reborn in the cycle of samsara. Dougie is a Scot. He also believes that we live, age and die – but while he may once have dreamed that he’d ‘live forever’, he now hopes-to-hell there’ll be no reprise…”
Kris is a Glasgow based writer and performer. He is also one of the Traverse Fifty.

Repulsive Acts of Love
By James Ley
While they lie in the sunshine on an idyllic beach, drinking beer and staring out to the deep blue sea, long term partners and lifelong enemies Frank and Gregory tear each other apart.
James established the Village Pub Theatre and brought together the current group of curators. James is an established playwright living in Edinburgh, he is currently one of the Traverse Fifty.

Further details on the Village Pub Theatre facebook page: www.facebook.com/PubTheatre

ENDS

Tags: Fringe Theatre, Jenna Watt, News, Preview, Theatre, Traverse 50, Village Pub Theatre