Shed Theatre Company has a new show running tonight and tomorrow at the Actors East Theatre in Dalston.
Putrid Beauty is a new, dark, surrealist comedy two-hander from writer/director Barnaby Tobias. It is produced by the team that brought Discman and Rome 3000 (Julius Caesar) to the London fringe, and features two Oxford School of Theatre graduates.
Where: Actors East Theatre, Dalston
When: 1 Dec 7.30pm; 2 Dec 4pm & 7.30pm
Ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/putrid-beauty-tickets-744247854367
Show synopsis:
Sapphire (Jasmin Pitt) is bored of Beauty. Lucifer (Christopher Thomas) is tired of Earth. Both need change. One whole Faustian pact later, and this unlikely couple find themselves stretching the boundaries of God, art and self-acceptance in an attempt to find the truth. Highly ironic and absurdist-ly brutal, this dark, romantic comedy explores the self-torture and nihilistic pursuit of trying to find purpose in this world.
I chatted to the producers of Putrid Beauty, Ivan Bond and Evan L Barker, to find out more about the show, the venue, and future plans for Shed Theatre Company.
Tell me about your “dark, surrealist comedy” Putrid Beauty which opens this week. Why should audiences come to see it?
Putrid Beauty is a two hander that looks at the self torturous pursuit of fame and materialism. I hope it explores with humour, the results this has on our personal lives and relationships. If they are into dark; physical comedies that use old archetypes to bring new explorations to age old ideas, I think they’ll like this new play.
Barnaby Tobias writes and directs, following on from Fox-Light which ran at Camden Fringe. Do the two shows have anything in common?
There are a few similarities. The plays were written at the same time and both explore the world of Art and all of the complications that brings. Both being two handers, they have a dark sense of humour to them, however, Fox-Light is more of a drama and Putrid Beauty is more satirical.
What’s the Actors East like as a venue?
A nifty black-box Space in the heart of Dalston; seating 55 people, Actors East has been a hub for us since we started The Shed. Starting as a rehearsal space, it turned into a producing theatre more recently, and is the only space in the area of its kind.
It’s a space that accommodates our company’s values; the owners are very friendly and inclusive and we can tell it’s going to become a vital part of the London fringe theatre scene.
What’s the USP of your production company?
We have always tagged our productions as “bold, progressive and accessible” with the latter being at the helm. Through nobody in the industry’s fault, theatre is at risk of dying out.
Gentrification has changed the culture and environment, making it near impossible for working class and younger creatives to go and watch the thing they love doing the most!
We always wear our heart on our sleeves and promote exactly what is possible for us to realise. It’s the poor person’s theatre, extremely sustainable, making the most of anything and everything that is available to us.
You can find all of our promotional materials, on The Shed Theatre Company’s YouTube channel or on Instagram.
All trailer and poster making, film production and editing; as well as photography and graphic design, is done by us, in house.
You have two Oxford School of Theatre graduates in the cast. How important is it to give opportunities to new professionals in the theatre fringe?
We, ourselves, are two young creative graduates from the BA (Hons) Acting courses at LAMDA and East 15 Acting School and we are beyond thrilled to be branching out and networking with artists, young and old, from different drama schools all over the UK and internationally.
From not-so-well connected parts of South Wales, we have always strived to give opportunities to those who are passionate and committed to the work and furthering their creative outlets when out of work or starting out in the industry.
And what’s next for you?
Using all of our press materials, footage, images and references, the next step in our journey is to submit a vital funding application to the Arts Council.
This will aid our summer repertory season of plays, in order to have a longer run of shows, fairly pay actors and a creative team and produce set and costume for a multiple show run; taking the next step-up as a company.
Prior, we are co-producing The Hunchback of Notre Dame Musical in the Spring. We are always on the hunt for a further network and encourage people to get in touch via email at theshedtheatreco@gmail.com.