Fintan Dineen’s play Shoulders makes it to full production at the Lambeth Fringe following shortlisting for BBC Writersroom 2022, and readings in 2024-25.
“Set largely across an archive of social media chat threads from 2009-2019, with seven distinct characters from outer Croydon, Shoulders is a comedic, moving and razor sharp look at masculinity, loss and friendship in an age of digital dislocation.”
Where: Golden Goose Theatre
When: 3-4 Oct
Ticket link: https://lambethfringe.com/events/shoulders
What made you want to write Shoulders, and why based it around social media posts?
I’ve been in many ‘lads group chats’ – football chats, stag do chats, old school friend chats – I wanted to theatricalise this space as a means of exploring questions around what male groups show / hide from each other.
I became interested in a premise whereby a man leaves the world but never leaves the chat, aided by that uncanny feeling of sudden loss when someone actually does exit the chat.
From this, Shoulders grew into a dramatisation of grief, looking at how the ‘culture of silence’ around men’s vulnerabilities manifests in an age of digital noise.
Why should audiences choose to see your play and what might they expect?
Shoulders is a raw, stripped back and grippingly contemporary play about how a shared loss affects a group of friends from Croydon.
It champions nuanced working class characters and is enacted by a wonderfully talented cast.
Despite its heavy themes, the play is full of laughs, mystery and glimmers of bright light.
Audiences can expect lols & trolls, scars on the heart & burns on the skin, wildflowers & flowing rivers, shadows, angels, and lots of emojis.
Do you find fringe theatre inspiring as a writer or performer?
As a writer, Fringe is a hugely integral part of the wider theatre ecosystem. Many of our most cherished writers historically come from Fringe culture.
I always seek to support up and coming writers putting on their plays DIY. and Fringe is the best way to do that.
Personally, I have had some of my highest creative joy working collaboratively in Fringe – it has a great freedom attached.
What’s next for the show?
Sky is the limit! Shoulders has been on a long six year journey thus far and we only see it growing from here.
After every outing it’s had, it’s been gaining more momentum. This is its biggest exposure yet so we want to invite everyone to be a part of this event.