Plays from Vault (NHB Modern Plays): Five new plays from VAULT Festival

by Janice Dulieu-Barton, Camilla Whitehill, Lourdes J. Cruz, Sulan Luo, Kody Law

Overview

This anthology comprises five of the best plays from VAULT 2016, London’s biggest and most exciting arts festival.Eggsis a dark comedy about female friendship, fertility and freaking out, by Florence Keith-Roach, ‘rising star of the London theatre scene’ (Evening Standard). Two women, living very different lives, are united by their quick wit, love of nineties’ dance music and a mounting alienation.

In Mr Incredible, Adam is single. He doesn’t like it. He misses Holly. He deserves Holly. Doesn’t he? A monologue about love and entitlement by Camilla Whitehill, author of Where Do Little Birds Go?, who was described by The Times as 'a writer of huge promise'.

The world of the celebrity PA is laid bare in Primadonna. A young first-timer navigates impossible tasks, difficult conversations and fearsome passive aggression in this one-woman play from Rosie Kellett, winner of the VAULT Festival Spirit Award.

Mickey and his team of Cornermennever have much luck in the boxing world. Until, that is, they sign a young fighter whose winning ways catapult them to a level they’ve never known before. ‘A striking new play by an exciting new writer’, Oli Forsyth (Scotsman).

Stephen Laughton’s one-man play Runexplores what it means to love, to lose, and how to grow from a boy into a man, as a gay Jewish kid sneaks out over Shabbat to meet his boyfriend - and his universe implodes.

‘A vibrant, varied programme full of theatrical treats… a brilliant place to spot new talent’ The Stageon VAULT 2015

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780017143
Publisher:	Hern, Nick Books
Publication date:	01/28/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	868 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Florence Keith-Roach is a writer, actor and director working across theatre, television and film, who has been named a ‘rising star of the London theatre scene’ (Evening Standard).

Her debut play, Love To Love To Love You, which she wrote, directed and acted in, transferred to VAULT Festival in 2015, where it sold out and was named one of Another Magazine’s ‘top ten things to do’. A work-in-progress version of her second play, Eggs, opened at the Edinburgh Free Fringe in August 2015. It received five-star reviews and was described as ‘Honest. Human. Real. Frank. Funny. Achingly relevant’ by Broadway Baby. She has written for Grazia, The Observer and Little White Lies about her experiences as a writer, director and actor in both film and theatre. She is the founder of Orphee Productions, a female-led collective dedicated to telling stories that challenge gender preconceptions. Her short film, Frenching the Bully, which she co-wrote, directed and acted with Freddy Syborn, is available to watch online. She has a lead role in the feature film, Here Lies, which was awarded the Best European Independent Feature Film of 2015.

Camilla Whitehill originally trained as an actor at the Birmingham School of Acting, graduating in 2012. She has had short plays produced at Soho Theatre, Park Theatre, Camden People's Theatre, the Old Red Lion, and the Hen & Chickens Theatre. Her short play Icebergs won the international short play competition Pint Sized Plays in 2013, and her radio play Pier was produced by the Heritage Arts Company. She was part of the Royal Court Young Writers' Programme in spring 2014, and is represented by Kitson Press Associates. Her first full-length play, Where Do Little Birds Go?, won the People's Choice Award at last year's Vault Festival, completed a UK tour, and ran at the Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it gained critical acclaim and an almost completely sold-out run. Mr Incredible was selected for the 2016 VAULT Festival, London.

Rosie Kellett's writing credits include Primadonna (VAULT Festival 2016); Skint, developed with the support of the National Theatre Young Studio, supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (VAULT Festival 2015, winner of the Pick of the Week and Festival Spirit Awards); Morker (Southwark Playhouse, developed on the Almeida Theatre's Writers' Development Programme); and Peak (Old Red Lion Theatre).

Oli Forsyth is a writer, poet, producer and actor from London. He established Smoke & Oakum Theatre in 2013. His first play, Tinderbox, was performed at Theatre503, London, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it was nominated for the Amnesty International Freedom and Speech Award. Cornermen, inspired by his experiences in the world of boxing, opened at the Old Red Lion Theatre, London, in 2015 before playing at the Pleasance Courtyard, the New Diorama Theatre, Otherplace Brighton and the 2016 VAULT Festival, London. Oli's other works include Aubade (2015), and Happy Dave (2016), and a self-published collection of poems in 2015.

Stephen Laughton has worked with Headlong Theatre as part of their Headstart writers' programme. In January 2015, his play, Nine, was part of the PlayWROUGHT#3 Festival at the Arcola Theatre. Stephen has been involved with various theatres in the UK – he is an alumnus of the Royal Court's Invitational Writers' Group, the Skylines programme at Hampstead Theatre, and he was part of a series of development workshops with the Young Vic Theatre and SoundBites. His first play, Marina Abramovic is Staring at Me, opened Terra Firma Theatre's 2011–12 Boxcar Reading Series at the Railroad Playhouse in Newburgh, New York, before moving on to the Cell Theatre in Manhattan.

His work for television includes Forward (Blacklisted Films) and Black Hill (Lime Pictures). For film, he is working on a script for emerging director Ryan Andrew's second feature film, The Lake. Stephen's short drama for young audiences, Merry New Year, was broadcast as part of a collaboration between Hampstead and the Roundhouse Theatres.