CLASS MATES by Anne-Marie Draycott & Charity Trimm
“Take one community centre, three evening classes, six skill-seekers and then stand back!
Night-class-aholic Karen and newly separated daughter Izzy tackle Zumba. Under-pre- pared dad-to-be Zack meets over-prepared Marla in Antenatal class. While in Beginners Sewing, social-media addicted Laurie-May gives stressed-out mum Claire, the needle!
They want to learn to salsa like a Zumba Pro, create the perfect blanket-stitch and straddle a birthing ball like a gymnast. But they’re about to learn much more – about friendship, parenthood, and themselves.”
New Celts Productions & A Dash of Theatre present the heart-warming comedy CLASS MATES, a new piece of writing by BAFTA Rocliffe award-winning duo Anne-Marie Draycott and Charity Trimm.
Preview Aug 5 - 14:20 (1hr 5mins) £6.00(£4.00)
Aug 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 - 14:20 (1hr 5mins) £9.50(£6.00)
What was the inspiration for this performance?
Class Mates started life as a short comedy play which explored the unlikely friendship between a social-media addicted teen and her fellow class mate, a put-upon mum. It was selected for Live Theatre’s ’10 Minutes to....’ Festival in Newcastle and for Script Yorkshire’s ‘David Nobbs Comedy Tribute Night’ at Seven Arts, Leeds.
After being well received, the writers were inspired to develop the piece into a longer play specifically for A Dash of Theatre. It now features more characters who are thrown together at a variety of evening classes, where they learn more than they bargained for....about friendship, parenthood and themselves.
Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?
Absolutely. The immediacy of live performance has a direct impact on the audience and evokes a communal energy where thoughts, feelings and ideas can be explored.
How did you become interested in making performance?
We love exploring what makes people tick and we’re drawn to doing that in a humorous way. Live performance allows us to share our characters, and see and feel an immediate response to their stories.
Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?
We’ve focused on the characters more than anything, as it’s ultimately their story. It’s not about set or fancy lights, it’s about characters that have private and public personas, and that’s what we’re exploring. It’s all there in the writing. It’s about relatable people with everyday struggles and how they come about overcoming them. Their journey becomes our journey.
Does the show fit with your usual productions?
This is the first A Dash of Theatre production, and we’re excited to be presenting ‘Class Mates’ by Anne-Marie Draycott and Charity Trimm, as it’s our primary aim to present new writing that explores the complexities of human relationships.
What do you hope that the audience will experience?
We hope they’ll laugh at and be moved by the experiences of our lonely, flawed, yet funny characters.
What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
We wanted to create a multi-functioning space that reflects the reality of a bustling community centre. Working within the practicalities of staging the show in a small space at the Festival, we’ve kept the set and props minimal to allow the intertwining stories to take centre stage. Every story strand has a different energy, so that the audience is taken on a very specific journey for each thread.
New Writing, Comedy
Cast: Claire – Kerri Clarence Izzy – Katie Grant Karen – Maria Eleftheriadou Laurie-May – Laura Porch Marla – Alison Todd Zach – Graeme Murdoch Director – Iain Davie
A Dash of Theatre in association with New Celts Productions; a collective of new talent who have trained and graduated from Edinburgh Napier and Queen Margaret Universities’ BA (Hons) Acting for Stage & Screen programme. This production represents the culmination of that training and will showcase the talent of emerging young professional actors.
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
Aug 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25
2.20pm – 3.25pm
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