This summer, Sheffield Theatres stages an exciting range of touring and in-house productions in the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse. Including beat-boxing, punk cabaret, wedding disasters and tea party lip-syncs, there are an exciting array of stories to discover on the Playhouse stage.
From Sheffield People’s Theatre Launchpad, Total Ripple Effectplays on Friday 7 June. Created by Laura Guthrie and the Launchpad Company, a group for adults aged 18+ with learning disabilities and/or Autism, discover what happens when a tech company, a house share and an as-yet-untested interactive computer game collide. What could possibly go wrong? Devised and created in response to Sheffield People’s Theatre’s Urgent! A Timely Play.
Later in June, Sheffield People’s Theatre Young Companypresent Urgent! A Timely Play, by Nicole Joseph. University drop-out and house-sharer Jude drifts through life until one day when he accidentally opens a time portal and finds out death is coming for him. Playing on Saturday 29 June.
From Wednesday 14 – Saturday 17 August isSomething Old, Something New, inspired by and created with communities of Sheffield by Sheffield People’s Theatre; anintergenerational company for anyone aged 12+. It's meant to be their big day but everyone is behaving badly. From the never-been-to-the-North-before guests, to the teenage band who ‘don’t believe in weddings,’ to the overworked, underpaid caterers. Then disaster strikes, forcing the party to face what it means to commit to someone and somewhere.
In addition to Sheffield Theatres’ productions, there are also a number of fantastic touring shows visiting the Playhouse this summer:
From Tuesday 28 to Wednesday 29 May, Fifth Word and Nottingham Playhouse, in association with Brixton House, present Liberation Squares. This is a riotous, funny play, told through the technicolour lens of three teenage girls, follows their unlikely friendship as they navigate the world of social media influencer activism and its real-life consequences. Inspired by graphic novels, hip hop, pop culture and real-world activists, Liberation Squares asks what it takes for young Muslim women today to be the heroes of their own stories.
Described by The Times as a “one-person music festival”, international non-binary beatboxing star SK Shlomo returns with Fringe Award-winning new solo show BREATHEon Saturday 1 June. A rollercoaster love-letter to the lifesaving power of beats, bass and breathing, BREATHE is a thrilling mix of cutting-edge music tech, heart-warmingly personal storytelling, and the breathtaking virtuosity that makes SK Shlomo a main-stage festival favourite, a world-champion beatboxer, and collaborator of choice for megastar acts like Ed Sheeran, Bjork and Gorillaz.
On Saturday 8 June is Thatcher-rite, an interactive performance exploring the personal and political legacy of Margaret Thatcher. Join Mrs. Thatcher’s very own traditional English tea party. With lip-sync, clown, and verbatim theatre, bring your anger or admiration in the comforts of cake and cucumber sandwiches. Created and performed by Jack Boal, who grew up in Thatcher's former constituency, Thatcher-Rite puts the personal and political side by side. Her mark on the cultural, social and political notions of Englishness begs the question, “Has Mrs. Thatcher truly left us?"
Silent Uproar in association with Hull Truck Theatre presents Dead Girls Rising from Mon 10 – Tue 11 June. Katie and Hannah love murder. They go to bed listening to podcasts about serial killers; they clutch blankets glued to gruesome documentaries. They're in deep. They're not sure if they can stop, and they're not sure if they want to. And then they summon The Furies. The Greek goddesses of vengeance! Well... technically the Greek goddesses of justice. It’s a long story. Dead Girls Rising is a furious coming-of-age punk cabaret show about surviving a violent patriarchy. Join The Furies as they tear apart the tyrannical history of male power through skits, punk music and the all-too-familiar experiences of Katie and Hannah. Written and lyrics by Maureen Lennon, with music and lyrics by Anya Pearson.
Created by electronic musician An-Ting and creative technologist Ian Gallagher, Lost Communications 失絡之聲 is a live audio-visual performance on Friday 21 June. Travelling from the UK, through Mongolia, Sichuan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Ian and An-Ting recorded the songs of birds as the musical expression of the environments they found themselves in. What might they tell us if we were able to hear? An immersive exploration of art, technology, and the light and darkness of nature. Supported by Videotage (Hong Kong) and Treasure Hill Artist Village (Taiwan).
All Playhouse productions are on sale now. Tickets can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at the link below.
