by Laura May Price
September 2021
Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham Fringe
Thalia Arts Company
A new writing night, featuring four pieces of work - just beyond the level of scratch. The night featured two pieces presetned by Thalia Arts and two by Motley Crew, but all had themes and characters relating to LGBTQIA+ historical settings and three were a continuation of work featured in Big Enough to Hang a Life On. The aim of the evening was to develop the pieces further and
get some feedback for the writers involved - as well as providing a joyful evening of queer storytelling.
It was vitally important to give development opportunities after the success of Thalia Arts first scratch night and to continue to develop relationships with the writers involved. We are fostering a creative community centred on queer historical pieces of work adn we hope that this will continue long into the future with the continuation of these collaborations.
Thalia Arts are a company dedicated to queering traditional tropes within the fabric of the production and making process, as well as exploring themes of sexuality explicitly. We bring together queer creatives to create comedic and heart-warming theatre centring LGBTQIA+ people and their day-to-day experiences, particularly stories which come from our rich history.
Cast (Thalia Arts)
Cast (Motley Crew)
The Triumph of Pan
Writer: Jordana Belaiche
Director: Beth Wilson
Music: Hayley Ku’unani
Cast: Dom Rawson, Laura Plumley, Lucy Havard, Ben Mallett
Voice Over: Laura May Price, Duncan Earlam
Vine Press is named after the press started by
poet and editor, Victor Benjamin Neuburg from
his house, Vine Cottage in Steyning, Sussex in
1922. Neuburg, however, was perhaps more
well known for his connection to the infamous
occultist Aleister Crowley, as his former lover
and initiate. The play focuses on the
relationship between Crowley and Neuburg,
and of the various characters surrounding
their connection, to explore spiritual abuse,
addiction, queer relationships, and magic(k).
Eminent Charlestonians
Writer: Laura May Price
Director: Beth Wilson
Cast: Lucy Gray, Charlie Sharpe, Nicola Hurst, Tom Mackean,
Ross Carswell
Eminent Charlestonians is named after an
issue of ‘The Charleston Bulletin’ a play-
newspaper written at Charleston House by
Virginia Woolf [with her nephew Quentin Bell].
The full play focuses on several members of
The Bloomsbury Group, exploring intimacy,
sexuality, gender and relationship models in
ways that are still unorthodox today.
The Highwayman
Writer: Vee Campbell
Director: Hannah Lindstedt
Assistant Director: Kat Kitchener
Cast: Emily Millwood, Laura May Price, Andrew Houghton,
Dean Alex-McCullough
The Highwayman is based on a 1906 poem by
Alfred Noyes. The poet himself said of the
poem “The Highwayman’ suggested itself to
me one blustery night when the sound of the
wind in the pines gave me the first line”. This
beautifully written, haunting romance is
timeless for its tale of “love that lasts beyond
life”. We are honoured to bring this poem to
life for new audiences and with a new
perspective.
A Man Among Ye
Writer: Kelly long
Director: Hannah Lindstedt
Cast: Emily Proudlock, Kelly Fraser, Jordy Lagbre
A Man Among Ye is based on and inspired by
the real life events of Anne Bonny and Mary
Read. Both women were infamous in the 18th
century for their piracy, sailing as
Quartermaster (Bonny) and Master of Arms
(Read) aboard the Revenge; captained by
“Calico Jack” Rackham. The play hopes to shed
light on this unstoppable pair, and breathe life
into their history as queer trailblazers.
Creative Team
For Thalia Arts: Laura May Price and Beth Wilson
For Motley Crew: Hannah Lindstedt and Robbie Burton - Moore
Lighting Design and Operation: Eliott Sheppard
Sound Design and Operation: Luke Vella