SIZE OF COMPANY 6–12 on the road
SCALE OF VENUE Small- to middle-scale Minimum stage area 10mx7m
PERMANENT STAFF Artistic Directors Joseph Alford Carolina Valdés
ARTISTIC POLICY Combining text, action, music, rhythm, sound and dance, the company searches for the ideal theatrical representation of the human story; lifting productions out of the theatre and into the realms of the imagination.
REVIEW EXTRACTS 'Theatre O had me lost in admiration.' The Times (3 Dark Tales)
'A magnetic mix of surrealism and sensitivity, exaggerated physicality and emotional finesse.' The Independent (The Argument)
'Astronaut is a beauty.' Time Out
CURRENT PRODUCTIONS 3 Dark Tales (a tragic-comedy in 3 movements) With Keatonesque slapstick, Marx Brothers-ish filmic hyperbole, big dance numbers and language as never heard before, 3 Dark Tales presents the interwoven, darkly comedic stories of three office colleagues whose lives are in the advanced stages of disintegration. (100 mins, 4 on stage, 6 on the road)
The Argument (a family portrait) About family loss, the death of a mother and the effect on those that remain, an optometrist who cannot see, a radio announcer incapable of communication, an auctioneer who will not listen and an air stewardess desperate to provide love, support and light refreshment in three languages. (90 mins, 4 on stage, 6 on the road)
Astronaut (a domestic odyssey) The story of an awakening, of exploring universes, of discovery, adventure and other activities for the living room. This is the story of X, an astronaut who never goes to space. (90 mins, 4 on stage, 7 on the road)
FUTURE PRODUCTIONS Delirium New play based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, created in collaboration with Enda Walsh (Disco Pigs/Bedbound/Chatroom); an exhilarating plunge into a darkly male universe. It is about our struggle to survive in a world losing its moral and ethical boundaries and how the actions of the fundamentalist threaten to overthrow the established order, heralding an era where ‘everything is permitted’. (Middle-scale, 150 mins, 8 on stage, 10 on the road)
Imperium A large-scale production in development for 2008.
WRAP-AROUND ACTIVITY Theatre O’s workshops aim to re-empower the actor by putting him/her at the centre of the creative process. By taking simple stories, Theatre O examines the essential elements that make it possible for us to interpret these narratives and moments in an exciting, imaginative and theatrical way. Workshops can also take the form of residencies of up to a month. This involves a much more in depth investigation of the creative process and the development of the actor as creator.
RECENT INTERNATIONAL WORK 2004–05 China, Mexico, USA (The Argument)
TOURING AVAILABILITY 3 Dark Tales, The Argument and Astronaut limited availability from January 2007.
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