China Plate
presents:
The Shape of
the Pain
Newcastle
Northern Stage
Friday 5th
April 2019
Developed by Rachel Bagshaw and Chris
Thorpe
Written by Chris Thorpe
Directed by Rachel Bagshaw
With an original score by Melanie Wilson
Chris Thorpe
and Rachel Bagshaw’s Fringe First award-winning show about a love affair seen
through the eyes of someone with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome returns for
UK tour.
|
“a smart, funny and far from disconsolate
inquiry into the knowability of someone else’s experience” **** Sunday
Times
With an original score from Melanie Wilson (When
We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other) and video design from Joshua
Pharo (nominated for a 2019 Offie Award), alongside fully integrated captioning
and audio description, The Shape of the Pain attempts to explain what
Rachel’s chronic pain sounds like, looks like and feels like. Performed by Hannah
McPake, The Shape of the Pain explores the concept of
never-ending pain and the unexpected joy that can be found whilst living with
it.
The Shape of the Pain follows a woman who attempts to express the
physical pain that she lives with day in and day out. When she meets someone new, they have to learn how to navigate life,
love and the pain together. Pain is notoriously tricky for doctors to
analyse, requiring patients to give subjective reports of what they feel, and
how much; The Shape of the Pain asks whether others can ever really
understand our pain. The production was made in consultation with Rachel’s
doctor, a consultant in pain at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, as
well as other clinical professionals. The show premiered at the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe 2017 before performances at Battersea Arts Centre in early 2018
and will be embarking on its first UK tour this Spring, opening at Wilton’s Music
Hall.
Rachel Bagshaw said: “The Shape of the Pain is a unique experience for an audience,
as they gradually become immersed in the extra-sensory world which I experience
with my condition. The show feels hugely important as we endeavour to engage
with how we talk about pain, and how the shadows it can create also let in
colour and light. Using creative access as part of
the aesthetic also opens the show up to all audiences”.
Rachel Bagshaw makes innovative theatre which uses sound to tell stories. Directing
credits include: Augmented (Sophie Woolley/Ovalhouse), Icons (WOW
Festival Hull), Hamlet, (Young Vic), Resonance at the Still Point of
Change (Unlimited Festival, South Bank Centre), The Rhinestone
Rollers, Just Me, Bell (Graeae), Rachel is Associate Director at the
Unicorn Theatre and an Associate Artist at the Bush Theatre and Wilton’s, and
Director of Access to Acting.at RADA. Also in development: Disappear in
collaboration with Verity Standen, with text by Lulu Raczka (China
Plate).
Chris Thorpe is an
award-winning playwright and theatre maker. He is Associate Artist at the Royal Exchange, Manchester - work for
them includes There Has Possibly Been An Incident and The
Mysteries. Other theatre work includes Victory Condition and The
Milk of Human Kindness for the Royal Court and Beowulf for
the Unicorn. He also has ongoing collaborations with Lucy Ellinson (TORYCORE),
mala voadora (Overdrama/House-Garden/Dead End/Your Best Guess) and
Hannah Jane Walker (The Oh Fuck Moment/I Wish I Was Lonely). Chris was a
founder member of Unlimited Theatre and is an Associate of Live Art/ Theatre
company Third Angel. This March Chris’ one-man show Status, produced by
China Plate and developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, will tour the UK
from 20th March – 5th June.
China Plate is an
independent theatre studio launched in 2006 that works with artists, venues,
festivals and funders to challenge the way performance is made, who it’s made
by and who gets to experience it. The company are
also Associate Producers at Warwick Arts Centre where they develop and commission
new work, Artistic Associates at the New Wolsey Theatre where they are
Directors of PULSE Festival, Programmers of New Directions (the NRTF showcase),
and producers of innovative development programmes including The Darkroom, The
Optimists (producer training) and The First Bite and Bite Size Festivals and
partners with The Place, The NRTF and Take Art on the Rural Touring Dance
Initiative.
On The Web:
@youroldchina
@rachel_bagshaw
@piglungs
Creatives:
Developed by Rachel Bagshaw and Chris Thorpe
Directed by Rachel
Bagshaw
Written by Chris Thorpe
Original score by Melanie Wilson
Original score by Melanie Wilson
Designed
by Madeleine
Girling
Video and Lighting Design by Joshua Pharo
Movement by Raquel Meseguer
Access/Audio Description Consulting by Michael Achtman
Access/Audio Description Consulting by Michael Achtman
Produced by China Plate
Cast: Hannah McPake
Tickets:
5 April at Newcastle Northern Stage 7.45pm
£15.50 -
£10
Box Office:
0191 230 5151
Running Time: 70 minutes
Suitable for ages 14+
Accessibility: Captioning and audio description are integrated into the show
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