From 22nd Feb for one week the Warehouse Theatre and Ka Zimba Theatre will be running inclusive theatre workshops around Mark Norfolk's new play Naked Soldiers.
The idea is for local residents to come along and witness how a play is workshopped and developed before going into production. Here, we will be working on scenes from the play with discussions, improvisations, movement and character studies in which we encourage everybody to take part. One of the bonusses will be to keep an eye out for talent for future productions as there are plans for other shows.
Naked Soldiers is a play for 21st century Britain. The play is set in London and features a young white kid accused of assaulting another youth whop finds himself in a face to face confrontation with a recent African immigrant.
The play looks at the current state of the UK's multiculturalist aspirations balanced against the reality. It asks to what extent does political manipulation and experimentation keep us in the state in which we live, and who's pulling the strings.
Synopsis:
There’s been a near fatal stabbing in a local park and a young teenager is in a critical condition. Seventeen year old Tony’s been accused of what has been called a racially motivated crime and goes on the run. But he has chosen to hide out in a place where Jamal, an African refugee is also hiding.
The two fugitives, forced to co-exist in their self imposed exile find themselves as hostages to fortune. However, they must each set aside their preconceived prejudices as they discover things about themselves as human beings.
Cast of characters:
TONY, 17, white British
JAMAL, late 50’s, black West African
SALLY, 30’s, white British
PATIENT, 15, black British
The Idea
The idea for ‘Naked Soldiers’ came about when I came across the story of a former soldier accused of war crimes in his home country of Rwanda who was found to be living peaceably in Surrey. At the time there was a huge debate going on in the media about the changing face of Britishness and I thought it would be fascinating to explore both themes.
The play will be directed by Jeffrey Kissoon and opens May 21st to June 19th at the Warehouse Theatre.
From 22 - 28 Feb
Cast of characters:
