SHADOW KINGDOMS
Written by Berri George
Directed by Adam Dattis
Wnner of the 2018 Channel 4 Playwrights’ Scheme & runner up in the 2017 Mercury Playwriting Award.
2016 development supported by the Talawa's Studio Firsts programme & 2017 New Diorama BAMER project
June 2018, Barefaced Theatre & Minty Fresh Productions in association with Theatre503 staged the show for a 2 week run.
“Hit everything from here to … Amersham – end of the line”. He said. So I did. Marked every available surface with my can. Four hours went by. Heart proper pounding.
Shadow Kingdoms is a two-hander, cross-platform, performance piece.
Love it. Hate it. Train (graffiti) writing was prolific – a form of artistic and political creative expression which in many ways defined this city's individuality.
Set in the early 2000’s, against an ever-changing political landscape, this play examines the displacement of two individuals: Mute (Born n’ bred Newham) and Nxsta (Civil War Refugee). Both individuals find an escape from their troubled and isolated lives in the night-time cityscape playground of train yards and tube depots. Two people from very different worlds finding a common language, and learning to trust in humanity again.
CAST
Katie Warren
Jorden Myrie
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
James Berkery
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Jack Weir
COMPOSER
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
THEFLOOR
REVIEWS
"They crackle and bounce off each other, both hurting, both desperate for some type of connection" #ExeuntMagazine
"Their acting is so strong that their oddball relationship is very believable, and they both unpack their backstories with sensitivity.” #TheReviewsHub
"...a young black man who is incredibly smart, funny and a bit of a lovable goofball, casting and writing go refreshingly against rehashed ‘type’....Myrie’s emotional presence carried me along.” #MyTheatreMates
"....despite the forces trying to oppose it. Set in the darkest hours of the night, it nevertheless is drenched in all the colours of the rainbow." #EverythingTheatre
"The performance is an unusual piece of theatre, exposing you to a world which you probably know very little about – the world which leaves London colourful...." #EverythingTheatre
"Underneath the layers of paint, there is a tender portrait here of two people caught on the wrong side of the tracks. Berri George’s writing is smart and funny." #TheReviewsHub
Photographs: Gaz Sherwood
