Choosing three picks was tough, not least because there is an adaptation of Beowulf in the festival and there are very few times in life when I could legitimately roll out the fact that I have read Beowulf in its original Old English. Having held in any obnoxious showing off, however, my three picks are:
The Very Thought – Rose Biggin
One of the most interesting blurbs in the festival: feminism and pole dancing. I know a fair amount about one and nothing about the other (I’ll let you guess which is which). Plus the blurb also makes it sound like we’ve got an unreliable narrator going on, which might be my favourite writing device ever.
Stuff – Juncture Theatre
Last year at Ignite not only did Juncture Theatre perform the beguiling A Little Nonsense they also united with WBN on Cathedral Green to triumphantly complete the I crossword (with only one cheat). Even without those credentials, however, as a genetically pre-disposed hoarder, my own relationship with, well, stuff would have me intrigued.
Help – Viki Browne, Jointventure Theatre
At the start of our residency last Autumn the Bike Shed asked if a local, recently graduated director could observe during some of our R&D time. We said yes, and the director turned out to be Viki (on an entirely unrelated note, whose dresses I’d admired from a distance during Ignite 2013). Not only did Viki engage with and give us some incredibly valuable feedback on Blueprint she also ended up performing in Walking Stories. I’m a sucker for a one-person show (see Rose’s above) and I’m properly excited to finally get to see Viki’s own work.