4.3 Miles from Nowhere
Inspired by ‘The Winter’s Tale’, 4.3 MILES FROM NOWHERE is a story about getting lost, getting dirty, getting fed up and getting hungry. But it’s also about feeling excited, feeling independent, feeling alive and feeling free.
Five teenagers, broken down on their way to a fancy dress party, are stuck in the woods overnight. To keep themselves entertained, they begin to tell a story. A story they can’t quite remember the middle of, but they know there’s a bear involved…
Fine Chisel present a unique blend of witty dialogue, poetry, puppetry and movement, all underscored by a live folk band.
Devised by the company
Conceived and directed by Tom Spencer
With original music by the Fine Chisel Folk Band
**** ‘A charming, witty and ridiculously entertaining piece of theatre’ (Fringe Guru)
Having a baby is complicated.
It’s even tougher when you need another man’s sperm.
Richard finds an unlikely therapist in the form of Kate, a quiet but fierce witted teenage girl, alone on a park bench. Always touching and often funny, Firing Blanks is a fresh and compelling new play about donor conception (and ducks). The gentle strumming of a solo busker wafts over the park as two people tell their intimate stories, his music guiding the action between the real world and fantasies of what the future might bring.
Firing Blanks was written in light of conversations with individuals and families (including the writer’s own, he was donor conceived himself) who have faced issues surrounding assisted reproduction, with the full support of the national Donor Conception Network. The play is a bold and timely exploration of under-discussed common fears and big questions. What exactly makes a man a man, and a potential father?
Previewed: The North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford and The Tobacco Factory, Bristol (July 2010)
Premiere Run: Underbelly (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 2010)
Transferred to the Tristan Bates Theatre, Covent Garden (September – October 2010)
***** (FIVE STARS) Broadway Baby
‘Every so often… the Festival unearths a little gem and this piece sparkles as brightly as any I’ve seen.’
‘Tom Spencer’s short, new script is perfectly paced under his own direction and both actors, Robin McLoughlin and Holly Beasley-Garrigan are superb’
‘See this play… see how simply, if you have the talent, you can make people laugh and cry. And think.’
***** (FIVE STARS) AllTheFestivals.com
‘a poignant, affecting work… shot through with moments of humour and sensitivity… the performances in this play are simply outstanding’
**** (FOUR STARS) Venue Magazine
‘deceptively simple, beautifully written and tightly acted… Tom Spencer’s script is by turns witty and poignant, and the two actors have a preternatural chemistry’
Be My Eyes
A FRESH, FUNNY AND THOUGHTFUL NEW DEVISED PLAY ABOUT MISSING PEOPLE AND WRONG DIRECTIONS.
Playing with perspective, Be My Eyes is a dynamic exploration of how we receive and interpret stories.
One person’s late is another’s missing. One person’s missing is another’s found.
…An online couple meet for the first time in the real world. A young woman tries to make sense of her surroundings, her emotions and her Sat Nav…
Fine Chisel performers, in collaboration with composer Julian Bradley – www.julianbradley.com
Devised by the new company, Be My Eyes offers both dark and comic snapshots of contemporary life and the ways in which we communicate. Sometimes we don’t need words.
‘Excellent, really very funny… it’s rare to find a devised piece with such sharp and polished conversational banter.’ THE SCOTSMAN
‘A poignant depiction of the journeys we face in life… always sincere and committed.’ THREEWEEKS
‘Tautly Directed.’ THE STAGE
THIS PRODUCTION PREVIEWED AT THE COOLER NIGHTCLUB, BRISTOL
25-27 MAY 2009
THEN RAN FOR A MONTH-LONG SUCCESS AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE
7-29 AUGUST 2009
