Shattered
Out of Character/Written by Paul Birch/Directed by Kate Veysey & Jane Allernach/Perfomed by Heather Carter, Natasha Carter-Mortley, Rob Crowe, Nathan Fearon, Peter Gee, TJ Horrocks, Wayne Hurton, Minnie Lansell, Patrick Lawn, Hannah Munro, Meg Padgett, Bekhi Ostrowska, Jean Sellar-Edmunds, Louise Watkins, Eve Wheeler /Music by Rachel Gray/Sound Design by Joshua Goodman/Poster Design & Photos Mark Gowland/York Theatre Royal2023
Shattered is a script which was inspired both by Rod Serling’s TV classic, The Twilight Zone and devised work by the Company. The original 1960s show often used science-fiction and fantasy to explore the social issues of its time and we decided to make a work that would do the same for us in 2023.
In the rehearsal room we broke into smaller groups to create scenes which spoke into the issues we were wrestling with and to figure out how these might fit within a fantastical storyline. Some of the dialogue in the script comes verbatim from these original improvisations as the shattered characters struggle to cope in a toxic world. It seemed that so much of what was making things worse, regardless of any particular issue, was miscommunication and misinformation. Hate speech and the pressure to look/think/be a certain way all played a part in fragmenting both who we as individuals and also who we are to each other. There also seemed to be a kind of poisonous amnesia that helps neighbour turn against neighbour, friend against friend and colleague against colleague. We have forgotten the best in each other…
We hope you enjoy this shattered show and that it will encourage you to ‘pick up the pieces’ of yourself and your own community.
We hope you find a way through the fog…
Out of Character is an award-winning company of artists and performers comprising of people who use or have used mental health services. Their bold, creative and darkly comedic approach to making theatre aims to stir both the heart and mind. Their recent show, Less Than Human, was co-produced by York Theatre Royal and listed by The Yorkshire Post as one of their top 5 'must-see' shows.
