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Micro-festival celebrating solo performances coming to Theatre Royal Plymouth
16th February 2022
Solo Voices is a micro-festival, showcasing bold and distinctive new work at Theatre Royal Plymouth with two weeks of brilliant new shows celebrating the power of one person performance. Solo Voices will include four shows in The Drum theatre and five showcase performances made by students from the Plymouth Conservatoire in The Lab.
The four shows in The Drum are now on sale on the Theatre Royal Plymouth website, and a selection of brand new, early stage, one person shows created by students from the Plymouth Conservatoire in the Lab on sale soon.
The four shows are:
Solo Voices: FACIAL, The Drum, 17 to 19 May
Rob is a New York cop with a dark past. Debbie is a woman troubled by strange visions about the future. Neither of them are in this show.
It’s just Chris. Chris is a poet. His poems once got described as “pulling at the loose threads of life to see how quickly it can all unravel.”
He likes that.
He’s doing some poems. He’s hoping to pull. There’s no structure. No sense. No strings attached.
He’s slicing off his own façade bit by wobbly bit, beginning with his nose, and asking some important questions, like ‘Do you think you could live without a face?’
Solo Voices: DESTINY, The Drum, 20 to 21 May
"They’re sayin I brought it on myself.
Oh yeah, they’ve heard about me. Basically it must’ve been my fault cause I’m me, Destiny”
Destiny dreams big. She dreams glamour. She’s gonna be an MTV Base backing dancer, you watch. If J-Lo can make it outta the Bronx then Destiny can make it off the Hill Rise estate in Chippenham. She’s fearless, ferocious and up for the fight (she’s had to be). Born below the breadline, she’s desperate to see beyond the neighbourhood and find hope in hopelessness.
This monologue follows the story of a teenage girl growing up on a rural Wiltshire council estate. After a big night out takes a turn for the worst, Destiny’s life spirals out of control as she desperately tries to learn how to love and be loved.
DESTINY is a recipient of The Pleasance’s 2021 National Partnerships Award with Bristol Old Vic FERMENT and was shortlisted for Theatre West’s Write On Women Award.
Solo Voices: SWIM, The Drum, 24 to 26 May
SWIM follows the true story of three sisters from a village in the Peak District. One sister lost her baby girl, another sister lost her young son. The remaining older sister (Lisa) is grieving for both. The show is about Liz’s friendship with Lisa, the community they live in, the highs and the lows whilst they try to keep afloat through outdoor swimming. A tale with humour and heart.
Written and performed by Liz Richardson (Gutted) and featuring live music and video projection, SWIM is premiering at Theatre by the Lake in Spring 2022 ahead of a rural and UK theatre tour.
Solo Voices: PUSH, The Drum, 27 to 28 May
A hell of a lot can happen in the time you await the results of a pregnancy test. This is the story of a woman staring down the barrel of motherhood, torn between her own ambivalence… and an uncontrollable urge to push.
Created by award-winning Popelei, PUSH is a high-octane solo performance interlacing darkly comic text, exhilarating choreography and original music by acclaimed Chilean composer Santiago Jara Astaburuaga.
Described by the Guardian as:‘An engaging, expressive performance…as dynamic as its title suggests.’