MORALE IS HIGH (SINCE WE GAVE UP HOPE) to Premiere at Edinburgh Fringe

A fast paced, raucous performance from the Hodgkiss Award winners weaving together time travel, intertwining narratives and songs performed live on guitar to predict what might happen between now and a future general election in 2022. Powder Keg's double act debut performance explores the effects of popular culture, political policy and inane day-to-day actions on who we choose to vote for.

Moving from the present to the future and back, Ross McCaffrey travels to 2022 and returns to warn the audience and his best mate Jake about the failures of contemporary politics and the punishment doled out to society. Ross tells stories of meeting Michael Gove, feeling displaced from his home town and a drug induced water slide incident that happens in Barcelona. But what is Jake not telling Ross? Is this a report on the future of politics or just a platform for Ross to show off about his time travelling adventures? A raw, up-to-the-minute performance for our current times of political uncertainty channelling a gamut of emotion from anger to apathy, passion and despair.

Josh Coates from Powder Keg said: "Morale is High ( Since We Gave Up Hope) was first made whilst the campaign trail for Brexit was going full pelt. We're now having to re-write the show because of a snap general election. Oh boy. Morale is High is a show about a constantly shifting and baffling political climate and how to survive it. It's part funeral to satire and part time traveling buddy adventure. It's a show that aims to create a sense of the public grieving thats been happening in response to current election results yet attempts to laugh in the face of shock through songs and wank jokes."

Powder Keg are a Manchester-based theatre company who formed in 2013. They are are best friends who make fast paced, experiential, anarchic performances. They tell stories and transform spaces, creating pieces to engage and challenge audiences. They have created work for many places, including a pub cellar, a field in Manchester, and a shopping trolley. They use a process of consensus decision-making to create and develop their pieces, which gives them the freedom to apply individually held skills to each aspect of whatever piece they are working on. They challenge themselves and their practice to consistently push themselves out of their theatrical comfort zone.

Northern Stage in Newcastle has a reputation for breathing new life into classic texts, curating ambitious and sometimes daring contemporary theatre and working with thousands of people every year in a strong participation programme. This is the 6th year that Northern Stage has hosted a programme at the Edinburgh Fringe, presenting some of the most interesting theatre from across the north of England and beyond.

Devised and created by Jake Walton, Ross McCaffrey, Emma Geraghty and Josh Coates

Performed by Ross McCaffrey and Jake Walton

Part of Northern Stage at Summerhall, Tech Cube, 5 - 20 August 2017 (except Wednesdays), 22:15 (23:15), 14+

www.northernstage.co.uk | @northernstage | @PowderKeg_ | #MoraleisHigh

Morale is High (Since we gave up Hope) has been developed with the help of Theatre Delicatessen in Sheffield, Texture, Manchester and the kindness of Partisan Collective.