People Show to Stage 130th Production, THE LAST STRAW, at Ovalhouse

England's longest running experimental theatre collective present their 130th show, THE LAST STRAW, an untamed journey through internal politics, the wild west, the plagues of humankind and disaster movies, as part of their 50th Year Celebrations.

Performances will play Ovalhouse, London, Tuesday 21 - Saturday 25 February 2017. Press night: Wednesday 22nd February, Ovalhouse (downstairs), London, 7.30pm.

People Show are in a room together now as you read this. They have some ideas, a few lights, a piece of set and half a playlist as they prepare to create this new show from scratch. At the end of this process, there will be a new piece of work made in the four week run up to the show which will be performed fresh from this room. This has been their creative process for the last 50 years since their 1966 inception in the basement of Better Books on London's Charing Cross Road.

This new work is the first piece as part of the next stage of the 50th Year celebrations. The first part last year reflected on the company's history and creative impact. What became clear was the importance and relevance of People Show's unique approach to creating work. Working with no external directors or writers, the multi-media, multi-disciplinary collective decide together in the room what the piece will be, working with all manner of ideas, information, sounds, instruments and equipment.

Jess Worrall of People Show said: "People Shows have been described as the sum of the imaginations of the people in the room. In a time where our ideals of democracy and leadership are evolving and shifting daily within the current climate of 'alternative truths' perhaps this notion of the collective imagination is more important than ever. So we are in a room now making The Last Straw. There are four of us. Others will join later. We came in here with nothing. No preconceptions. We've been here for two days so far. Already with us are an explosion, an act of violence, some snow, paper, dust, actions and consequences, a weather station, a series of endings, a fire, a fan, a couple of chairs.

"Some of these things may be with us at the end, others may not, some will be replaced by other things, some by nothing at all. We will show these things to an audience. Experience it together. Some will remember. Some will not. That is for them to decide. As I said People Show are not going to tell you what to do."

People Show's 50th anniversary book Nobody Knows but Everybody Remembers chronicles the collective's work is available at the LADA bookshop (Unbound). Visit www.thisisunbound.co.uk/products/people-show.

IF YOU GO:

People Show

Tuesday 21 - Saturday 25 February 2017

Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW

7.30pm | £14 (£8) | Preview 21 Feb £8

Box office: 020 7582 7680 | www.ovalhouse.com

Running time: 70 minutes approx. | Age restriction: 14+

Featuring artists Gareth Brierley, Sadie Cook, Fiona Creese, Nigel Edwards, Rob Kennedy, Emma Tompkins and Jessica Worrall. Producer Sophie Nurse.

Formed in 1966, People Show has been creating devised performances in theatres, in telephone boxes, on streets, even on water, for five decades, and its radically disruptive influence has made a major contribution to the current theatre landscape. A series of celebratory events are planned to mark the company's landmark 50th Year in 2016-2017.

Today People Show are a core group of seven artists who work together, and also independently, with a much wider network of Associate Artists who have been, and continue to be, involved with the company on a show by show basis.

People Show have always numbered their shows, starting with no. 1 in 1966.

Developed with and supported by Arts Council England.

To post a comment, you must register and login.