Blanket Theatre to Bring TEA FOR TABITHA to Brighton Fringe Festival, 5/3-9

Blanket Theatre are bringing their fifth show Tea For Tabitha to Brighton Fringe Festival which will be performed for free at The Temple Bar as part of the Laughing Horse free festival line up from May 3rd -9th.

Written by Jodie Ellis, performed by Jodie Ellis and James Stephen and directed by Amanda Walden, Tea For Tabitha follows the story of four characters, brother and sister Henry and Blythe and their parents Michael and Helen.

Blanket Theatre is made up of Amanda Walden and Jodie Ellis. In the early 2000's Amanda spent 3 years living in Brighton where she attended Brighton Film School, this lead her to become a camera operator and she eventually ended up filming race horses in New Zealand. In 2009 she put down her camera and fulfilled a lifelong dream of studying acting. She was lucky enough to get a place at Unitec School of Performing Arts in Auckland and here, she and Jodie met and their theatre company Blanket Theatre was born.

After graduating from Unitec, Blanket Theatre's first shows were performed in Auckland. In 2013 the team relocated to the UK and took their devised work Cheesed Off to Edinburgh Fringe, where this year they will also be performing Tea For Tabitha.

Much of their work explores the ideas of clutural identity and themes of belonging, Tea for Tabitha delves into the ever present and sometimes complicated link between The UK and New Zealand.

At Unitec both Jodie and Amanda were fortunate to be taught by some of New Zealand's best known theatre professionals, including award winning playwright Gary Henderson and actress Elizabeth Hawthorn.

A hot summer's day and plenty of time to play. Two children living in 1930's New Zealand. Henry and Blythe are struggling with the recent separation of their parents whose journey from first love to heartbreak has resulted in a world turned upside down.

Eventually, naivety allows the children to analyze their situation with startling simplicity and by using their imagination and playing make believe they are able to establish their own depth of understanding behind adult relationships and conflict.

Honest, heart wrenching and with characters who endear themselves right to the end, Tea for Tabitha is a play with universal relevance to be enjoyed by all.

Gary Henderson said Tea for Tabitha was "compelling and rich" and that Jodie Ellis is "a committed practitioner who has the talent and drive to create new work and put it before the public".

Jodie Ellis says "Although Tea for Tabitha is a New Zealand play it really shows how much influence England has had on New Zealand."

Amanda Walden said "Coming back to Brighton after all these years away seems very apt, Brighton is such a creative hub and the years I lived here helped set me on the path to where I am today."

Tea For Tabitha is Blanket Theatre's fifth show to date, they are also taking the show to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August along with their show Cheesed Off.

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