Cardiff's Pub Theatre The Other Room Announces Autumn 2018 Season

Today, Cardiff's pub theatre The Other Room, located in Porter's and winner of The Stage's Fringe Theatre of the Year Award 2016, announces its Autumn/Winter 2018 season. Curated and programmed by The Other Room, the season features: a brand new play by Matthew Bulgo; touring productions from In Bed With My Brother, Rive Productions, and the Bush Theatre and Antler; a full production of Chippy Lane Productions scratch night winner Cardiff Boyby Kevin Jones; and a Christmas show from Big Loop Theatre Company.

The Other Room's Artistic Director Dan Jones comments:

"It will come as no surprise to those who know me best that fitting in has never been my forte. Perhaps this is the root cause of an unofficial theme that has crept in unnoticed or perhaps an insight into our time. How do we negotiate the fires of youth, the impossibilities of intimacy and our place in the world? These are just a taster of the questions posed throughout this season. This year we are delighted to host a diverse assortment of companies and creatives; with a refreshing contingent of female artists at the heart of it which we are immensely excited about.

First off the blocks is Matthew Bulgo's The Awkward Years. There are tons of inspiring artists here in Cardiff, but very few are as elemental as Matthew Bulgo. For a writer to independently produce his own work in Cardiff is inspiring and we are proud to be supporting him in his endeavor. I regard Matthew as a national treasure of Welsh theatre and believe championing his work to be deeply important. The Awkward Years is a brilliant example of Matthew's craft and the introduction of both a physical and sonic dimension will hopefully mean a whole new flavour of his work for Cardiff to enjoy.

The Awkward Years will be directed by Dan Jones and runs Monday 17 - Saturday 29 September. A visceral solo drama about being young and lost, The Awkward Yearswill fuse a muscular text with frenetic movement and an evocative sound and lighting design to produce a breakneck-speed show about grief, hope and staying alive. Matthew comments:

"I'm delighted to be mounting The Awkward Years at The Other Room as part of their Autumn season. As soon as the play started to take shape, I knew that TOR would be the perfect home for it. The venue's ambition and desire to create 'visionary, distinctive' theatre very much tessellates with the brand of work I currently want to make. I'm looking forward to working with Dan Jones again for the first time since Constellation Street and I'm particularly excited to collaborate with movement director Jess Williams who I first worked with as an actor on Praxis Makes Perfect for National Theatre Wales. I'm thrilled this production is being supported by two of Cardiff's most vibrant arts organisations - The Other Room and Chapter - two venues who have both been huge advocates of my work as a playwright from the very start of my career. The play wouldn't be happening without them."

From Thursday 4 - Saturday 6 October, In Bed With My Brother bring their award-winning show about the British rave movement, We Are Ian, to The Other Room. A technicolour trip through the highs and lows of Britain's last proper youth movement, We Are Ianis a rallying cry to the disenfranchised and disengaged to band together when society seems, well, f**ked.

On Monday 8 - Saturday 13 October, Rive Productions present Skin A Cat. Putting a young woman's struggle with her sexuality front and centre, Skin A Cat is a personal, unflinching and funny look at the pressures of fitting in; an alternative coming of age story about going all the way.

On Thursday 18 - Saturday 20 October, Antler bring their sell out Edinburgh Fringe show Landsto The Other Room. With two performers, a mini trampoline and a 1000 piece puzzle,Landsis a playful, intimate dissection of a relationship teetering on the edge of collapse, and explores our inability to understand one another and the hills we're willing to die on.

On Tuesday 30 October - Sunday 11 November, Red Oak Theatre present Cardiff Boyby Kevin Jones at The Other Room. Originally presented by Chippy Lane productions at their 'Chippy and Scratch' Night, when it was selected as overall winner,Cardiff Boyis a dynamic one-man show set in Cardiff in the '90's. A study of male friendship, the love and the violence, the codes, the loyalties and rituals, Cardiff Boy follows a group of young lads, desperate to make an impression in an ever-changing city.

A brand new anarchic anti-panto Cheerwill be presented by Big Loop Theatre Company as The Other Room's Christmas show (Tuesday 27 November - Saturday 15 December). Set in a world where the elite purchase extortionately priced Christmas licenses from the state, while the poor resort to the synthetically produced 'Cheer', a black market substance dealt in pill form, Cheeris a challenging display of how far people will go in order to get their festive fix.

Tickets for The Other Room's Autumn 2018 season are available now from www.otherroomtheatre.com. To keep updated on The Other Room, you can also follow the team on Twitter @TORtheatre and Facebook www.facebook.com/otherroomtheatre