E8 Comes to Pleasance Dome

Directed by double Fringe First Award-winner Ria Parry, E8 is a searing examination of life in an alternative provision school. Writer and spoken word poet Marika Mckennell has drawn from her personal experience working in PRUs (pupil referral units) in Hackney to paint a vivid portrait of young people who fall through the cracks in mainstream education. Taking place over an hour of real time, E8 tells the story of Bailey, a student waiting for a decision that will change her life, and her relationship with her peers and head teacher, who is preparing to leave the school. Cut through with humour and pathos, their interaction asks audiences how we can consider each other's past pain if it leaves no visible mark.

PRUs (Pupil Referral Unit) are establishments controlled by the local authority put in place to provide education for children who are unable to attend mainstream schooling through exclusion, short- or long-term illness or other reasons. Roughly 16,000 pupils in the UK attend PRUs, but despite rising intake, the amount of PRUs has fallen over recent years. E8 aims to shine a light on the experience of these young people, for whom school is often a refuge from chaotic home lives, and the teachers who are caring for them in increasingly under-resourced environments.

Marika Mckennell said, "The PRU I worked in for five years is very unusual - at best it's a family. I wanted to show the humanity and struggles of people there. I didn't want to write a political play, I wanted to tell truthful stories - which in an age of spin and rhetoric, is probably political."

Director Ria Parry is co-director of The North Wall, and co-founder of Iron Shoes theatre company which previously came to Edinburgh with Fringe First winning Mad About the Boy by Gbolahan Obisesan (2011) and Crush by Paul Charlton (2009).

The North Wall is an arts centre in Oxford led by Co-Directors Ria Parry and John Hoggarth. The venue's ArtsLab programme provides residential opportunities for early-career artists to learn new skills and develop new work. In addition to E8, they will be co-producing Lewis Doherty's BOAR at Pleasance Courtyard.

Marika Mckennell is a Camden Roundhouse Resident Artist and a graduate of The North Wall's ArtsLab programme. She is spoken word artist, playwright and performer.

Running Time: 60 mins | Suitable for ages Age 12+ Contains strong language and sexual references

Captioned performance 12 Aug, BSL & relaxed performance TBC

Pleasance Dome, Queen Dome 1 Bristo Square, EH8 9AL (Venue 23)

31 Jul - 25 Aug (not 14), 16.10 - 17.10

Previews 31 July - 2 August

3 - 25 Aug 2019 (not 14), £13 - £10 (£12 - £9 concessions)

Captioned 12 Aug, BSL & relaxed performance TBC

www.pleasance.co.uk/ | 020 7609 1800

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!