Malaika Kegode and Jakabol Begin Rehearsals for OUTLIER at Bristol Old Vic
This new production centers on friendship, love and loss in a small town.
Rehearsals begin today for OUTLIER, the first brand-new production of the year to develop from Bristol Old Vic's Ferment programme. Co-produced witha??Bristol poet Malaika Kegode, Bristol band Jakabola??and an accompanying team of incredible independent artists, OUTLIER will take place in the Theatre at Bristol Old Vic (12-26 Jun) as the auditorium is transformed into a house party, bringing the audience into the heart of the action.
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The powerful poetics ofa??Malaika Kegodea??and soaring music of Bristol banda??Jakabola??combine in this autobiographical gig-theatre show. Genre-defying and emotional, OUTLIER explores the impact of isolation, addiction and friendship on young people in the often forgotten places. Through their collaboration, Malaika and Jakabol fuse words and music to give a theatrical experience that finds the epic in the ordinary and magic in the everyday.
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Mal, Ama, Lewis and Oskar have grown up together; hedonistically charging through life in rural Devon. Living from party to party, they're railing against the stories that have been written for them as they stand at the precipice of adulthood. But all the space can be suffocating, and it's tough sometimes - feeling so low in a place so beautiful.
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OUTLIER's journey to the stagea??began as part of Bristol Old Vic's Ferment Fortnight ina??February 2020. It wasa??commissioned and further developed throughouta??lockdowna??by the creative team with the support of Ferment anda??willa??finally have its premiere on the main stage this June, as both an in-theatre and live-braodcast event.
Malaika Kegode is a poet and performer based in Bristol, who has worked with organisations including Roundhouse, Historic England, and the BBC. As the founder of spoken word night Milk Poetry, Malaika Kegode has had a significant impact on Bristol's literature scene. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Out-Spoken Poetry Prize. She was also included in the 2019 BME Power List, celebrating Bristol's 100 most influential Black and Minority Ethnic people. Malaika's work tells of how we can find beauty and hope through the darkness. Her overall themes of family, mental health, addiction and love always have an undercurrent of optimism and strength. She has written two poetry collections Requite (2017) and Thalassic (2020), published by Burning Eye Books.
Inspired by the energy of bands like Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Jakabol are an experimental band from Bristol with prog leanings and unorthodox instrumentation. Fusing world folk influences with progressive textures and explosive riffs - the term eclectic just doesn't cut it. They play frequently at gigs and festivals in the city and released their self-titled, debut EP in 2019.a??
The show is directed bya??Jenny Daviesa??and designed by Rebecca Wood, who were both recipients of a Leverhulme Scholarship from Bristol Old Vic Ferment in 2019/20 to develop and grow their practice. They are joined by Joe Price as Lighting Designer and Christopher Harrisson as Animation and Projection Designer.
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