Ripped-Up Musical HOW TO WIN AGAINST HISTORY Plays OvalHouse, Now thru May 10
"HOW TO WIN AGAINST HISTORY," based on the charred remains of a true story, runs at the OvalHouse Theatre, tonight, April 29th until May 10th, 2015.
The 5th Marquis of Anglesey was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived. He burned brightly, briefly and transvestitely at the end of the 19th Century, blowing his family's colossal fortune on diamond frocks, lilac-dyed poodles, putting on amazing plays to which nobody came, touring Germany performing the inexplicable "Famous Electric Butterfly Dance", and generally desperately trying to make himself a legend. After he died at 29, his family, in vengeance, burned every proof they could find that he existed, and carried on as though he never was.
"How to Win Against History" is a hilarious, ripped-up musical about expectations, manliness, disappointment and being totally fabulous: "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" meets "Noises Off" in a ballgown. A frothy, glossy costume drama about the stories we tell to convince ourselves it's all going well, and the moments we realise it's not.
It is directed by Alex Swift (Caroline Horton's "Mess") and has Seiriol Davies, Tom Penn and Matthew Blake (Punchdrunk) in it.
Seiriol Davies trained at London International School of Performing Arts. He is an actor slash writer slash composer. He's won some awards, including an Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award with Boileroom for "The Terrific Electric", a Stage Award with Caroline Horton for "Mess", and a "Song For Wales" Special Prize for a song about a small girl fighting evil with a gun that is actually a banana.
He has worked with companies like Punchdrunk ("The Black Diamond"), You Need Me ("Certain Dark Things"), Gideon Reeling and Beady Eye ("Cooking Ghosts"). He is half of a time-travelling knees-up comedy act called Underbling &Vow.
He created and wrote songs for Caroline Horton's "Islands", a grotesque and violent mystery play about tax last year, and will be appearing in it January - February 2015 at the Bush Theatre.
His own new play, "How to Win Against History" will also premiere in 2015. It's a ripped-up musical about a fabulous cross-dressing aristocrat from North Wales, whose family burnt every record of his life after he died.
Seiriol is represented by Lily Williams at Curtis Brown.
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