TERRY'S: An American Tragedy About Cars, Customers, And Selling Cars To Customers Comes To Cheltenham

The sales team at Terry's Cars and Automobiles is preparing to honour the fallen by slashing prices on some gently used, (mostly) American-made cars.

But the pressure's on. If Terry's team doesn't shift 66 cars by Monday, there'll be hell to pay. Award-nominated, Lecoq-trained company BRILLIG 'turns marketing jargon into a hilarious and horrifying poetry' (The Scotsman) in this absurd, all-American devised comedy combining clowning, physical theatre, and original music. Initially inspired by This American Life's podcast episode '129 Cars', Terry' s takes audiences on a ride through the silly, surreal, and disturbing sides of American car dealerships to reveal the absurdity and madness beneath the gleaming bonnet of the American Dream.

Complete with superheroes, Broadway-inspired musical numbers, a tribute to D-Day vets, and a very special balloon, Terry' s cruises along at a relentless pace, with a 'smartly scripted structure' and 'deliciously funny' (The Scotsman) performances from the ensemble cast. The show will delight fans of: David Lynch, Wes Anderson, and Dr Strangelove; cartoons and sitcoms like The Simpsons and Arrested Development; and tongue-in-cheek musicals like The Book of Mormon.

Behind the forced smiles and plasticky pizzazz of this slick, hour-long debut show is an incisive critique of the hamster-wheel nature of capitalism, and its toll on workers' well-being: 'The showexists within a capitalist hell similar to the one we all share. Selling is everything, everyone, and everything is expendable in pursuit of those sales targets' (The Quintessential Review).

Terry' s premiered at Brighton Fringe in May 2025 where it was shortlisted for Best New Show. It was also nominated for the Charlie Hartill Reserve Fund in January 2025. The show played a full-length run at the Pleasance Courtyard in the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe.

BRILLIG is an emerging, Lecoq-trained company made up of four theatre-makers from three countries, now based in Gloucestershire. The company creates delightful, absurd, and strange transpositions of everyday life.

BRILLIG will deliver a physical theatre and devising workshop for the Everyman Theatre's Youth Theatre participants on October 29. This 2-hour workshop will focus on building confidence and group cohesion through theatre games and exercises, while also developing storytelling skills through improvisation, movement analysis, and ensemble creation. The workshop will culminate in the creation of an original piece of theatre, written and performed by Youth Theatre participants in collaboration with BRILLIG company members.

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