Post Brexit Punk Satire OCTOPUS Scores London Transfer Following Edinburgh Fringe Success

Having wowed audiences in Edinburgh, Afsaneh Gray's first full-length play Octopus is set to follow this success at Theatre503 from 11 to 15 October. Staged against the backdrop of Brexit and the refugee crisis, Octopus is set in a dystopian world of bureaucratic box ticking. It explores what it's like to be treated as a foreigner in your own land...and the power of punk.

In a world where Britishness is state defined, three women decide to resist definition altogether.Written by Afsaneh Gray (Royal Court Studio Group), Octopus was inspired by her own experiences as a mixed-up half-Iranian/half-Jew. Directed by Fringe First winning director Pia Furtado (Dirty Great Love Story) and presented by Paper Tiger Productions in association with Fine Mess Theatre, Octopus received rave reviews from audience and critics alike following its Fringe run. Ahead of its London transfer playwright Afsaneh Gray said; 'I was so happy with how people reacted in Edinburgh and now I can't wait to present the show to a diverse London audience.'

As far as Sarah, Sara and Scheherazade are concerned, they have nothing in common. And yet they've all been called in for an interview to determine how British they are; a new requirement for those who are considered to have 'non-indigenous heritage'. Sara looks kind of Asian. Scheherazade looks kind of Middle Eastern. And Sarah is kind of white and has no idea why she's here. She also keeps bursting into song. But by the end of the play it becomes clear that these three women are all what Scheherazade thinks of as 'octopuses' - mixed race and mixed up with it. And maybe that's true of Britishness too.

Octopus is presented by some of the most exciting new voices in British theatre. It has been supported by venues including the Soho, Arcola, New Diorama and Greenwich Theatres, and by Fine Mess Theatre, 2015 winners of the Les Enfants Terrible Edinburgh Award. Paper Tiger Productions is a BAME-led theatre and film collective who presented critically acclaimed opera and the Crowd (wept) about the death of Jade Goody at Riverside Studios in 2013. Cast includes Rebecca Oldfield (Soho Theatre, Holby City, Silent Witness) as Sarah, Alexandra D'Sa (Unicorn Theatre, Union Pictures) as Sara and Dilek Rose (Snake Pit, Vault Festival) as Scheherazade. The show's score has been composed by post-punk artist Serafina Steer, whose critically acclaimed last album, The Moths Are Real, was produced by Jarvis Cocker.

'Inspired and very funny' THE STAGE

'Couldn't be more topical'... the perfect play' BROADWAY BABY

'The script is razor sharp' TO DO LIST

'Raises the hairs on the back of your neck... laugh out loud funny' THE TIMES

'Snappy and timely... both remarkably timely and refreshingly raw' EXEUNT

Listings Information

Octopus

Venue: Theatre503, Theatre503 at The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW

Dates and Times: 19.45 (60 mins) 11 - 15 October 15.00 12 & 15 October

Tickets: £15/£12

Box Office: 020 7978 7040 and online at: https://theatre503.com/whats-on/octopus/

For further information, image and interview requests contact Owen O'Leary on 07815 992 658 or email owen@ohreally.co.uk. Images: https://app.box.com/s/7gjql9yz3z94p26k8ixa2nn5octchd2a

ENDS> Notes to Editors:

Connect with Paper Tiger Productions on Twitter: @papertigerprods Facebook:

Facebook.com/papertiger.org.uk and online at papertiger.org.uk

Afsaneh Gray (writer) is a playwright and librettist. She has been a member of the Orange Tree Writers Collective, the Royal Court Studio Group, the Soho Young Writer's Group and, with the Paper Tiger collective, Associate Artist at Ovalhouse. Previous work has been seen at venues including the Soho Theatre, the Bush Theatre, the V&A, the Riverside Studios and the Orange Tree. She is currently under commission by the Unicorn Theatre and the Scuola di Teatro Paolo Grassi in Milan.

Pia Furtado (director) is a previous Fringe First award winner with Dirty Great Love Story, which subsequently toured the UK and transferred to New York. Other credits include Consensual for the National Youth Theatre (Time Out Critics' Choice) and a production of Titus Andronicus in an urban car park that featured beat-boxing and parkour.

Paper Tiger Productions (producer) is Afsaneh Gray, Omar El-Khairy and Tanya Singh, a collective of theatre and film makers. Previous productions include and the Crowd (wept) (Riverside Studios), a critically acclaimed new opera about the death of Jade Goody, and Sour Lips (Ovalhouse). Paper Tiger is a 2016 resident company at the New Diorama as part of their BAMER Companies Project and was previously resident at Ovalhouse.

Rebecca Oldfield (Sarah). Recent theatre credits include Clyebourne Park (Mercury Theatre and Tour), Poppy and George (Watford Palace Theatre), The Love Girl and the Innocent (Southwark Playhouse) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre). Television includes Silent Witness, Hoby City and Dr Who (BBC).

Alexandra D'Sa (Sara). Alex graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in 2015. Her previous roles include Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Unicorn Theatre. Earlier in the year she performed as Shamilla in Mad 'Ed Theatre's My Brothers and Sisters, which she will reprise for a UK tour.

Dilek Rose (Scheherazade). Dilek trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Theatre credits include PLAY Underground (Vault Festival), Taming Of The Shrew (Rural Tour), Waiting for Summer (The Etcetera/Old Red Lion Theatre), Keepsake (Old Red Lion Theatre) and Gather Ye Rosebuds (Theatre503). Film credits include Snake Pit and Addi & Chess.