Plunge Theatre, Smoking Apples

4 New Works, 2 Evenings, 1 Weekend

At The Civic we are passionate about programming new writing and devised performance from some of the UK’s finest emerging experimental artists and companies. The Civic’s New Work Weekend supports these artists and companies, giving them a platform and our ‘stamp of approval’ as they pursue their creative journeys.

New Work Weekend offers up a double bill of exciting new performances each night - two dynamic new shows for the price of one!

Private View

Prepare to be plunged into the funny, filthy and grotesquely honest world of the twenty-something female. Fusing dance, verbatim text and a vast amount of chocolate cake Private View is the stark, combined account of three young women who are just trying to work out, quite frankly, what the hell is going on.

Part love song and part hate mail, Plunge Theatre are ready to confront the addictive and futile pursuit for perfection. From the f-word to selfies to panic googling acne cures to extreme diets, this performance piece gazes both inwards and outwards as three friends attempt to beat, or at least tussle with, their personal demons in a search to find their true selves.

Stripping both literally and figuratively, Private View interrogates our enigmatic relationship with body image by drawing from personal experience as well as wider cultural phenomenon: Can I lose 2 stone in a week? Is that a stretch mark? Are my friends more successful than me? Am I the fat one? Am I over sharing? Are my nipples weird? Will people stop listening if I say I am feminist? … Seriously, who really am I?

This dark and comic show is not pretending to be the solution to the ruthless ideals that society forces on women, nor is it promising to offer clarity on how to navigate modern femininity; It is just three girls inviting you to join their attempt to discover what being a woman in 2015 means to them, digging deeply through a surmounting pile of wax strips, celery sticks and Beyoncé CDs on the way.

So ask yourself this: Are you ready for this jelly?

In Our Hands

Following a 2015 Tour of CELL, touring through the house network, Smoking Apples, are now touring their new 5 star show In Our Hands in Autumn 2016. We are now booking from September 10th 2016.

Alf is a trawler fisherman whose experience, camaraderie and loyalty have put him and his boat at the top of the game. But times are changing and so is the industry. How will Alf adapt in order to survive?

Follow a fish’s journey from sea to plate, watch a seagull’s ridiculous attempt to find food and witness a father and son reunite. In Our Hands will transport you out to sea, under the ocean and onto the deck of the Catcher’s Fortune.

Using innovative puppetry, a striking set and an original score, join Alf as he journeys from the depths of despair to rise again and rescue the life he loves.

In Our Hands has been developed extensively both in London and Cornwall.