Split Britches

Combining a Dr Strangelove-inspired performance with a daring forum for public conversation, Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) explores ageing, anxiety, hidden desires and how to look forward when the future is uncertain.

The stage features a round table, doomsday images projected on a screen, echoing the War Room in Stanley Kubrick’s film. In our Situation Room, twelve audience members are invited to become a Council of Elders to discuss the global issues of the day, as the company weave in satirical insights and spirit-lifting humour.

Adopting the characters of a bombastic general and ineffectual president, Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver of Split Britches lace this interactive piece with both playful urgency and lethargy, encouraging discussion about the political landscape.

The pioneering theatre-makers see unexploded ordnances (bombs and weapons) as a metaphor for the unexplored potential of older people and hope to uncover buried resources in us all.