2018
#6 Reclaimed
What happens when a community is in crisis?
It had been an ordinary January day. That is until an extraordinary thing happened: the water came and it didn’t go away. The community had been told to evacuate their homes and meet at the highest, safest point: the village hall.
Reclaimed placed the audience in the heart of a fictional village under siege.
Wassail worked closely with the people, communities and organisations impacted by the 2013/14 floods of the Somerset Levels to create this acclaimed production.
Devised by the Company
Directed by Jesse Briton
Conceived by Emma Vickery
Performed by Jac Husebo, Josh Marriott,
Alys Metcalf, Riz Meedin, Lizzie Stables & Nick White
Photos by Paul Blakemore
#7 Rex The King
A blind man walks into a pub and tells anyone who’ll listen that he was once the king of darts. He orders a pint and settles down to recount the story of his glorious rise to the top - and how dark secrets brought him down.
The second in our sporting trilogy, Rex The King is the story of a Somerset darts champion who ruled the world, but lost it all. It’s a theatrical tale that’s witty, uplifting and ludicrously tragic. Rex toured into pubs across England in 2018.
Rex The King is a reimagining of the Greek tragedy Oedipus, featuring live music, flying arrows and a portable dartboard.
Written by Will Gore
Directed by Tim Bell
Designed by Zoe Squire
Music by Greg Hall
Performed by Greg Hall, Jac Husebo and Katy Sobey
Photos by Paul Blakemore
#8 Horses! Horses!
A co-production with Theatre Orchard.
Johnny’s putting on a Big Fun fundraiser tonight at the Nags Head, though he’s not in the mood for fun.
Horses! Horses! is the darkly comical tale of a stolen horse, wild west-country soul and the mess we make of relationships. Landlord Johnny is desperately trying to save his pub, while his wife Susie is hiding out on Ted’s farm. A show performed in the midst of your local boozer with pub games, pints, crisps, heartbreak and laughter, country music, lots of karaoke and a few surprises.
Shortlisted for the Tobacco Factory Theatres’ Scriptspace Award, Horses! Horses! was first developed through Bristol Old Vic Ferment.
Written by Rina Vergano
Directed by Emma Callander
Designed by Julie Read
Sound design by Greg Hall
Performed by Kesty Morrison, Owen Slattery and George Williams
Photos by Paul Blakemore
#9 Plop!
Demeter (Goddess of Harvest & Agriculture) is having a bad day. All she wants is some peace and quiet, but there is too much noise, distraction and plastic! Her good friend Poseidon (God of the Sea, Earthquakes and Horses) means well, but he isn’t helping. To distract Poseidon, Demeter decides to send him on a quest. He comes back with more than she bargained for, but it might just help save the planet.
Created by Sarah Mooney and toured by Wassail, Plop! helps audiences connect to the controversial and topical subject of plastic pollution.
Written by Sarah Mooney
Directed by Ged Stephenson
Designed by Julie Read
Music by Kid Carpet
Performed by Sarah Mooney and Kid Carpet
#10 Over The Wall Picking Apples
Happily married with a lovely house on the Somerset Levels, Richard could have settled down to life as a withy weaver, cider maker or llama farmer. But then the fish tank started singing to him – the same song over and over, day after day. It was enough to drive him mad.
This is the story of Richard’s response to all this: his admission into the mental health service, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, medication (the highs…the lows) and making sense of a lifetime lived over the wall picking apples.
It's no laughing matter, but it will make you laugh.
Written by Richard Crowe
Directed by Ged Stephenson
Performed by Richard Crowe
Photos by Paul Blakemore