- Dates Sat 20 Jun 2020 - Sat 27 Jun 2020
- Location Bristol Arts Channel
-
Live shows
Sat 20th June at 7pm
Mon 22nd June at 2.30pm
-
Available
20th-27th June
-
Running time
2h plus a 15 min interval
A hole in the Universe. Dead Whales. And an "experienced" drug dealer.
By Skot Wilson
Directed by Evan Lordan
A hole in the Universe. Dead Whales. And an “experienced” drug dealer.
Marie’s morning routine is going to the beach and smoking a pack of cigarettes. But today is different. 62 Sperm Whales have beached and that’s not all.
As the world’s press and biologists from the Natural History Museum descend upon her small town, the arrival of strangers dredges old conversations and histories to the surface.
One arrival in particular turns Marie’s world inside out. And she’s running out of cigarettes.
From the writer of Kingdom (Or, the Anthropocene), a climate-crisis play performed as part of our 2019 New Plays in Rep season, we’re excited to produce Wilson’s new play.
Age 14+
Contains scenes which some may find upsetting – see trigger warnings below for more information
This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Skot Wilson, writer on attachment to Bristol Old Vic via the Open Session. Images of whale strandings have been provided by the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), courtesy of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
Image credit: Dmitry Kokh
Watch now!
Please be aware that you’ll need to be signed into YouTube to watch as the play has an age restriction.
Join the conversation on social media by tagging us and using #62SpermWhales.
-
Trigger Warnings
Climate change
Animal distress
Strong language
Smoking
Mental health
Grief/death of a child
Suicide references
Drug references
Sexual references
Drowning
Violence
If you need any further information, please contact us at [email protected]
Donations
If you enjoyed this piece and would like to support our work, please consider donating to the Peter O’Toole Prize. This is an annual award given to two graduating actors from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School which includes a professional contract at Bristol Old Vic Theatre where Peter O’Toole launched his career.
Cast
Arthur Burgess Rory Alexander
Mr Epworth Michael Dodds
Marie Charlotte East
Isaac Al Maxwell
Eva Sarah McCormack
Joe Jake Simmance
Ash Ashley Woodhouse
Cast Headshots
-
Rory Alexander FdA Professional Acting Student
-
Michael Dodds FdA Professional Acting Student
-
Charlotte East FdA Professional Acting Student
-
Al Maxwell FdA Professional Acting Student
-
Sarah McCormack BA (Hons) Professional Acting Student
-
Jake Simmance BA (Hons) Professional Acting Student
-
Ashley Woodhouse FdA Professional Acting Student
Creative Team
Director Evan Lordan
Assistant Director Laura Hensley
Production Designer Bea Wilson
Digital Coordinator Dave Taylor
Director of Photography Maya Barker
Sound Designer and Operator Kaija Brunyate
Dialect Coach Kat Hicks
Production Manager Jon Sherwood
Production Supervisor Alix Abram
Production Assistant Frederick MacLeod
Stage Manager Ella Jackson
Deputy Stage Manager Victoria Rose
Assistant Stage Managers Alastair Barrows, Lily Baron and Rosie Maynard
Technical Consultant Harriet Hollinshead-Lee
Costume Supervisors Summer-Maria York and Albert Taylor
Vision Mixer Lily Baron
Video Playback Operator Alastair Barrows
Scenic Artist Meriel Pym
Camera Operator Rosie Maynard
Thanks to:
CSIP/ZL for use of images, Frank Bradley, Joe Stathers and Dave Taylor
Image Credits
Show image – Dmitry Kokh, Adobe Stock
Whale images – CSIP/ZSL
- Long-finned pilot whale mass stranding, Durness, Scotland in 2011, credit BDMLR
- Stranded harbour porpoise, Wales – credit Kathy James and the Seawatch Foundation
- Sperm whale stranded at Sandy Bay, Northumberland (SW2019/567), credit CSIP-ZSL
Ella Jackson, Stage Manager
What has been the biggest challenge of creating this piece?
Creating 62 Sperm Whales has been a real challenge for everyone involved. Zoom is not designed to be used to showcase digital performance, so we’ve had a lot of time experimenting with what works and what doesn’t, both artistically and technically. As Stage Manager, my role is all about communication, which has been especially challenging during lockdown. The separation has forced us to approach this piece with full collaboration between creatives, technical and the cast, as much of everyone’s traditional roles and responsibilities have been turned on their heads.
Why should people tune in to watch 62 Sperm Whales?
People should tune in to watch 62 Sperm Whales as it is a piece of theatre that has been created entirely in lockdown. Many theatres are re-running performances that have been previously recorded, but this show will be completely live. This is also the first theatre school piece that I am able to invite all of my friends and family to see, so I’d say that this is also the most accessible piece of live theatre that I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of. I would invite everyone that has a free evening to enjoy a piece of new writing, created by the theatre industry’s newest graduates.
