Family Drama Hard Graft To Open At Ovalhouse

David Sheppeard in Hard Graft at the Ovalhouse Theatre London

David is making a show about his dad, but he doesn’t want him to see it. Hard Graft explores how much can change between one generation of a family and the next and the lengths we go to bridge the divide. A performance about reluctant fathers and wayward sons set against the backdrop of the occasional mining disaster and the fading industrial landscapes of South Wales. The piece, which was originally seed commissioned by Ovalhouse last year, is being presented as part of their current spring season Public/Private, before touring later this year. David Sheppeard is a theatre artist and producer based in Brighton, whose previous work have been developed at The Nightingale, Ovalhouse and Battersea Arts Centre. His performances often combine elements of his own personal history with other biographies, histories, facts and fictions, with the intention of creating unexpected juxtapositions, awkward situations and healthy confusion. He is interested … Read more

Diana And Wallis Come Together In Camp One Man Show

Chris Ioan Roberts in Dead Royal at the Oval House Theatre London

Dead Royal is a lacerating, camp-drenched celebration of 1980’s narcissistic meglomania. Villa Windsor, Paris, 1981 – Wallis, Duchess of Windsor aged 82, invites Lady Diana Spencer aged 19 to a despair-laden bachelorette party on the eve of her wedding to the Prince of Wales. This vulgar comedy explores the notion of those marrying into the royal family and how they are regarded by history. It is a piece riffling on drag, early 80s fashion, Princess Diana obsession, historical melodrama and physical theatre. The script makes use of original quotes drawn from interviews with Wallis Simpson and Diana Spencer and evokes the plantation period of the Deep South and the clipped drawl of the Sloane Ranger. The relentless inappropriate language evokes a sense of otherness to allow audiences to feel as if they have intruded on a private moment. Chris Roberts, one of London’s most subversive actor-directors, plays both characters – … Read more