Showcasing graduate artists & actors
At the heart of our actor training philosophy is the prinicple of “ensemble” and the power of collaboration – we strive to create well-rounded performers who are makers and artists as well as actors, capable of building sustainable careers within the arts and empowered in forging their own opportunities and creating bold new work.
We already have a fantastic diverse varietry of alumni artists who are achieving great successes with their original work, and we are delighted to see the next wave coming through to join them as innovative, trailblazing theatre makers.
To celebrate, and as we look ahead to the new year, we want to showcase just some of the most exciting early career professionals sharing original creative work as part of VAULT Festival 2023, all of whom are recent Fourth Monkey graduates!
For a light-hearted yet poignent exploration of female friendship… What’s the Tea present Stacey and Rose
An emerging theatre company comprising BA (Hons) Acting – Class of 2022 graduates Hannah Tudge and Stephanie Simpson, What’s the Tea strive to create work which explores lighthearted, nostalgic themes with a homemade aesthetic.
A piece which started life as an Experimental Performance Project during their final year of actor training and explores themes of lifelong female friendship through the lens of some of the pair’s favourite films, Hannah and Stephanie said of Stacey and Rose:
“We both knew we wanted to make something about female friendship because these relationships have been a massive part of our own lives (and basically all the women we know). We also wanted to look at what happens when they go ‘wrong’.
Female friendships are often seen as something permanent and unbreakable; We wanted to challenge that whilst still showing the good bits and playing around with a home video, nostalgic aesthetic.”
A lighthearted yet thoughtful and, at time, sad story of two young women who find themselves reassessing their lifelong friendship, Stacey and Rose is part of VAULT Festival’s Generation V, a showcase of the brightest and boldest work from the UK’s leading creative drama schools, Fourth Monkey and East 15 – learn more and book tickets.
Plus – Stacey and Rose will be part of a VAULT Festival Preview Season in collaboration with the Tabard Theatre in west London; an opportunity to see a selection of four of the fledging theatre companies and emerging artists included within the Generation V showcase with a different show each night over a four night run – learn more and book tickets.
For an exploration of honour-based violence in the South Asian community… Zahra Jassi presents Honour Bound
A one-woman show written and performed by a British South Asian creator and actors, and realised by a team of British Black and South Asian artists, Honour Bound is an unflinching exploration of the anti-Blackness often found in South Asian communities and its devasting effects, posing the ultimate question: what would you sacrifice for love?
Created by recent MA Collaborative Theatre graudate Zahra Jassi and featured as part of Fourth Monkey’s MA Final Production in summer 2022, the piece was inspired by Zahra’s desire to focus on and challenge the themes of race and honour violence within her own work. Speaking to us about what audiences can expect when they come to see Honour Bound as part of VAULT Festival, Zahra said:
“Audiences can expect a show that is unexpectedly energetic and funny at times, that causes them to reflect on themselves and their habits (do they cut their sandwich down the middle or diagonally?), and that is extremely moving and poignant.
They can expect to root for the main character with every fibre of their being, and then despise them for some of their views. They can expect to do this over and over again. They can expect to laugh and then cry, and then, when they least expect it, they’ll laugh again.
Above all, I hope audiences leave the show asking what they can do to tackle honour-based violence and/or anti-Blackness, and especially for the latter, interrogate their own personal bias and the biases of those around them, especially for members of the South Asian community.”
A bold solo show with a bold story to tell from a fantastic new writer and creative, Honour Bound is part of the Generation V showcase at 2023’s VAULT Festival – learn more and book tickets.
Plus – interested in professional creative theatre making training? Check out our MA Collaborative Theatre – learn more
For fast-paced, absurdist humour from character performers… Joe Pike & Tom Hazelden present My Last Two Brain Cells
The professional debut for a piece which first came to life for our Experimental Performance Project in 2022, My Last Two Brain Cells sees recent BA (Hons) Acting graduates Joe Pike and Tom Hazelden flex their comedy muscles as they try to keep everything afloat as Gary’s last two brain cells following an accident.
A raucous piece which blends influences of clown and sketch comedy with character acting and pure silliness (their words, not our’s), Joe and Tom said of the orginial idea behind My Last Two Brain Cells:
“Some entries from the ‘Ideas list’ of our first meeting include: “Egg wars”, “How the alphabet feels about being in that order”, “A sketchy sketch show about illustrators”, “weak squash strong mind”, “did I leave the stove on? And other questions” and finally, “My last 2 brain cells”.
So… we’re not really sure where the idea came from, but we knew we wanted to make a comedy piece where we could bundle our niche sense of humour into it. All those dumb ideas or stupid thoughts we’ve had over the years, we’ve just crammed into an hour show. No big political debates or social issues (although Egg Wars was shaping up to be quite the dramatic saga), just pure stupidity.”
Throwing some much needed joy and chaos into the mix, Joe and Tom told us that, above all else, My Last Two Brain Cells has one simple aim: “we want people to leave having had a really great night. Maybe you’ll take away something more, but we just want you to come and laugh at us.” – learn more and book tickets.
Plus – interested in training as an actor and artist who is capable of creating their own work? Check out our BA (Hons) Acting degree – learn more.
For a chaotic retelling of Greek mythology… Themis Theatre present The Dissent
An all-female theatre company formed in 2021 and comprising Two Year Rep (now BA Acting) graduates Libby Boyd, Charlotte Boyle and Ruby Blue Tansey-Thomas, Themis Theatre are committed to centring women’s voices and narratives whilst making theatre that is raw and unapologetic.
Originally created as an Experimental Fringe submission in 2021, Themis Theatre describe The Dissent as: “a cross between our collective experience as women, our love for the Greek myths, and our need to laugh.”
The team have been evolving the piece throughout 2022, including sharing scratch evenings and networking events for female-identifying creatives and performing at a wide variety of venues across the UK. Speaking about how The Dissent has developed since it was first performed in 2021, the Themis Theatre team told us:
“The piece began as a 20-minute scratch performance with a cast of three women and one man. When we formed Themis, we wanted to hold space for women and their stories, so our three female company members became the foundational female characters and multi-roled the male parts too. The play already had a different focus because women were at the heart of the story, but with the addition of multi-roles, a natural clown element developed within the style of the play too.
Through the process of developing the piece there have been increased reports of gendered violence, which have acted as a driving force for us to remember the importance of what this story could do for the audiences who watch it. We have worked hard to bring ourselves opportunities to share the piece and performed a miniature tour from London – Leicester – Plymouth before visiting London again ahead of VAULT Festival 2023.
Every time we revisit it, we hear the words in a new light, certain moments being heard what feels like the first time.”
Part of the Generation V showcase at VAULT Festival 2023, The Dissent is a vital and bold piece of theatre about inequality, injustice and blame – learn more and book tickets.
Plus – check out our conversation with Libby, Charlotte and Ruby about how they have found working collaboratively as a theatre company and their advice for fellow fledging theatre makers – read here.
For an exploration of how our society handles loss and grief… Phoebe Bakker presents We Are Going to Die
Written by 2022 BA (Hons) Acting graduate Phoebe Bakker, We Are Going to Die is a piece inspired by Phoebe’s own experiences of loss and grief and is her first professional outing as a theatre maker:
“I realised during my early days grieving that what passes for grief support is actually very little, and a lot of times this isn’t really people’s fault so much as a systemic issue in which we, as a society, don’t deal with loss well. I thought about myself before this and how when I knew people who had lost others, I too didn’t know what to say.”
Performed by an ensemble cast featuring members of our Class of 2022, We Are Going to Die takes a darkly humourous look at how society handles loss and ultimately fails to support those in need of support. On what audiences can expect when they come to see a performance, Phoebe says:
“I think what you can probably expect is a few laughs, maybe some tears and a few “what has that got to do with the story?” moments.
I hope what my audience takes away is some more awareness of what you can do from the outside to hopefully be better equipped for when faced with that situation of loss and grief. For those currently going through it, I hope my words are of comfort – to know that you are not crazy, the world really is ending.”
See some of our recent graduates in action as We Are Going to Die makes its professional theatre debut as part of VAULT Festival 2023 – learn more and book tickets.
Plus – for further insight into how our Class of 2022 are planning to take the industry by storm, check out our recent conversation with BA (Hons) Acting graduate Martha Ibbotson – read here.
Learn more about all the Fourth Monkey alumni theatre makers and artists who will be sharing their creative work as part of VAULT Festival 2023 here.
Catch our VAULT Festival Preview Season in collaboration with the Tabard Theatre in January 2023 here, where we will be celebrating four fantastic new pieces of work from a selection of the Fourth Monkey graduate artists featured within the Generation V showcase – learn more and book tickets.
