Site-specific production of Noel Coward’s Still Lives set to open with all-female cast

Part of Making Connections 24 at The Old Waiting Room

A unique site-specific adaptation fusing Noel Coward’s Still Life and his lesser known Quadrille will see its world premiere as the finale of Making Connections 24 - a community arts festival of free and affordable art events in the stunning Old Waiting Room, at Peckham Rye station. The adaptation has been created especially for the historic space which sits between two working platforms, with trains and passengers visible beyond its windows. Still Lives opens on the 2nd July and runs until the 14th July. 

Directed by site-specific specialist Rebecca McCutcheon and adapted by award-winning playwright Dan Rebellato, Still Lives interweaves Coward’s later and rarely performed gem Quadrille with Still Life, which inspired the film Brief Encounter. The adaptation has been given the Coward estate’s blessing, as is necessary with changes of this magnitude. The result is a romantic, often funny, exploration of shifting relationships, desires and missed opportunities for love in the comings and goings of a station platform. This unique production offers audiences an opportunity to be immersed in the deeply romantic story within an extraordinary setting.

The production features an all-female cast playing cross-gender roles, placing women’s desire and agency at the heart of the production. Rebecca McCutcheon will direct Grace Haydn as Laura and Soldier Bill, Jade-Marie Joseph as Myrtle and Mr Spevin, Izabelle Lee as Charlotte, Beryl and Axel, Annabel Marlow as Albert, Dolly and Harry Jenner, Georgina Peters as Alex and Johnnie and Flora Wellesley Wesley as Hubert, Stanley and Serena.

Through a combination of live music, installation and movement, Still Lives transforms The Old Waiting Room into a world of charged beginnings and ending, exploring life’s deepest dilemmas and the sliding doors effect of each of our decisions, which carry us along, away from other lives which might have been. Delicately written and deceptively light, the production will combine emotionally engaging narrative with immersive theatre techniques to create an unforgettable experience.

CAST

Grace Haydn (Laura / Soldier)

Grace Haydn is an actor, musician and writer, trained at the RCSSD. Grace was part of the Trojan Women’s Project at Playground Theatre and the Financial Times Festival. Grace also appears in the award-winning AAA video game, Baldur’s Gate. 

Jade-Marie Joseph (Myrtle / Mr Spevin)

Jade-Marie graduated from ArtsEd 2021 with a master’s in acting, she then went on to perform at The Other Palace Theatre with production Honeypot in 2022. She had her debut TV role in 2022 for Channel 5’s drama For Her Sins. Jade-Marie is currently featured in the new Green Flag ad.

Izabelle Lee (Charlotte / Beryl / Axel)

Izabelle Lee trained at Drama Studio London and East 15. Theatre credits include The Play With Speeches, Motortown, Albatross, Egingrou, Brighton Beach Memoirs and The Comedy of Errors. Most recently Izabelle played Leda in Is This Desire? at the Omnibus Theatre, Clapham.

Annabel Marlow (Albert / Dolly / Harry Jenner)

Annabel Marlow is a comedian and actor based in London. She placed third in last year's national competition The Musical Comedy Awards, and her debut solo show …is this okay?? sold out its month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since graduating with an MA from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, she has done comedy gigs at venues such as Soho Theatre, MOTH Club, Pleasance and Southwark playhouse. Annabel recently finished Bear Snores on at The Regents Park Open Air Theatre. 

Georgina Peters (Alec / Soldier)

Georgina trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Acting. She has performed in various productions on both stage and screen, ranging from staged plays to independent film. She played a central role in HistoryRiot’s productions at the Tower of London. She is also starring in an award-winning feature, produced by Joykill Collective.

Flora Wellesley Wesley (Hubert / Stanley / Serena)

Flora is a longtime collaborator with Lost Text Found Space. Flora studied dance and performance at London Contemporary Dance School. A multidisciplinary exchange at California Institute for the Arts stoked her appetite for experimentation and cross artform collaboration. Flora co-directs Nora with dancers Eleanor Sikorski and Stephanie McMann, creating and touring new pieces by celebrated dancemakers. Flora also regularly performs improvised solos. Current projects include: making the film Dancing in the Bardo with Hugo Glendinning; developing The Mirror of Laughter - a tell and show about laughter; and kindling the distribution of Nora the Many, a novella and film co-authored by Nora and Eleanor Bauer (2022, Sadler’s Wells).

KEY CREATIVES

Rebecca McCutcheon (Director of Still Lives / Creative Director of Making Connections)

Rebecca, a director and founder of Lost Text/Found Space, is dedicated to innovative site-based practice with underperformed texts, creating unique productions for adventurous audiences. Site-specific directing includes Til We Meet in England (Safehouse, Peckham), Dido, Queen of Carthage (House of St Barnabas & Kensington Palace), The Round Dance at the (Roundhouse, Camden). Other directing includes Mirabel (Ovalhouse), Vincent River (Trafalgar Studios) Town Hall (Camden People’s Theatre Calm Down Dear festival). As staff director Tartuffe, The Relapse (National Theatre), As assistant director As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet (Royal Shakespeare Company). Rebecca is Senior Lecturer in Acting & Directing at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Dan Rebellato (Writer)

Dan is a multi-award-winning playwright and academic. Plays include Chekhov in Hell (Plymouth Drum, 2010), Static (Suspect Culture & Graeae, 2008), Here’s What I Did With My Body One Day (Lightwork, 2005/6), Mile End (Analogue, 2007), Beachy Head (Analogue, 2009), Theatremorphosis (Suspect Culture & CCA, 2009), Outright Terror Bold and Brilliant (NYT/Soho, 2006) and A Modest Adjustment (National Theatre, 2006). Dan has written 12 plays for BBC Radio, including Cavalry, My Life is a Series of People Saying Goodbye, and Negative Signs of Progress. Dan is Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London.

STILL LIVES

The Old Waiting Room, Peckham Rye Station, Station Way, London SE15 4RX

2nd - 14th July, Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm (& 4pm matinees Saturday)

Press from 3rd July

Tickets: £22.38/13.70 or PWYC

Show running time: 90 mins

Website: losttextfoundspace.com 

Instagram: losttextfoundspace

Tickets and listings: https://www.losttextfoundspace.com/makingconnectionsowr

For further information or press tickets, please get in touch.