Theatre News

Promenade piece about Duchess of Argyll comes to Shoreditch

”Absent” is inspired by the Duchess’s residence at a London hotel in the 1970s

Poster image for Absent
Poster image for Absent

A new "promenade installation" show about scandalous 20th century socialite The Duchess of Argyll will premiere at Shoreditch Town Hall in August.

Presented by site-specific specialists Dreamthinkspeak, Absent is inspired by the Duchess's residence at a central London hotel in the 1970s.

According to press material:

The Duchess of Argyll booked into a central London hotel in 1978 and was ejected several years later, having finally run out of friends and credit. In Absent, she is surreally re-imagined entering a hotel as an optimistic 18 year-old in the 1950's and being evicted in the present day, into a modernised and radically changed world.

Audiences will be taken on an "intimate journey through the maze-like basement of Shoreditch Town Hall, mixing film and architectural installation with a haunting soundtrack."

Directed by Dreamthinkspeak founder Tristan Sharps, Absent is commissioned by Shoreditch Town Hall, LIFT and LeftCoast. It runs from 24 August to 25 October 2015.