Theatre News

Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival line-up announced

The festival showcases the work of disabled artists

Liz Carr and Jack Dean
Liz Carr and Jack Dean
(© Manuel Vason (left))

The line-up for Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre has been announced

The bi-annual event celebrates the work of disabled artists, and will include theatre, dance and visual art. The festival began in 2012 as part of the Cultural Olympiad, and will be held at various locations around the centre.

Assisted Suicide: The Musical, comedian Liz Carr's satire tackling the controversial subject of assisted dying from a disabled person's point of view, has its world premiere on 10 September. It is directed by Mark Whitehall with music by Ian Hill.

Him sees writer Sheila Hill use conversations with soldier-turned-actor Tim Hill brought to life in a story about childhood, memory and theatre, and it opens on 8 September.

Playwright Jess Thom (Touretteshero) will make her stand-up debut on 6 September, as she presents her work-in-progress Sit Down, Stand Up, Roll Over.

The Way You Look (at me) Tonight is a dance piece exploring perception, created in collaboration with University of California professor Dr Alva Noë. The piece is performed by Claire Cunningham and Jess Cutris, and will be performed from 6 to 7 September.

On 6 September, Arlene Phillips choreographs the Candoco Dance Company, a mix of disabled and non-disabled actors, in You and I Know. Jack Dean's Grandad and the Machine, which opens on 7 September, is a steampunk fairy tale for adults which tells of a family's journey across England.

The festival will also be a chance to see a reading of Rachel Bagshaw and Chris Thorpe's work-in-progress, The Shape of Pain. The piece is about a woman living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, and will be performed on 9 September.

Away from performance, Jon Underwood and Sue Barsky Reid's Death Café is a tea party which encourages discussion about dying in a supportive environment.

Unlimited Festival runs at the Southbank Centre from 6 to 11 September.