Five Reasons to See … The Pirate Project

Pirates of course!
The show has not shied away from joyfully embracing many of the familiar references we’ve come to expect from anything about pirates; a fight to the death with cutlasses, rogue-like behaviour, swinging aboard another’s ship, sea shanties, and much more. But nor is this exactly Pirates of the Caribbean! With the three performers playing many versions of both male and female pirates the show has a playful, wild and anarchic energy; it’s in a pirate genre all of its own!

The set
Philip Eddolls has designed a really beautiful and fun set. It looks simple at the start but it is brilliantly flexible and allows loads of different ship-like images to grow-up and disappear before your eyes.

Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Ching Shih
The three female pirates that the show focuses on had the most amazing lives. Their stories offer up survival against the odds through many a storm and battle, years dressing undetected as a man, and leadership over thousands of men and ships, all in a world where their actions were not only unconventional but downright extraordinary.

A feast for the ears
The excellent sound design and music by Nick Powell, evokes a rich sense of the sea one minute and a Riot Grrl gig in Bradford circa 1993 the next. An aural feast!

An audience Ah harrr!!!
At how many shows do you get to practise being a pirate from the comfort of your theatre seat? Don’t worry. No onstage participation!