Theatre News

Mayhem Company Present Elephant in Shopping Centre

Editorial Staff
Off-West End

Following the Royal Court’s Theatre Local Season in Unit 215 of The Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, a new production, Elephant 21, will play in the reclaimed space for a limited run.

The show, running from 14 to 24 July, is presented by The Mayhem Company, which aims to “capture the vibrancy and diversity of 21st century Elephant & Castle and its community shortly before extensive redevelopment of the area is due to take place”.

Developed from testimonies of local residents, Elephant 21 weaves through the past 100 years told through four generations of the Valentine family in a play “about war, Sarsparilla, Knickerbocker glories, more war, suicide, jiving and unrequited love”. The cast will be a mixture of young non-professionals from The Mayhem Company, professional actors, and older non-professionals from the local Blackfriars Settlement in Southwark.

As the Elephant & Castle community is at the heart of the Elephant 21 project there will also be a number of dedicated performances for local schools, accompanied by workshops and complimentary education packs, as well as a number of free performances to engage people who otherwise wouldn’t engage with the arts.

The Mayhem Company works extensively with young people from south London, running theatre workshops and performances aimed at developing both practical performance skills as well as wider theatrical skills.