London
Known as UK’s leaders of verbatim theatre with political and social slant, The Paper Birds devised Ask Me Anything inspired by magazine’s ‘problem pages’ they read growing up in the 90s and 00s. The Company has asked young people living today in the era of mobile phones and Google to write and ask them anything. Nothing was off limits. The show, filled with The Paper Birds’ trademark mischief and mayhem, is its response. So welcome to the 90s, era of dial-up Internet, pen pals and house phones where the Company explores the themes of cyber addition, self-expression, peer pressure, sisterhood and youth suicide, among others, using real-life verbatim stories of young people from across the UK. Set in a teenage bedroom, Ask Me Anything features live video streaming and original live music from the celebrated singer-songwriter Rosie Doonan, BBC Radio 2’s Folk Awards-nominee who performed with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Birdy and Chris Martin of Coldplay. Ask Me Anything is for teenagers, grandparents and everyone in between who is also still figuring it all out. It’s about what we can teach the next generation and what they can teach us.