Parlour Games is dark, funny and highly physical. Set in 1927, it tells the story of four isolated children living in a Gothic world of their own cruel imagination.
The show has been greatly influenced by contemporary reports of the effects of PTSD on returning soldiers and their families; it explores the ways in which violence is handed from generation to generation.
Edinburgh Fringe 2015: 7th – 31st August (excl. 16th) – Monkey House, ZOO, 6.30pm (ends 7.25pm)
PARLOUR GAMES
Original, dark, funny physical theatre from Lecoq-trained Tooth+Nail at ZOO, Edinburgh Fringe 2015.
A story of game-playing, blood ties and the inheritance of violence, told through the Gothic imaginings of four children.
Parlour Games is the delightfully dark tale of children lost in a world of Gothic imagination. In this original work of physical theatre shadow-play, acrobatics, and drama combine to tell the funny and unsettling story of four lonely siblings. Playful, inventive and disturbing, Parlour Games is Tooth+Nail’s first show since graduating from the École Jacques Lecoq in Paris.
A black and stormy night in 1927. Alone in a crumbling manor, Edward, Constance, Oliver and Theo revel in old tales of castles, dungeons and kidnapped heroines. In their ever-shifting world of joyful cruelty the only sure things are the rules of the game. But the violence of a half-forgotten war lurks beyond the torchlight. And as the game plays out, their fragile shadow-world is threatened by the coming day.
Born of classic Gothic novels and visually inspired by early silent films, Parlour Games is fast, funny and playful. Tooth+Nail blend mischievousness with emotional depth in a highly inventive physical style, spinning a rich world from a minimum of staging with torchlight and shadows.
Parlour Games is Tooth+Nail’s first show since graduating from the École Jacques Lecoq in Paris. In it the company delves deep into the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the families of soldiers returning from war. Being guided by the child’s experience rather than the adult’s has given the company great freedom in exploring this dark terrain, since the child’s instinct is always for play and humour. The decision to refract the story through the twin lenses of gothic literature and silent films of the period allows the intense material to be handled with a lightness of touch. The real joy of play shines through, contrasted with the constant potential for violence.
Booking information:
Venue: Monkey House, ZOO Dates: 7-31 August (excl 16) Time: 6.30pm (55mins) Tickets: £5 previews, £9/7. Box office: 0131 662 6892, box@zoovenues.co.uk
More company info: http://www.toothandnailtheatre.com @toothandnailed #ParlourGames
Credits:
Parlour Games is devised and performed by the company: Adam Gordon, François Lecomte, Harriet Feeny, Preben Rongve.
Submitted by Adam Gordon for Tooth+Nail Theatre Company
