Twine
(Birmingham)
FIERCE SAYS
Birmingham’s own Selina Thompson was last seen at Fierce in 2015 with Race Cards. She returns with a dizzyingly ambitious, open-hearted and intelligent work that we’ll be sitting with and talking about for months (years??) after we see it.
‘No adoption show! Too private, too personal, too intimate, too triggering, too scary, and too many ramifications you can’t control!’
Writer has broken a promise: this show is the consequence(s).
Set in a forest of bloody eggs, ghost family members, vaudeville politicians and broken TVs, Twine is the story of how Seed, Sapling and Bark liberated themselves and each other from a legacy of shame, violence and silence. Irreverent and full of yearning, Twine offers a unique odyssey into all that our families are, and all that they could be.
Fall into a forest of family trees haunted by Stuart Hall and bell hooks, Kat Slater (yes, that one) and Medea, where taboos are broken, and yearnings and desires grow deeper, richer and riskier than they could ever have imagined.
‘Abolish Adoption! Even if yours went well. Abolish the family! Even though we love them’
Twine is a story about love and loneliness, families and ghosts, and the way in which one shattering moment can transform multiple family trees for generations to come.
The 7pm performance of Twine on Saturday 19 October is included in our Bear (AKA Full Week) and Otter (Weekend Max) Passes. The 7pm performance of Twine on Friday 18 October is included in our Pup (Weekend Lite) Passes. Click here for more information about our passes.
Following the 2pm performance of Twine on Saturday 19 October will be a free Open Discussion + Q&A from 4pm to 5:30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Credits
Written by: Selina Thompson
In Collaboration with: Jennifer Tang (Director) & Naomi Kuyck-Cohen (Designer)
Commissioned by Yard Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Live Theatre, Theatre in the Mill & Cambridge Junction with support from the Stobbs New Ideas Fund.
With support from ‘Support Not Separation’ & the Foster Parents, Adopters, Social Workers, Academics, Artists & Activists that have shared their stories.
Twine R&D was originally supported by an Arts Council of England (ACE) Project Grant; Selina Thompson Ltd is an ACE ‘National Portfolio Company’
Access
Please check back closer to the performance date for further access information.
DETAILED SHOW CONTENT
Twine contains strong themes & language which some people may find difficult. The work explores the long term impact of social care systems, including adoption, foster care, prison and judicial systems and the circumstances that lead to people being caught up in those systems, and the harm they can inflict. This includes but is not limited to physical abuse and neglect, miscarriage, the death of an infant, and of a sibling; and family separation and breakdown.
The show looks at the long term impact of traumatic events, grief, poor mental health, and the impact of discrimination and oppression are grappled with head on.
There is an invitation during the show for some audience members to join the company on stage as part of a long table sequence, that is facilitated by the actors with no pressure on any audience member to join in, or contribute anything they are not comfortable sharing.