When: 15th May – 2nd June 2012 (Tues – Sat at 7.45pm)
Where: Ovalhouse, Kennington Oval, London
£: 15, 10 BECTU Equity and U26, concessions 7.50
What is it?
Fancifully staging the escapades of famous female pirates of the past alongside intimate stories of personal bravery and derring-do from the performers’ own lives; The Pirate Project considers female identity and ambition today asking “do we just need to be more like pirates to succeed?”
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, pirates like Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Ching Shih often passed themselves off as men. They disguised pregnancy at sea and even endured spells in Jamaican prisons, to cut throats and steal booty for a living. Here, three 21st century women set out on a quest to see if they can still out-think, out-sail and out-fight every man on the high seas. What would a code of conduct for being a pirate in modern life demand? And do women want to become more gung-ho anyway?
As part of the research, the company filmed interviews with women whom they see as contemporary women “pirates”. Moments from these films will appear in the show.
The Pirate Project is a co-production between Lucy Foster and Improbable with support from Ovalhouse, Arts Depot and Arts Council England. Lucy Foster is a director, writer, performer, and has been an Associate Director with Improbable since 2007.
More info: www.ovalhouse.com and www.improbable.co.uk.