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The Bridge Company's Landmines to visit the Ovalhouse

Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle

IN THE 25th Anniversary year of the BRIT School, the Bridge Company – made up of recent graduates – returns with Landmines, a brand new commission interrogating the era of alt-right media.

Written by Phil Davies and directed by Emma Higham, it will visit the Ovalhouse from June 6 to June 24, 2017, following dates at St Peter’s Church as part of the Brighton Fringe.

Drawing from two events that occurred within 48 hours of each other last June – Michael Sandford’s attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Las Vegas and the tragic murder of the politician Jo Cox – The Bridge Company’s new commission highlights the exasperation and rage caused by an era of misinformation overload and the peddling of hate.

Following last year’s premiere of Leo Butler’s Decades, Phil Davies’ new play follows the success of his Hampstead Theatre production Firebird, which transferred to the West End.

With the unstoppable rise of the fictional alt-right media outlet The Altar, Landmines questions the consequences of the ease of accessing horrific content online. As the outlet seeks to increase its audience through the livestreaming of tragic events, sensationalised reporting and disregard for the facts, it pays little heed to the destruction it inflicts on an already fragile and divided society.

Playwright Phil Davies said: “We started with a blank page, a roomful of ideas and pretty quickly it became clear we were all concerned about one thing: a sense of hopelessness. In an age where people – especially young adults – felt increasingly unable to rise up against the dominant right-wing agenda, we were incited to create something that investigates the effects of one person’s attempts to hit back.”

The Bridge Company is made up of recent graduates from the BRIT School for performing arts, and equips company members with professional experience and skills to launch them into the theatre industry.

The Bridge aims to create groundbreaking theatre that challenges its audience through the use of innovative performance techniques and disciplines, offering an authentic voice to explore the attitudes and experiences of young people today, confronting stereotypes to create exceptional theatre. Their work has previously been performed at the Southwark Playhouse, The Yard, Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe, and Plymouth Fringe.

The BRIT School is one of only two free performing arts schools in the UK and provides free education and vocational training for performing arts, media, art, design and technology for 14-19 year olds. Their list of alumni includes Amy Winehouse, Tom Holland, Adele, Leona Lewis, Kate Tempest, Jessie J, Cush Jumbo, Ivanno Jeremiah and Katy B.

The cast of Landmines includes Rhianne Barreto, Sophie Brown, Eve Donnelly, Denneil Dunbar, Jack Etchells, Imogen Fuller, Willa Main, Zoe Meningen, Oscar O’Brien, Robin Paton-Copley, Edward Scott, Andrea Smith and Harry Vinall.

The production has set and costume design by Ryan Dawson Laight, lighting by Ryan Joseph Stafford and sound by Max Perryment.

Tickets (Ovalhouse): £7.50, £5 concessions – available from the box office on 020 7582 7680 or online at www.ovalhouse.com/.

Time: 7.30pm.

Also at the Ovalhouse: Joan. Performed by drag king champion Lucy Jane Parkinson, it sees history’s greatest gender-warrior dragging up as the men she defies (until April 22, 2017).