Theatre503 presents
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£18 | £17 | £12 Conc. | £10 Previews & Weds. Mats | ‘Pay What You Can’ Sat. Mats
RUNNING TIME / NOTICES: 2hrs, inc. interval / Contains strong language and adult themes
TAILORED SHOWS: 27 Mar, Relaxed; 12noon 3 Apr, Parent & Baby; 5 Apr, Captioned
Something’s not right.
Children are being raised by animals.
A mother is slowly sinking in the bath.
The trees are left doing the paperwork.
The air is filled with screams of children howling for help.
And some twins want to tell you a story about how everything got so f*cked up.
A spiralling odyssey of dizzying theatricality, Wolfie is a bold, fantastical fairytale following two twins separated at birth and asks who is truly responsible for society’s most vulnerable children.
This wildly imaginative, irreverent look at life in and after the care system is the debut play from Ross Willis, one of the 503Five Writers’ In Residence and directed by Artistic Director Lisa Spirling.
The 503Five is supported by The Carne Trust and The Orseis Trust, who have also made a contribution to the final production. The play is also supported by The Foyle Foundation and Arts Council England’s Project Grant Fund.
RELAXED: For anyone who benefits from a more relaxed performance environment. House lights are left up with audience free to exit and reenter as required. Sound levels are reduced and any strobe / ‘flashing light’ effects will be omitted also.
PARENT & BABY: Similar to our Relaxed Performance in terms of technical alterations, but provided as an opportunity for new mums and dads to enjoy a spot of theatre without the need to hire a babysitter. Please note, we do not exclude other audience members from booking to see this performance.
CAPTIONED: We’re offering captioning to mobile phones via the Difference Engine app, from Talking Birds. Download the free app from the App Store or Google Play, or find more info via the Difference Engine website.
CAST
Erin Doherty (left) and Sophie Melville (right) star in Wolfie. Erin was recently featured by the Evening Standard as a ‘rising star’ and plays Princess Anne in the forthcoming series of Netflix hit The Crown. Sophie’s credits include Iphigenia in Splott, for which she received The Stage Award for Acting Excellence and Wales Theatre Award for Best Female Performance, and nominations for Evening Standard Award for Best Actress and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.
Ross Willis
Ross is currently one of Theatre503’s resident playwrights, the 503Five, where he received a seed commission to develop Wolfie. He is also a member of the Orange Tree Writers’ Collective, BBC Writersroom and a playwright on attachment at the Bristol Old Vic. Ross was Writer in Residence at Theatr Clwyd, and is an alumnus of Tamasha Playwrights and Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab, where he developed Wonder Boy (Tony Craze Award finalist). He was commissioned by Tamasha and Titilola Dawudu to write a series of monologues for Hear Me Now, a book of monologues for diverse actors. Ross has recently been announced as one of three writers awarded the inaugural Royal Court & Kudos Writing Fellowship.
"The Artistic Director Lisa Spirling's blistering production gives these electrifying actresses multiple physical roles: somersaulting babies, loping wolves, talking trees. Thrilling performances, unforgettably up close."
"Ross Willis is a fresh and fearless voice, clearly itching to test the boundaries of theatre."
"This show is a whirlwind of emotion. The two actors are sublime. Sophie Melville as the cheeky and vivacious A is a joy and unapologetically brilliant, and her energy pulsates throughout, in particular in her moments in the woods. Opposite her, Erin Doherty is electric as the more reserved, yet fire-bellied A."
"If it is too sweeping a claim to make that Theatre503 showcases the best theatre in London, then we may perhaps settle on the conclusion that its support of challenging, innovative, and allusive work is unrivalled."
"This two-act, two-hander is unlike anything you will have quite seen before, a wild and wildly ambitious, fast paced phantasmagorical epic that dazzles with its physical and lyrical inventiveness."
"An incredible bit of work from a debut writer. Ultimately, it’s educational, memorable, and encourages anyone who sees it to try to be a better human."
"Laugh-out-loud funny yet never hesitating to be brutally honest when necessary, this is a bold start from the award-winner Willis, surely one worth keeping a beady eye on."
"full of constant ‘Mighty Boosh’-esque doses of weirdness and moments of heartbreak fall heavily in this gut-flinging, glitter-coated forest."
"A courageous, anguished tale of neglect and survival that follows twins separated at birth. The performances will rip your heart out"
"Lisa Spirling’s direction glues the whole thing together so it sparks and sparkles as it reminds that children can survive anything. Except being loved."
