Working with the REP

Last night we ran 100 Words at The Door in Birmingham, which is The REP’s space dedicated exclusively to the production and presentation of new plays by living writers. We had a total of nine 100 words plays written mainly by local writers, some of which were only received on the day and the rest the day before. The REP put together a fabulous cast who worked with real commitment and focus throughout Tuesday and Wednesday. There was a general theme of ‘cultural misunderstandings’ which the writers interpreted in many different ways.

The plays were:

A Brummie in Beijing by Billy Dosanjh
Customs by Catherine Edwards
Untitled by Cassi Roberts
Inventory by Ben Musgrave
Are We On The Right Train? by David Watson
Big Shot by Arzhang Pezhman
This Is Living by Shao Wen (Mandarin version)
This Is Living by Shao Wen (English version)
Not So Great Expectations by Cheryl Akila Payne

We also need to mention our wonderful performers – Ashwin Bolar, Dean Leon Finlan, Duane Hannibal,Cassie Joseph, Jennifer Lim, Louise Mardenborough, Demi Oyediran, Bryony Taylor and Oliver Williams – and say thanks to them all!
After the show

Following the show there was a brief question and answer session led by Ben Payne (Associate Director of The REP) and with a panel including Natasha, Billy Dosanjh and Shao Wen (two of the writers) and Jennifer Lim (one of the actors). The audience, which included several groups from the local Chinese community, responded fantastically well to the whole evening. They loved the simplicity of the concept and the immediacy of the performance.

Running two different language versions of Shao Wen’s play back to back worked particularly well – something to develop in future phases of the project. Afterwards we were able to chat to many of the audience, and thank the Birmingham Chinatown Lions (who were there in force) personally.

We’re very excited about the future of 100 Words in Birmingham