TORTOISE
New Wolsey Cockpit / Criterion / Arcola
Tortoise started life as a one-act play, which debuted at the New Wolsey Theatre in May 2014, as part of Pulse Festival (following a scratch performance at Rich Mix's 'Seize the Stage') a few weeks earlier), before a one-off performance at the Cockpit Theatre. An extract from the full-length play was showcased at the Criterion Theatre in the West End in November 2015, before the full-length play debuted at the Arcola Theatre in April 2016. Tortoise was developed through the Criterion Playwriting Programme and Arcola's Playwrought.
Tortoise features three very different women (a young 'wild child' with OCD, a seriously ill 30-something who has spent most of her life in hospital, and an elderly aristocrat) who have been Sectioned and are living together in a locked NHS psychiatric ward. The play covers their struggles and the bonds they form as they come to terms with why they are there and seek freedom, accidentally inciting rebellion along the way. This dark comedy explores serious contemporary issues of gender and mental health treatment.
Written by Naomi Westerman
Directed by Katherina Reinhaller (Rich Mix / New Wolsey Theatre); Naomi Westerman (Criterion); Ellen McDougall (Arcola).
With thanks to Greg Mosse and Nick Connaughton.
Previous cast includes:
Cindy-Jane Armbruster, Sarah Berger, Mai Cunningham, Lilly Driscoll, Shoni Robertson-Finn, Andrew Lawston, Melanie Lawston, Kate Sandison, and Sally Scott.
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