One-part sermon, one-part purge, three-parts party, House of Life is a travelling musical cult collective hosted by the camp and glitter clad RaveRend with one mission - to make the audience happy, at any cost. Made up of alumni of the BAFTA-winning Television Workshop, Nottingham based Sheep Soup uses live music with loop pedals, sampled voices and audience interaction to create a feel-good, open hearted and celebratory cabaret theatre show. Inspired by the places where people come together to heal through music, joy and noise – church, festivals, protests, football matches, raves – the audience is taken through an eight-step programme of how to get content. They are encouraged to join in with the RaveRend and move to the music, creating their own community for one-night-only, which means that no two shows are the same. Whilst poking fun at wellness culture, the show also shows heart and vulnerability, with aims to connect the audience and create a sense of togetherness and elevation in the space following the pandemic and a time where people feel more disconnected than ever before. For anyone who might be going through something, House of Life is a space to purge and let it all out, including for the 'hype' man himself. House of Life was shortlisted for this year's Untapped Award.
Co-writer and performer Ben Welch said “We nearly didn't bring this show to the fringe this year. But it didn't feel right to wait. I think we need space in the world right now to come together and connect with our communities, wherever they are. And to celebrate the power of music and each other through some silly, celebratory vibes. Edinburgh Fringe feels like the best place to create a show and a space that commemorates all the weird and wonderfulness of life. We want House of Life to give people the chance to be part of something and connect with the people around them through a banging night out, and what better place than the magic melting pot that is the Fringe!”
Sheep Soup hails from BAFTA award-winning Television Workshop, the Midlands training ground that counts Samantha Morton, Vicky McClure and Jack O'Connell among its glittering roster of alumni. Collaboration is at the core of their work, bringing artists together from a huge range of performance fields to create truly original and inspiring live performance. The company fills every venue with their signature brand of genre-busting musical theatre and comedy and they specialise in telling stories set where music happens naturally - front rooms, open mic nights, recording studios - all featuring multi-skilled actor-musicians live on stage. The company were invited to Tornoto, Canada to develop their show Hoarding, as well as at National Theatre Studios, Liverpool Everyman, The Lowry and Curve, Leicester and have just produced a sold-out show in Liverpool, You're A Vision. Ben Welch has been in Channel 4's Big Boys. Previous shows at Edinburgh Festival Fringe include Mrs Green: The Musical (2013), Invention of Acting (2016) and Ben Welch starred in Jack Rooke's Happy Hour (2017).
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