Fresh from a sell-out debut at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe, Britney is a two-woman sketch show from prize-winning playwright Charly Clive and ex-Cambridge Footlight Ellen Robertson coming to VAULT Festival 2017 for its final run.
Britney is the very true story of two best friends coming to terms with one being diagnosed with a brain tumour. It's told in the way they rationalised it to each other, with a host of characters including: a stuffed dog, some Hollywood Producers, the population of a small Welsh town, the two best friends in question, and the all-important star of the show: Britney the brain tumour, not wildly dissimilar to Britney Spears in the breakdown years. It's about how often the funniest stuff happens at the worst of times.
Charly has recently moved to the UK from New York, where her previous writing credits included On Prosperity (AADA), Safety Dance (Origin Theatre Comedy, winner of the Breaking Ground award for new writing) and as associate playwright, Shows for Days (Douglas Carter-Beane, Lincoln Centre NY).
Ellen's new play, Nesting, will debut at the Watermill Theatre this summer (directed by Emily Burns). She is developing The Point of Use with support from SLAMKingsCross and last year wrote the book for a new musical, The Last Post, which has been in development with LTD productions.
Britney is directed by Emily Burns, who also directed Liam Williams's Travesty last summer. It is produced by Alex Cartlidge, who recently set up Country Mile Productions, and runs the monthly comedy night Country Mile Comedy Club. This summer the team were thrilled to raise £2500 for The Pituitary Foundation and will be offering a 2-4-1 NHS employee discount throughout the run at VAULT festival.
Their next show, In Search of John Hancock, will be a sideways glance at mythmaking, white men and transatlantic politics, through the lens of Ellen and Charly's footage from their 2011 journey across the states by Greyhound Bus. It will begin previews in June 2017 before a run at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe.
BRITNEY will play VAULT Festival 2017, The Vaults, Leake Street, London, SE1 7NN, Wednesday 25th January - Sunday 29th January 2017, 21:30-22:30, Studio. £9.
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