Black Comedy HAPPENINGS To Play Brighton Fringe And Hope Theatre Islington

Newly Established Theatre Company, Not Your Muse, today announce that the dark comedy 'Happenings' by John Berry will play at The Walrus as part of Brighton Fringe 10-19 May, The Hope Theatre, Islington 22 & 23 May The Space - in person and livestream events on 12 June & 14 June.

Happenings explores the unfulfilled aspirations and monotonous existences of three 30-somethings, who have the whole world at their feet, but cannot find the way to move forward.

In these tough times it seems everything is a struggle. Jane wishes that something, anything, would happen to fill the void in her life. Clearly everyone else is happy. One look at social media will tell you that. Joe doesn't understand how he can view the world so differently. He says he's just happy to get along and be left alone. Maybe, neurodiverse character, Fran, really does have all the answers. Or are the same fears that keep her friends together slowly tearing her apart?

If your life is made up of things that happen to you, then what is your value if nothing ever happens? How much would you dare risk to push your life agenda, and how easily can it all fall apart?

Having originally previewed in 2020 this brand-new revision of Happenings will be directed by the Company with cast including Zo Biba-Leonard, Elly Tipping, Matt Turpin and Neil Russell

Living in the shadow of Beachy Head Writer John Berry suffered terrible tragedy when three close friends took their own lives. Inspired by the sitcoms of Gervais/Merchant and the cynical worldview of Charlie Brooker, Berry said:

"As a writer I felt compelled to tackle the very personal issue of suicide. My community had always used humor to cope with the recurrent tragedies we sadly see quite regularly. It was important to me that anything I wrote didn't preach and drew on these personal experiences, also reflecting the world we live in today and the experiences of countless 30 somethings. Happenings was the result"

Happenings is produced by the newly formed Not your Muse Theatre company, a female-led production company comprising of Zo Biba-Leonard (Morgan), Elly Tipping and Rachel Kimber; They champion new writing and are passionate in giving people credit for artistic and production input and supporting women in every stage of their careers in every role.

Zo Biba-Leonard from Not Your Muse Theater Company said:

"Following the initial production of Happenings in 2020 we've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion and support from our audiences. In telling us their stories these individuals have also become part of the constant evolution of the play. We believe in collaborative working and in the ongoing development of the play have worked with our cast and the creative team to explore their personal experiences too which has resulted in some exciting and new perspectives. We couldn't be more delighted to be presenting this reworking of Happenings - An important play for these times and the blackest of comedies - to a wider audience this Spring"

Tickets are on sale now at https://www.brightonfringe.org and www.thehopetheatre.com and www.space.org.uk for more information visit www.notyourmusetheatre.co.uk.

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