COMEBACK SPECIAL to Bring Elvis to Shoreditch Town Hall This March; Preps for UK Tour

COMEBACK SPECIAL is a take on Elvis Presley's 1968 COMEBACK SPECIAL, an American TV special that was originally called 'Elvis', but became known as his big comeback. Texan theatre-maker, Greg Wohead presents a piece about traces of the past and contemporary issues surrounding identity.

The production will play Shoreditch Town Hall (380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT) from Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th March 2016. Press Night is Thursday 24th March, 7.30pm, followed by a UK tour with dates to be announced soon.

When Wohead came across the original 1968 Comeback Special, he was immediately struck by its potency and ridiculousness - the in-the-round setup that reflected both power and vulnerability, the idea of the comeback and the attempt to come back as the best version of oneself. Wohead's Comeback Special engages with a cultural conversation around gender and sexual identity and the influence of dominant cultural images, but at its heart it is deeply personal and intimate.

Wohead acts simultaneously as an Elvis stand-in, a floor manager and a medium, guiding the audience through the TV special as he remembers it from many repeated viewings. This is an exploration of slippage, desire and desirability.

As the re-enactment veers off course, the audience are invited to consider what it is to drag a past event into the present and what it is to make a comeback. How do we piece together our identity from the images in popular culture? How does that enable and limit us? How does this present event acknowledge the past and look towards the future?

Wohead comments, "This show isn't exactly about Elvis, so there's no need for the audience to arrive with any knowledge of him or the original 1968 Comeback Special, but if you are an Elvis fan it might give you a different and interesting perspective. My last show, The Ted Bundy Project, was a heavy show about serious issues and I wanted to try something lighter. But, the more I worked on Comeback Special, the more it grew into something deeply personal. While trying to accomplish what seemed like a straightforward task of a re-enactment, I found I couldn't detach my similarities and differences to the image of Elvis and my own experience of a self-identity in flux."

COMEBACK SPECIAL was made as part of an international programme of residencies that took place in London, Bradford, Bristol, rural Ireland and Athens. It is co-commissioned by Shoreditch Town Hall, Theatre in the Mill and South Street Arts Centre. It is a Jerwood Charitable Foundation/Bristol Old Vic Ferment Commission. It was developed at MAKE, Bios, Greenwich and Lewisham Young People's Theatre and the New Wolsey Theatre. Initially supported through a 2014 Dance and the Homemade Commission by Chisenhale Dance Space. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

IF YOU GO:

COMEBACK SPECIAL by Greg Wohead

Tuesday 22nd - Saturday 26th March, 7.30pm
Running time: 75 minutes

At Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT

Tickets are available from www.shoreditchtownhall.com or 020 7739 6176 - priced £15

Ages 14+

Shoreditch Town Hall is located on Old Street. The nearest stations are Old Street (on the Northern line) and Shoreditch High Street (on the London Overground). The nearest rail station is Kings Cross.

Greg Wohead is a London-based writer, performer and live artist originally from Texas. He makes theatre performances, one-to-one pieces and audio work. He has shown and developed new work in the UK and internationally at places like Battersea Arts Centre, Bristol Old Vic Ferment, MC Theater (Amsterdam), Orchard Project (New York), MAKE (Ireland), Bios (Athens), LAX Festival (Los Angeles), Ovalhouse, Mayfest, Shoreditch Town Hall, Forest Fringe and The Yard, where he is an Artistic Associate. His most recent critically acclaimed solo performance, The Ted Bundy Project, has toured nationally and internationally. In 2014 he was shortlisted for a Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Fringe for Hurtling, an outdoor performance for one. For more, visit www.gregwohead.com.

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