Inspector Sands Bring Their Edinburgh Show THE LOUNGE to Soho Theatre

Fresh from its Summerhall run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016, the multi-award winning Inspector Sands bring their characteristically absurdist exploration of our twilight years to Contact, Manchester and Soho Theatre. Inspector Sands explore how difficult it is for all of us - young and old - to engage with the fact that we are individually, and collectively, ageing. Developed with the support of a Wellcome Trust Arts Award, and with biomedical experts specialising in the psychology and philosophy of attitudes towards ageing and mortality, the company explore what it means to be older in today's society.

In a care home lounge somewhere off the A1, 97 year old Marsha Hewitt begins the last day of her life. But she cannot go quietly. As the radiators burn and Jeremy Kyle blares, rivalries, relatives and murderous impulses jostle for space on the Axminster carpet. By teatime, a riot is brewing.

Through witty observations and their trade-mark physical dexterity, the performers attempt to imagine their bodies in the last years of their lives aiming to encourage an open dialogue about our relationship with ageing both through the performance and ongoing engagement with a 'Mass Observation' style platform developed by the company. Powered by Instagram, the platform will offer an online space for the company to share audience's video and written responses to the show and its themes. Mass_observation

Director Lu Kemp said, "The play looks at how nationally we deal with an exploding older population. Through The Lounge, Inspector Sands imagine what their own bodies might be in 60 or 70 years' time, when they are in their late 90s or older. We are trying to find the humour and hope within disintegration: to take the audience expectation of a nursing home and invert it, to ask whether it just a place of decline or whether it can be a place of revolution."

As part of their ongoing investigation into attitudes towards ageing, China Plate and Inspector Sands teamed up with the Southbank Centre to programme a panel discussion entitled Old Age is for the Brave at the 2017 WOW Festival. The discussion was chaired by journalist and author Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, and the speakers were: Shirley Meredeen, founder member of the Older Women's Co-Housing Project in High Barnet; writer and actor Di Sherlock; Lu Kemp, director of The Lounge; Dr Jane Fleming, Senior Research Associate, University of Cambridge; and Lindsay River, previously the Director of Polari, a voice for older LGBT people. On the back of this hugely successful event, the company is planning to programme a series of inspiring and provocative discussions and workshops throughout the run at Soho Theatre. More details to follow.

The Lounge creative team includes award-winning designer Jamie Vartan (Misterman, National Theatre) and associate sound designer Elena Peña (The Christians, The Gate), and has been developed alongside a number of biomedical experts from Newcastle University, Cambridge University and Barts Health NHS Trust.

Inspector Sands is a multi-award winning, UK based theatre company who make devised work with a focus on an integrated creative process, working with designers from the earliest stages. Founded in 2005 the joint artistic directors are Giulia Innocenti, Lucinka Eisler and Ben Lewis. The company's previous two Edinburgh shows, Hysteria (Total Theatre Award) and If That's All There Is (Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Award) have toured nationally and internationally to critical acclaim. The company has previously been commissioned by The Almedia (Mass Observation), The Southbank Centre (Portrait of the Ordinary Festival Goer) Without Walls (A High Street Odyssey), Sprout! (Rock Pool) and Discover Childrens' Centre (The Librarian, Top Secret). Thematically they are interested in the way that global events and trends manifest in the detail of everyday life.

Director Lu Kemp is a theatre director and dramaturg working in new writing, physical theatre and dance. She is Associate Artist with Inspector Sands for whom she directed Mass Observation (Almeida Summer Festival 2013), and If That's All There Is. Her recent work includes Have Your Circumstances Changed (Artangel), Bondagers (Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh), Don Quixote (Oran Mor) and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (National Theatre of Scotland).

Producer China Plate is an independent theatre studio that works with artists, venues, festivals and funders to make original, exciting theatre that plays with form and has narrative at its heart. The company is currently collaborating with Chris Thorpe, Rachel Bagshaw, Sarah Punshon, Contender Charlie, Dan Jones, Inspector Sands and Caroline Horton. Their Darkroom initiative is their artist development programme; currently it is pairing theatre makers with musical theatre makers to support a new generation of small to mid-scale musicals. They are Associate Producers at The New Wolsey Theatre and Warwick Arts Centre, Directors of Pulse Festivals and programme the NRTF's new Direction Showcase.

Commissioned by Harlow Playhouse, supported by South Street Arts Centre, artsdepot.

Funded by a Wellcome Trust Arts Award, The Sackler Trust and using public funds from the National Lottery through Arts Council England

Twitter: @inspector_sands | @youroldchina | #TheLoungePlay

Instagram: @mass_observation | @china_plate_theatre

www.inspectorsands.com | www.chinaplatetheatre.com

Running Time: 1hr 20 mins | Suitable for ages 12+

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