The Second Face to Face Festival Runs Now thru July 7 at LOST Theatre

The Second Face to Face Festival, celebrating the very best in solo theatre with writers performing their own work, is to be held at The LOST Theatre from today, July 1 - Sunday July 7.

Among the many highlights, Claire Dowie will be performing her extraordinary award-winning solo play Why Is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt?, an Edinburgh Fringe classic that premiered 23 years ago at the Traverse Theatre. Claire appeared in last year's Face to Face Festival and then went on to win the Grand Prix Prize at the MonoAkt Festival in Kosovo and another award at the Thespis International Monodrama Festival in Germany.

Other outstanding performers invited back from the 2012 festival include storytelling theatre genius Jack Klaff, superb physical theatre/cabaret performer Peta Lily, inspirational PR guru Mark Borkowski, outstanding verbatim theatre artist Louise Wallinger and visionary theatre poet Kay Adshead.

The week's programme features:

Monday July 1: Stephen Oxley as Tristram Shandy

Tuesday July 2: PR guru Mark Borkowski & Nineties Woman Rosie Wilby

Wednesday July 3: Verbatim Theatre artist Louise Wallinger

Thursday July 4: Jewish comedian Ivor Dembina

Friday July 5: Seminal soloist Claire Dowie & Theatre Poet Kay Adshead

Saturday July 6: Physical performer Peta Lily & Verbal virtuoso Jack Klaff

Every night there will be a full supporting programme of short pieces by outstanding new performers, including talented new performers discovered during the 2012 festival.

Sunday July 7: The festival finale is a day devoted to new solo performances for audiences of just 1 - unique one-to-one encounters with many of the featured headline performers and special guests. You will get four experiences out of a possible eight in an unforgettable hour. These include The Dylan Tarot by Claire Dowie and The Dream Teller by Louise Wallinger.

Over the past 30 years, Face to Face Theatre Festival Director Colin Watkeys has specialised in producing and directing solo theatre and writers who perform their own work. He is now part of a world movement that recognises that solo performance possesses a unique quality of vision in theatre. The Face to Face Festival celebrates the very best in solo theatre and nurtures future solo performers, new and emerging artists perform alongside experienced professionals. Exciting new work plays opposite classic solo pieces. There are also training opportunities for new performers to take part in workshops and both create and present their first solos.

Colin Watkeys first created Solo Theatre on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Nica Burns in Dulcima in 1982 (originally there was another non-speaking role later cut) Since then he has worked with Young Writers at The Royal Court Theatre and solo performers at the Finborough Cabaret from 1982 - 1988. He directed all of the solo theatre created by award winning performers Claire Dowie and the legendary Ken Campbell as well as work by Stephen Oxley (Tristram Shandy); Guy Dartnell; Jeremy Stockwell; Peta Lily and Jack Klaff (the award-winning Jack the Knife).

This is the second year that the Face to Face Festival has been supported financially by Arts Council England

Produced by The LOST Theatre & Colin Watkys, The Second Face to Face Festival will run at the LOST Theatre, 208 Wandsworth Road, London SW8 2JU. Box Office: 0844 847 1680 or online: www.losttheatre.co.uk. For more information, visit www.solotheatrefestival.co.uk. Dates: Monday 1 July - Saturday 6 July; nightly at 7.30pm; Sunday 7 July - Festival Finale, 2pm - 8pm. Tickets: £10.00, £8.00 concs. Nearest tube: Stockwell & Vauxhall. Train: Vauxhall Station (a 10 minute walk). Bus: 77, 87, 196, P5, N87.

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