Two Pairs of Shorts

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

BA Applied Theatre Community & Education presents

Two Pairs of Shorts

“Stories are the secret reservoir of values: change the stories individuals or nations live by and tell
themselves and you change the individuals and nations.” Ben Okri

The online and broadcast media bombard us with grim stories that keep us in a constant state of fear: the
wars and conflicts overseas and the trauma and PTSD for returning servicemen and women; the UK
county lines gangs recruiting vulnerable kids to sell drugs outside the cities; the podcasts of toxic
masculinity impacting mental health and suicide rates in young men; the defunding and running down
of the NHS and Social Services, and consequentially huge waiting lists, and the diminishing numbers of
overworked nurses and doctors…Are these the ‘narratives of now’ that we live by?

Four new stories about the state of the nation, four new pieces of theatre from our emerging theatre-
makers examining what it takes to find hope in times of great uncertainty. What it is to keep faith in
Humanity. What it is to be Human.

The shorts:
- The Matryoshka Dolls by Fameed Alwarey, Kit Aizlewood & Will Pullen
- The Train Tickets by Amber Clifton, Natalia Bradley & Andrea Tia
- The Pint Glass by Jessica Perks, Aimie Smith & Maia Hill
- The Starfish by Lee Martin-Evans, Kelsey MacDonald, Caitlin Freestone-Deeming & Alex Ransom