Take to the busy London streets with cycle courier Watford in the new trailer for Empty in Angel, the hit gig economy-skewering play that tours to a quartet of London venues this autumn. Book your tickets now!
James Woolf‘s tale of a bicycle courier opens its London tour at the Etcetera from 10 to 12 September 2021, returning for a second stint between 29 and 30 October. Its second stop is at Islington’s Hen & Chickens Theatre, where it runs from 15-16 September. The tour stops for a single performance at the Bloomsbury Theatre on 10 October before finishing at the Old Red Lion between 17 and 20 November.
Empty in Angel tells the story of a bicycle courier and her community’s astounding fight for workers’ rights in the gig economy – their simple demands for fairness, dignity and security which will end in a historic legal battle.
As you will see in the trailer, this is the story of: “The wheel turning Calibans in this city full of noises, sounds and not so sweet airs… pedaling furiously for rewards dangled by our own Prosperos.” Based on actual events, Empty in Angel lifts the lid on the gig economy and tells it like it is. It is a powerful piece of political theatre about something happening right now, the burgeoning movement to fight back against the gig economy ethos.
Empty in Angel
The drama was written with the full knowledge, approval and cooperation of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), the trade union that supported the courier through the court case which forms the foundation for this play. Throughout the writing of the piece, the main players in the story were available to Woolf to ensure the accuracy of the script.
Empty in Angel was first staged at the White Bear Theatre in 2019. Following that run, it was a finalist in two categories at the Standing Ovation Awards. Darcy Willison, who starred in that original production, returns to the production for its 2020 run. While Ursula Campbell directed the original production of Empty in Angel, this new tour is directed by Katherine Reilly.
Writer Woolf is a playwright and short story writer whose work has appeared in Ambit, Spread The Word, Village Square Journal and Riggwelter, and have been shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize and Exeter Short Story Prize.
Watch the trailer for Empty in Angel
