Acclaimed theatre companies Snatchback and Joyous Gard join forces this spring to stage Lizzie Milton’s latest play that explores what it means to be a Heroine. Book your tickets now!
The world premiere production comes to VAULT Festival from 4 to 8 March 2020.
Heroine is a storytelling play that takes a journey though global folklore seeking an answer to some important questions, like:
Where can you find love when you’re a skeleton who lives under the sea?
How can you fight giants and achieve financial security?
What if you literally became the sun?
Oh, and… what even is a Heroine anyway?
Playwright Milton returns to VAULT Festival where Snatchback staged her play 10 last year. Writing about that show, Lyn Gardner said each of the characters’ stories were “shining like the facet of a diamond”. The Upcoming said it was, “A brilliantly acted and creatively written piece that leaves you trembling at the power of good theatre.”
To create Heroine, Milton drew on a wealth of stories from around the world, including the English story of a girl taking on giant, Molly Whuppie, the Scottish myth of Selkies, Inuit story of love, Skeleton Woman, the Aztec story of the Goddess of the Sun and West African upending of Bluebeard, Keep Your Secrets.
A trio of performers star in Heroine – Beth Eyre, Kudzanayi Chiwawa and Henri Merriam.
Eyre, founder of both Snatchback and Joyous Gard, may be best known as Antigone Funn from podcast comedy Wooden Overcoats. Her previous VAULT Festival credits include 10 and The Awkward Ghost, while she’s also been seen in A Naughty Night with Noel Coward (Old Red Lion Theatre) and Monster Hunters (King’s Head Theatre).
Zimbabwe-born Chiwawa boasts credits including Tara’s The Importance of Being Earnest, One Hundred Trillion (Southwark Playhouse), Cornflake Girl (The Bunker) and Big Bad (King’s Head Theatre).
Merriam has played the title role in productions of Titus Andronicus and Macbeth, Viola in Twelfth Night, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and Hedda in Hedda Gabler.
The production is directed by Asia Osborne, who returns to VAULT Festival where she previously directed Call Me Fury in 2019 and Valkyrie in 2017, which won the Origin Award for Outstanding New Work. The creative team is completed by Odinn Orn Hilmarsson (sound and music), Rajiv Pattani (lighting) and Hazel Owen (costume).
About Snatchback
Snatchback is an audio and theatre company founded by Beth Eyre, which is committed to improving the representation of women. Their productions include Lizzie Milton’s 10 (VAULT Festival 2019), David K. Barnes and Michael Milne’s Timothy (VAULT Festival 2018) and co-production with Wireless Theatre Company, Drayton Trench.
About Joyous Gard
Joyous Gard is an award-winning theatre company created in 2017 by Beth Eyre, Joe Eyre and Frankie Parham. They have staged productions including Joe Eyre’s Tiger, Abi Zakarian’s I Have A Mouth and I Will Scream, David K. Barnes and Michael Milne’s Timothy and Joe Eyre’s Crocodile, all at VAULT Festival.