Rosehill Theatre and La’al Marra Productions presents the premier of Soaked on Saturday 30 September at 7.30pm followed by a post show discussion. Soaked is the new play by acclaimed local writer and actress Emma Rydal and the first play co-produced by Rosehill Theatre after the £2.7m redevelopment of the venue. Soaked will then tour Cumbria and Manchester in the Autumn.
It’s Wine O Clock! When do you stop? Imogen and Rich don’t care if the glass is half full or half empty, as long there is wine in it that’s what’s important. That’s how they unwind, how they party, how they deal with the stresses of life; young children, high powered jobs. But after twenty years of drinking to excess, Imogen is having second thoughts. She’s tired of waking up with an unexplained bruise, tired of beating herself up when she’s drunk too much, tired of being tired, but is it enough? When life has become so intertwined with the powerful nectar is it easy to break away, or do relationships start to unravel? Perhaps a wake-up call is all she needs?
Filled with humour and drama Soaked seeks to unnerve.
Emma Rydal who lives locally is a writer and actress who has had a successful career in theatre, television and radio. She burst onto the British film scene in 1999 with the BAFTA winning Brit flick East is East and has had a sustained a successful career ever since. Most recently Emma has been seen as regular ‘Celia’ in Sky One’s Stella.
Emma Rydal’s skill of finding comedy in the banal and everyday has been described as rather like a young Victoria Wood. Her first play True chronicled the relationship of a volatile mother/daughter relationship through the decades. It was nominated for a Manchester Theatre Award and won The Audience Award for Best Production and an Equity Award at Manchester’s 24.7 Theatre Festival in 2011.
Soaked – the showcase already had favourable reviews and has received funding from the Arts Council England and Cumbria County Council. The play is directed by Peter McQueen, stalwart of the Theatre by the Lake. He has also toured with his one-man shows ‘Old Herbaceous’ and ‘The Professor of Adventure’. The cast for Soaked comprises Emma Rydal, Toby Gaffney and Madeleine Joseph. Original score by local composer Nick Smith from Issi Noho and set and costume design by Emma Bayliss from Whitehaven.
Tickets are priced at £15 ● £8 U26 and are available at rosehilltheatre.co.uk or on 01946 692422
It was a really great show, can’t wait to find out what happens next. I found it increasingly uncomfortable to watch as it felt disturbingly familiar.
Elaine Wise – showcase audience
Soaked full tour:
Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven ● Saturday 30 September ● 7.30pm
(with post performance discussion ● rosehilltheatre.co.uk ● 01946 692422
Kings Arms Theatre, Manchester ● Friday 6-7 October ● 7.30pm kingsarmssalford.com
Gregson Centre, Lancaster ● Wednesday 11 October ● 7.30pm 01524 849959
Coronation Hall, Ulverston ● Friday 13 October ● 7.30pm corohall.co.uk ● 01229 587140
Village Hall, Torpenhow ● Saturday 14 October ● 7.30pm 016973 71514
The Beggars Theatre, Millom ● Thursday 19 October ● 7.30pm beggarstheatre.co.uk
John Peel Theatre, Wigton ● Friday 20 October ● 7.30pm wigtontheatre.org
Threlkeld Village Hall ● Friday 27 October ● 7.30pm threlkeldvillagehall.org
Soaked has received recognition from alcohol support group Soberistas on the issues that are raised in the production.