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The Times on POW (and all the others) posted by Tom Crawshaw on Monday, 11 January 2010

Anyone opening The Times today may have noticed a review of our very own Play On Words.

They called it "both smart and funny" as well as "an ingenious little box of tricks" - which was nice.

It's wonderful to see good reviews for the show coming out so soon in our first London season. We're expecting several more reviews over the next few days and we'll update this post as they come in with quotes and links to the full articles.

And if you want to see what they're all talking about, Play On Words plays at the Tristan Bates Theatre, Covent Garden until the 23rd January.


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"I'm still won over by the simple chutzpah of throwing so many concepts into the blender. It could easily get out of hand, but it doesn't; it's a tight and finely-engineered work, where details of dialogue which at first seem off-the-wall later prove perfectly-formed and crucial."

"One of the most stunning things about the piece is how it moves from clever jocularity to genuine emotion. You won't feel existential despair, you'll feel cheered. Play on Words is not conventional, but nor is it hard work: it's witty, thoughtful stuff that's consistently entertaining and full of delicious surprises."

"Keeps you on your toes for most of its 70 minutes... light-footed and adept at scrambling the act of theatre. Worth a look"

"To their great credit, Michael Grady-Hall and Yaz Al-Shaater build an intense, ultimately fractured relationship that maintains the interest throughout.There’s certainly no doubting their enthusiasm for the project, Al-Shaater is a versatile, confident talent and Grady-Hall is in serious danger of busting a blood vessel in a terrifying, but impressive tirade near the show’s close."

"Tom Crawshaw’s text offers a metatheatrical game of dramatic forensics.
Both smart and funny... an ingenious little box of tricks"

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Merry Christmas from Three's Company posted by Tom Crawshaw on Sunday, 20 December 2009

With snow falling in London - and rather more in Buxton - it's time for 3C to head off for a mini Christmas break. Even more snow for Michael however who is off to some unnamed French mountain to ski (or rather drink hot chocolate, learn his lines and avoid any pre-show injuries).

Of course it's only a mini break as our first London season starts on Monday 4th January at the Tristan Bates Theatre.
We're performing Play On Words - with a fantastic new design by Amy Penrose - every evening.

Our interactive comedy show Adventure Time will be mixing things up on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights (if the audience can save the day)

Each Saturday sees a day-long Interactivity Symposium - complete with experimental performances in the Interplay Sessions afterwards.

And Back & Forth sees two new plays by Tom Crawshaw - Still Life and Reverie - given staged readings, as well as the London premiere of Later Showers (in scratch form).

Find out more at www.play-on-words.net

and www.reactivity.org.uk (for everything else)

Keep up to date by following Three's Company or The Reactivity Season on Twitter.

And, as a special Christmas present to all our Blog followers, we'd like to offer a half-price deal to see Play On Words, which can be used any time in the first week (4th - 11th Jan). Just quote "3C Blog Deal" when booking in person or by phone (from the 4th Jan).

So from all of us at Three's Company, have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, a pudding-and-stocking-filled and carbon-free holiday and we hope to see you all in January 2010!

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Audience To The Rescue In Sci-fi Adventure posted by Tom Crawshaw on Monday, 23 March 2009

Adventure Time Episode #2

Adventure Time: Episode #2 at the Tristan Bates

Thanks to everyone who came down to see A Live Transmission of 'Adventure Time' Episode #II: Attack of the Grabons and filled the house at the Midnight Matinees on Saturday. The show was a huge success and that's mostly thanks to the audience! For those of you that didn't, we got a video and two recordings, so you'll be able take a look and listen, and quietly sob over what you missed. A helpful chap on the front row took some photos with Yaz's camera, so you can also see photos of the show in our gallery, or check out our Adventure Time collection on flickr. Finally, we'll be blogging soon about the theory behind A Live Transmission of Adventure Time, and the experiments it's designed to show. Look out for that soon!

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Anonymous Kathleen said...

Hello there,

I can say it was a success and the audience was quite remarkable.
Yes, I was there and able to experience it first hand, when I was, in a way, "volunteered" as one of the Ex-wings. I couldn't refuse and didn't want to either since I went to see the show to grasp what you guys call immediacy or intereactive theatre.
Let me tell you I had a great time, and though I stick by my idea that theatre still has a unique identity (my answer to the post "the future of theatre") in regards to cinema and TV, there is definitely space for "mainstream" regular theatre and some new adventures. We actually need it in art.

I can now say I am hooked. You made it so easy and comfortable to be on stage, that I am sure people will want to go for it, even the most shy.

I have a question though: do you think it is a concept applicable to drama or can it only work with comedy?

Well, when is the next episode?

P.S: by the way, Yaz is quite a champion at having plenty of ex-girlfriends!

Kathleen (Ex-wing 5)

24 March 2009 09:17  
Blogger Tom Crawshaw said...

Kathleen,

So glad you enjoyed the show. Getting people, who would otherwise be nervous of the idea of interaction, to experience how fun theatre can be when you're a part of it is one of our main aims. It's certainly one we plan to take further with our Edinburgh show this year - provisionally titled 'Play The Play'.

We certainly felt this episode was a good indicator of how much people appreciate an opportunity to experience theatre in a different way. And how keen they are to be a part of it. Even if they are sceptical to begin with.

Thanks very much for helping us experiment. We don't have any other episodes planned at this precise moment (what with Edinburgh plans) but there are an intended seven in the 'Adventure Time' series!

This is an idea we are applying to comedy at the moment - as it seems to lend itself very obviously and comedy is an area our company has a lot of experience in. However, we do feel there is much potential for inter-reactive theatre that is mainly serious in tone. Possibly something for a few years down the line...

P.S. That's true - do you know Yaz then?

1 April 2009 12:52  

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It's Adventure Time - again! posted by Yaz Al-Shaater on Monday, 16 March 2009


Adventure Time Episode #1

Adventure Time: Episode #1 at the Tristan Bates

Hey Three's Company fans!

If you hadn't already heard, we'll be onstage again at the Midnight Matinees this Saturday (21st March), at - you guessed it - midnight.

After the phenomenal success of A Live Transmission of Adventure Time - Episode #1: The Lady of FunnyHaHa, we've been invited back to the Tristan Bates theatre for Episode #2.

The show is another comedy, taken over by our fictional alter-ego theatre company Comedy Trio, and once again the audience will play an integral part in making it work.

If you want to be in that audience then call 020-7240-6283 or email boxoffice@tristanbatestheatre.co.uk and ask for a ticket to the Midnight Matinee - just £5. Book soon, they're prone to selling out!

The Midnight Matinees are an acclaimed monthly showcase for new work, featuring scratch performances a time. So for your fiver, you'll also get to see a reading of a new play by Royal Court writer Dean Stalham and a performance by Total Theatre nominees Bottlefed Ensemble. Talk about value for money.

Finally, a sneak preview of our Intro:

Find out more here.

See you there!

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England Person Inspire Controversy (we join the debate!) posted by Michael Grady-Hall on Monday, 9 March 2009

As I sat with Yaz outside the National waiting to go in for the 4th preview of Burnt by the Sun, I heard one of Hussain Ismail's companions telling the crowd "I represent the East End and I'm against Richard Bean's England People Very Nice! Obviously I haven't seen the production yet..." I knew the guys performing in the show would have some interesting stories after that evenings performance.

What a great thing it is to have a show like this at the UK's National Theatre. Inspiring debate, and showing up an audience's prejudice. As one of the actors said after that night's performance
It's always interesting to see where and when the audience laughs, 'cause it really does show which bits of all the shit we throw stick to them.
That is, it shows where their prejudices are.

I recently read Yasmin Alibhai-Brown's interesting article on the Independent's website. She asks why the National should produce this kind of work, admittedly not admonishing the fact the piece has been created as many others have. Surely, the answer is that the play is intended to reveal to the National's audiences their personal prejudice (in most cases after they have left the theatre and are on their way home) much in the same way Peter Nichols' Poppy attacked its - mostly middle class - audience's personal (and collective) latent racism.

Hussain Ismail's gripe (when I saw him) specifically with the National was that it was not having a real debate. Mr. Ismail later stormed Richard Bean's Platform on the 27th (calling him a racist) and called for a chair to be set for him and others and to turn the Platform into a 'proper debate'. He continued to argue his case for half of the Platform's allocated time and didn't let others speak, perhaps a little hypocritical of him? I agree debate should be encouraged, but shouldn't it include the whole audience, not just one outspoken objector?

Tom told me about Rabina Khan's letter to the Guardian saying she had read the script and after joining Mr. Ismail's protest, went to see England People Very Nice and found it considerably more offensive than she first expected. She says:
at one point a character in the play used the term "nigger" and everybody burst out laughing. My daughter asked why people were laughing at the word "nigger". She understood it to be offensive.
Tom pointed out that this was a strange reason to take umbrage with the production: it was the audience who were acting in a manner she found unacceptable, and which the creators of the work could hardly control. No matter how carefully a writer or director might choose the tone of such a controversial work, an audience with different views/experiences will always have the possibility to alter this - especially in a comedy where they necessarily make such a vocal contribution.

I thought this linked well to the ideas behind our work as a company. The effect our plays have on an audience and their reactions to what they experience have always been our primary focus. This is why comedy (where laughter is both the main aim and something react to) and interactivity (that obviously hangs on the interplay with the audience) have become major areas of our work. 

So, a lot of interesting debate has been inspired. This is so essential for the development and continued importance of theatre. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Oh and come see me in Burnt by the Sun!

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Anonymous Kathleen said...

“England People Very Nice” is stirring at the moment, and it saddens me to see how people get easily offended.
I have read the play and of course, the use of the word “nigger” brings a feeling of uneasiness. And how better to deal with this feeling than laugh? I don’t necessarily say it is the right behaviour, however, it has often been seen that people react this way to counter tension. This word carries so much weight for western cultures, given we were the instigators of slavery, that it makes us feel uncomfortable. Reading it was already quite an experience, making me feel bad for the people who are reminded of a dark past, so I can imagine how it comes across live. But once again, laughter is a way to release nervousness, even more so in theatre where the experience is soon the spot and direct.
Furthermore, the play ridicules everybody at a point, and the English are not spared. They are held responsible for a lot of the latent racism that exists today. And they should not be excused easily, for they were conquerors and as all conquerors, they have forced their supremacy upon others. I know how it is, being myself from a French colony in the South Pacific. And believe me, French from the main land do not welcome French from outside that warmly. However, I don’t actually care that much about it. I care more about how all the people I meet welcome me as an individual than as a nationality and bearer of a specific culture.
So why get so offended by an ironic, sarcastic depiction of the English society? Doesn’t it mean that some people are still not quite comfortable with their past? That they haven’t gotten over it? And what does it say about our future as the most evolved animals of the food chain? If art will have to take into account everyone’s unresolved problems with their past, first, it won’t be possible for authors to create since they will almost always offend someone; second, it will lose its position as catalyst for debate, reflection and change by not being thought-provoking anymore. We don’t go see plays or movies to have them comfort us in our opinions, on the contrary, we expect them to show us a little bit more of who we are.
And that is what this play does. It points out our prejudices, the stereotypes we put on each other, to make us realise that not all is perfect in our world and there is still a lot of work to be done to help the future generations live more in harmony. Not something that we are doing now, definitely. So to me, talking about identities and nationalities goes against building peace, because everybody wants to hold on to their cultures without allowing any space for others. Why are we still fighting in the name of religion, or a feud that started centuries ago and for which we don’t even know the reasons anymore? Why are we still so frightened by each other, by our differences when it could actually help us improve everyone’s position in life? Why are we not still able to listen to each other in a debate, yet we have learnt from the past that talks bring understanding and compromise in a way that fighting never will? Why always more violence, imposing our ideas, restricting others’ freedom?
I am French but mixed, with some French of course, Vietnamese, Arab and Melanesian (the original population of my island). So where do I stand in the fight for identity and culture? Of course, I have been raised as French so that would be it, but shouldn’t I get offended all the time? I just don’t because, to me, belonging to one culture is not interesting. I enjoy getting the best from what each lifestyle has to offer. I am interested in people as individuals with diverse experiences. It is about observing, processing and making concepts, philosophies, your own with respect to others.
The play also demonstrates our lack of compassion for each other, when the first migrants reject the newcomers, forgetting that not too long ago, they were in the same position, going through the same hardship. Again, it is racism, not from the main population, but from minorities to minorities. So why get angry at the truth and create a scapegoat? What do we have to hide as minorities seeking a better future in a new country? Therefore, is it lack of compassion, or is it actually our primitive, territorial side (feature we find in different groups of animals) that prevents us from welcoming and sharing? I am not saying I am an expert at it, far from it. I am just trying to understand and become better at it.

Concerning immediacy in theatre, where do you guys think it could en up in a performance, since during a platform turned into a debate, there was no space for anyone else to express their opinions given one person monopolized the conversation? Do you think it would turn out as a fight of words and swearing amongst the audience, keeping the play from moving forward, or that it could be contained enough as to go on and deliver the author’s thoughts? It would be truly interesting to have the experience.

One more question: don’t you think that if you feel offended by an act or a word, it means you are not completely comfortable with your past, history and who you have become? You can certainly disagree, but being offended is a strong feeling that makes you feel disgusted about others almost to the point of rejection. However, are you rejecting them or some personal issues you haven’t resolved yet, or you can’t bother to deal with just yet, and that are coming back to haunt you through their own perception of who you are?
I sympathize with the people who have been abused by the western governments for their own profits, but you have to overcome this feeling of being a victim to show them you are not what they hold you to be. You are only a victim if you let people consider you as such. And it is a weak position.

Kathleen

18 March 2009 09:00  

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Farewell to 2007 Summer Tour posted by Tom Crawshaw on Friday, 19 October 2007

The leaves are falling outside and the wind has a sudden chill to it. It can only mean that Summer is officially at and end - and with it, the end of Three's Company's Summer Tour of 'Play On Words'. After visiting the Canal Cafe at Maida Vale, Underground Venues at the Buxton Fringe, C Venues at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Etcetera in Camden, the production's last 3 (out of 43) performanes will be staged this weekend! - Fri, Sat & Sun, 9:30pm, The Etcetera Theatre, Camden.

And with the tour over we are announcing a new Facebook group which represents the whole of Three's Company. Join here to show your support and for up-to-date info on all our up-coming production. We already have plans for a new Spring show in Oxford and an exciting newly developed ensemble work for the next Summer Tour!

So join the Facebook group and watch this blog for how you can see our shows - and be involved in them as well...

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'Play On Words' transfers to London posted by Tom Crawshaw on Tuesday, 4 September 2007

Yes that's right! - after it's sell-out success in Edinburgh, the fast-punning tragi-comedy will be making a transfer to the Etcetera theatre in London next month.

This is your last chance to see this production as it comes to the end of its 43 performances across the UK. Performance dates are confirmed as:
  • Tuesday 9th October, 9:30pm
  • Wedneasday 10th October, 9:30pm
  • Thursday 11th October, 9:30pm
  • Thursday 18th October, 9:30pm
  • Friday 19th October, 9:30pm
  • Saturday 20th October, 9:30pm
  • Sunday 21st October, 8:30pm
The Etcetera Theatre is a fantastic studio found above The Oxford Arms on Camden High Street. It's a minute down the road from Camden Town tube and just opposite Camden market.

Whether you missed it in Edinburgh or fancy seeing it again why not pop along one night and join us all for an exciting night's entertainment and a drink in the pub after. Do drop us a line or join our facebook event if you're coming so we can look out for you. And if you still need convincing - check out our reviews and awards or audience feedback.

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End of the Summer Tour posted by Yaz Al-Shaater on Tuesday, 28 August 2007

Well, it's over. Our last night was... well, last night, and that concluded our 46-date-tour.

Thanks to all of you that came to see us! We've yet to receive exact audience figures, but we know we had roughly one-and-a-half thousand audience through our doors between Crash Course and Play On Words, in London, Buxton and Edinburgh. The tour was a great success - we got some great reviews and feedback, and just about covered our costs - and has opened up some exciting possibilities for the future... but you'll have to come back later to find out what they are!

To keep up to date with what we're up to next, you can keep checking back to this blog (or subscribe by atom or rss) or join our mailing list.

Finally - congratulation to Tom - 21 today!

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy birthday, Tom! Are you guys still in Edinburgh or have you been taken? Have you tried the free fudge yet? You must. I did your crossword. Hahahahaha. (It made me laugh - I'm one up on you now. (umm.))Although you put 11 instead of '18' for the 'play on words' clue.

Anjali.

28 August 2007 17:53  
Blogger Yaz Al-Shaater said...

Thanks Anjali for pointing out the mistake!
(I fixed it now)
We leave Edinburgh first thing in the morning sadly... and (even more sadly)we have a day of clearing, tidying and organising ahead.
Cheers for coming to the show - stay in touch and maybe we'll see you next year!

28 August 2007 18:00  
Anonymous Ian Keir Attard said...

Three's Company it has been a pleasure! Tom, Yaz, Ben, Bec, Vic, Rose, I love you! Your beautiful, beautiful. Right where's my coffee? (Little in joke there eh? Better than Jenga..) Much Love, Ian x

31 August 2007 18:18  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say I saw 'Play on Words' in Edinburgh - thought it was a really accomplished play/production - so please do keep up the good work! I for one will be looking out for your stuff in the future ; )

4 September 2007 16:19  
Blogger Tom Crawshaw said...

Thanks Anonymous!
You may want to join our mailing list (by emailing info@threescompany.co.uk) or our facebook group (http://threescompany.co.uk/facebook) which will both keep you updated as to our upcoming productions.
Or just watch the Blog...

19 October 2007 14:27  

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