All The Little Lights by Jane Upton
Tristan Bates Theatre, August 2019
Winner of the OFFEST Award at The Off West End Theatre Awards 2020
Inspired by a newspaper report following the Rochdale child sex abuse case, this is a sharp, darkly comic exploration of the blurred line between victim and perpetrator, written from the perspective of a survivor.
Using video projection, sound and text the show tells the story of Joanne and Lisa, who used to be like sisters. Then Lisa left and got a new family. Joanne got a new mate. Here they’re back together for a birthday party by the railway tracks, in search of normality and love. All the Little Lights expresses the difficulty of being young, alone and trying to survive after trauma.
Cast: Emily Fairn, Lucy Mabbitt, Erin Mullen
Co-Producers: Hope Ward-Brown, Lucy Mabbitt
Sound & Composition: Calla Esperanza
Costume: Andras Jacobs
Reviews for All the Little Lights:
“The set design, lighting and sound work together in perfect harmony to bring the story to magnificent life. Hannah Calascione’s direction is a masterclass in restraint, intelligence and empathy.. I can still feel the emotional aftermath”
View from the Outside
“The brilliant writing and Hannah Calascione’s contained intensity in the direction are powerfully compelling” Spy in the Stalls ★★★★★
“a glowing example of how to bring attention to a key issue with both affecting realism and a respectful sensitivity” Always Time for Theatre ★★★★★
“an outstanding performance and demonstrates massive potential for writer, director and actors alike” The Upcoming ★★★★
“left me an emotional wreck, fired up with indignation and injustice”
Theatre T ★★★★★
Footage has been supplied by Construir TV, Argentina; the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University and Tango Buenos Aires Festival and Dance World Cup, organized by the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires.
The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
A performance piece commissioned by HOME for ¡Viva! Festival 2019 in Manchester.
Made in collaboration with Manchester Camerata Orchestra. Using original and archival footage from Manchester and Argentina, the show presents a live visual experience accompanying The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzolla, a celebration of the spirit of tango.
“Talking (and attempting to dance) with dancers of the Argentine tango in Manchester showed me that the dance floor could be a utopian remedy for city life; a space where power structures can be confronted, connections can be truly made with strangers, and you can experience freedom within a structure. It’s a dance with no learned steps, which requires you to be yourself, but also to wait, listen and improvise with your partner. This level of intuitive communication was electric to watch, and I went on a search to find instances of this in other places to create this visual collage and structure it with the music, responding live to the incredible musicians. While there are moments of bright resolution, the music feels melancholic at times. This spoke to me of the pain and beauty of city life; an ever-changing machine, a sense of drowning with bursts of joy. I learnt that these ideas are key to tango history and philosophy; it was a dance born out of the struggles of living in a city fast-developing, the bittersweet and chaotic nature of modernisation and change.”
Director’s note
Solo Violin: Francesca Delgado
Editor: Clara Casian
Producer: Amanda Fawcett
Footage Research: Ellie White
Commissioned by HOME
Knots by Ben Santamaria
A short play as part of the second Herstory Feminist Theatre Festival at Theatre N16, November 2016
A young woman sits as her mother combs her hair after a nice day together. But the daughter’s actually building up the courage to confess she’s about to take part in an assassination plot against the British government, which she feels has brought the country to its knees. Though the carefully organised plan involves a large number of people from all levels of society, and the mother is sympathetic to the group’s political views, she now has to race the clock to try to prevent her daughter from wrecking her life for the sake of this futile gesture.
Cast: Anya Hamilton and Natalie Harper
Producer: Nastazja Domaradzka.
hannahcalascione.com 