Root 2 (1998)

About the Show:

An unlikely duo are stranded between two worlds; their working class roots and a university education.  In an attempt to locate themselves somewhere, they open the story book of their lives.

The rubble on stage is transformed as they improvise scenes from their fading memories. Side by side, second by second images rise and fall, appear and re-appear. A high rise is built and demolished for a university, a cleaner dreams of a lottery win and a professor goes AWOL. Shakespeare is performed as bills pile up, babies cry, deadlines are met and dinner is served.

Will the duo ever find a route to common ground?

This production examines the middle ground between knowing and not knowing and how this affects expectation and aspiration. It is a journey between priviledge and under priviledge, fortune, misfortune and the interconnectedness of all things... A moving and atmospheric medley of character, text, soundtrack, projections and a set that never stays still.

Reviews:

Refreshing new writing with political bite.
(Lancaster Guardian)

About the process:

This included tape-recorded discussion from a cross-section of individuals living in Lancaster on the themes of dreams and aspirations. Sound-bites from these recordings were woven into performances of the touring production.