The darker side to nursery rhymes is explored in new theatre

The Elements World Theatre Presents
The Old Woman Who Lived in A…

Thu 24 & Fri 25 Feb, 7.30pm and Sat 26 Feb, 3.30pm & 7.30pm
Scottish Storytelling Centre | 43-45 High Street | Edinburgh
Box Office: 0131 556 9579
 
Storytelling merges with drama, poetry and music in an uplifting, light-hearted production about the Quest for Love, Happiness and Inner Peace in a culture rooted in violence.
 

The Old Woman Who Lived in A…, a new play by Lee Gershuny, is set in a surreal world where the boundaries between reality and illusion are in flux. The story begins 20 years after the end of the famous nursery rhyme, with the setting moved from a Shoe to The Café of No Tomorrows – a mythical place and state of mind where now is the only moment that exists and the mysterious Waiter is its ruling presence. The children that the Old Woman beat black and blue are now grown up and, like noble knights on a great quest, are determined to vanquish fear and self-doubt. Each has their reasons for wanting to confront the Old Woman…some want revenge, while others don’t even know what they want! In order to reach The Old Woman however, they must first deal with the Waiter who continually challenges their beliefs and expectations. 
 
With live music, physical theatre and poetic storytelling under the direction of Corinne Harris, The Old Woman Who Lived in A… explorespersonal identity, striking a chord of recognition which will take the audience beyond any of their expectations on a voyage of discovery.

Writer Lee Gershuny is an award-winning playwright in the USA and the UK, as well as an internationally published poet with “an idiosyncratic turn of humour.” – Chapman: Scotland’s Quality Literary Magazine.

The Old Woman was especially written for the annual Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace (MESP) and Lee explains the thrill and challenge of writing for the Festival: "The Old Woman Who Lived in A..., like other work I've written for the Peace Festival, explores our potential to stop in the midst of conflict and see ourselves and the 'opposition' in a new light."
 
 The MESP Festival brings together a distinguished list of artists, scholars, grassroots spiritual activists and speakers and positively affirms the spiritual and cultural diversity of Scotland. The emphasis is on spiritual, educational, artistic and cultural approaches to peace and understanding. Since its inception in 2004, the MESP has invited The Elements World Theatre to present a new work every year to critical acclaim.

Artistic Director/Playwright                              Lee Gershuny 
Director                                                            Corinne Harris
Waiter:                                                             Pete Baynes
Children                                                            Robert Williamson and Corinne Harris
Music:                                                              Pete Baynes
 
www.the-elements.org.uk | www.scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk