Forced Entertainment

The Thrill Of It All

Tue 19 & Wed 20 Oct 2010 7.30pm

Theatre: £14.50 (£12.50), £16.50 (£14.50), Under 26s £10

Director: Tim Etchells

Cast: Thomas Conway, Amit Hadari, Phil Hayes, Jerry Killick, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden, Terry O'Connor, John Rowley

Production Company: Forced Entertainment

It’s bright under the lights, and hot, and frightening. Nine performers in grubby tuxedos and tarnished sequins play out a comical and disconcerting vaudeville to the strains of Japanese lounge music.

After the minimalism of Spectacular and the animated graphic novel of Void Story, internationally renowned innovators Forced Entertainment return with a large cast on a big stage, filled with ragged dances and distorted voices.

Deranged dancing girls swirl, giggle, bicker and stray ever further from the point. Shabby comperes compete for the microphone and the audience’s laughter as the show itself slowly starts to unravel. Dances end in fights, jokes end in confusion and sentimental stories end in arguments in this unsettling and extraordinary performance.

Forced Entertainment’s trademark collaborative process – devising work as a group through improvisation, experimentation and debate – has made them pioneers of British avant-garde theatre and earned them an unparalleled international reputation.

“Confounding conventions and exploding audience expectations.” The Times

“The reckless Forced Entertainment beat theatre to smithereens.” Cutting Edge

Post-Show Talk Tue 19 Oct

Running Time 1hr 40mins

Official website

Co-producers: Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), PACT Zollverein (Essen), Theatre Garonne (Toulouse), Les Spectacles vivants – Centre Pompidou in collaboration with Festival d’Automne (Paris). This production is supported by Sheffield City Council.

Dates & Times

Tue 19 Oct	Theatre	7:30pm
Wed 20 Oct	Theatre	7:30pm

Theatre

Seating up to 550, audiences are assured of an excellent view of the stage and comfortable seating in this well-designed auditorium. The theatre stages the best national and international plays and performances, as well as contemporary and international dance, music and comedians.