Stage2 presents a Clare Dowie Double Bill

Arsehammers and The Year of the Monkey

Wed 12th - Sat 15th January 2011 at 7.15pm in The Ron Barber Studio Theatre
Matinee: Sat 15th at 2.00pm

'Claire Dowie is the supreme advocate of rebellion. She debunks conformity – or almost anything which can be defined.' - The Stage

Stage2 is delighted to have special permission from our Patron, Claire Dowie, to present the Premieres of two of her stand-up theatre monologues as full cast, one-act plays. In the same style as 2009's Spoonface Steinberg, we will blast the monologues apart for an ensemble of 20 young people.

In Arsehammers a young boy mishears his parents discussing his Granddad's Alzheimer's in whispered voices and thinks the secrecy means it must be a rude word! He then goes off on a flight of fancy, imagining him as a Superhero with magic powers. His theories all seem to fit in with his Granddad's true predicament eg he keeps disappearing (to fight secret battles), he goes to get looked after by experts (who could invent special devices for him like James Bond).

In The Year of the Monkey a mother yearns for some dynamism and passion to puncture the boredom of her middle-class life. At her daughter's wedding (which she wishes had an Irish theme so everyone could sing and dance and whirl…), she reflects 'We've lived this superficial relationship and ignored the churning undercurrents, disregarded the bubbling emotions, because it's not done to talk about them. Because now's not the time, now's never the time. All the time in the world to talk about nothing.'

'Dowie makes you laugh as she kicks you in the teeth' - The Guardian

Tickets: £8.50