The Play

Bobby’s out of school and out of work. There’s nothing going and nowhere to go. A job with Mike seems like everything he needs. A steady wage. A bit of self-respect. A chance to make good. If only it were that easy.

Driven by a dogged determination to prove his worth, Bobby makes a devastating mistake that risks leaving him without the hope of a future.

Phil Ormrod’s searing new play is about searching for a future in the dying heart of England, and what boys believe makes them strong.

Touching on youth unemployment, national identity and the barriers of class, ISAAC explores the devastating impact a lack of work and opportunity can have on the development of young men’s sense of self and masculinity - and the health of our communities.

The production aims to create a thrilling, visceral experience transporting audiences from the unforgiving landscape of a scrap heap, to those immense rolling hills of Derbyshire.

The Venue

Theatre503 is the home for new writers and a launchpad for the artists who bring their words to life. At our heart is a desire to find extraordinary new voices, match them with brilliant people and support the journey of their idea to the stage.

Find out more about Theatre503 here .

The Story

This production has been a long time coming. Director Carla Kingham first discovered in two years ago whilst reading for three different playwriting awards and was immediately taken by its individuality of voice and depth of humanity.

By that point writer Phil Ormrod had already been working on the play for three years. Carla and Phil committed to a period of development, approached artistic director Lisa Spirling and literary manager Steve Harper about programming, and joined forces with producer Hannah Tookey to bring the play to where it is now.

Outside of our creative pipeline the world continued to call for the play: growing unemployment, rising cases of mental health issues in young men, and increasing wider conversation about masculinity and identity. Now 5 years on, we’re ready to bring it to the stage and the world is ready for it too.

The Programme

While giving a platform to an exciting team of creatives, the project is ultimately driven by a determination to connect under-reached and underrepresented audiences in South London.

Accessibility is at the heart of this project, and with your support will be able to run a comprehensive multi-faceted creative engagement programme for young and disadvantaged men in South London. This will comprise of three main focusses:

* Direct engagement: Over a four-week period members of the team will make drop-in visits to youth clubs and organisations in the Wandsworth area. We will learn more about their activities and in turn talk to them about ours, demystifying the theatre-making process and generating interest in the conversation of the play. We aim to build a community around the production, ultimately making non-theatre goers feel welcome and curious about their local theatre.

* Participatory activity: These groups will be encouraged to attend shows, tickets for which will be available either at accessible rates or free, depending on the requirements of the group. We will host post-show discussions and deliver response workshops for for each participating group, furthering the impact of the play and creating an opportunity to engage creatively with the themes and issues it raises.

* Performance opportunities: Echoing the model of Theatre503’s legendary Rapid Write Resonse events for emerging artists, we will host a creative response evening showcasing the creative responses that come out of the workshops. Participants will work on our set and have full production support from our team.

We also hope to be able to offer each participating group a free copy of the playtext, published by Oberon.

The Team

Phil Ormrod - Playwright

Phil is a playwright and screenwriter. He originally trained as a director, spending a year at Northern Stage on an RTYDS bursary, and was co-director of Switchback. Previous writing includes Lies About My Father (ARC Stockton, New Diorama), Homelands (Bolton Octagon) and Mary Whitehouse Looks Down from Wherever (Camden People’s Theatre). He is currently developing an original series with Kudos.

Carla Kingham - Director

Carla is a freelance director specialising in new work. Productions include: No Place Like Hope (Old Red Lion), Sea Fret (Old Red Lion/ HighTide), You're Human Like the Rest of Them (Finborough), After the Heat We Battle for the Heart (VAULTS Festival), No Border (Theatre503/Oxford Playhouse). Associate direction includes: Les Misérables (Sweden), Lotty's War (UK Tour), and Cinderella and the Beanstalk (Theatre503/The Old Market). Assistant direction includes: Sex with Strangers (Hampstead Theatre). She is a reader for Theatre503, The Bush and PapaTango. She has led numerous R&D processes and has worked as a facilitator for organisations such as Artsdepot, Hoxton Hall, The Young Vic and CSSD.

In 2015 Carla conceived and delivered ACE-funded national verbatim project NO BORDER, working in collaboration with eight organisations across the country to reach over 200 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through a workshop-based process to devise a piece in response to the theme of POLITICS.

Hannah Tookey - Producer

Hannah is an experienced producer working across theatre and film with a particular interest in making work that engages with socio-political issues. She trained with Stage One, mac Birmingham and The Clore Emerging Leaders Course. She was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship to research how to effectively raise awareness about social injustice through the arts, and has since advised and consulted for numerous creative projects on how to engage hard-to-reach audiences in the arts.

Eleanor Bull - Designer

In 2017 Eleanor won the Linbury Prize for Stage Design for her work with Phoenix Dance Theatre on their UK tour of Windrush which opened at West Yorkshire Playhouse in February. Previous collaborations include: Warner Brothers, The Donmar Warehouse, Bristol Old Vic, Birmingham Old Rep, The Riverside Studios, Southwark Playhouse.

Benjamin Grant - Sound Designer

Sound design includes: So Many Reasons (Fuel Theatre), Of Mice and Men (Selladoor), Wind in The Willows and Education, Education, Education (The Wardrobe Ensemble), Opera Works (ENO), Seen and Not Heard (Complicite), The Visitor (Trikhon Theatre). Associate sound design includes: Wings (YoungVic), The Kid Stays In The Picture (Complicite), BOY (Almeida).

Ali Hunter - Lighting Designer

Lighting design includes: Empty Beds and Moments (The Hope Theatre), Woman Before a Glass (Jermyn Street Theatre), Rattlesnake (Live Theatre Newcastle, York Theatre Royal, Soho Theatre), Tenderly (New Wimbledon Studio), Katzenmusik (Royal Court Theatre), Sugarman, Black Widow and All in Minor (The Place), Britney (Vaults Festival), Ricky Whittington and his Cat (New Diorama), There By Grace (Gielgud Theatre), Empty Beds (Underbelly and Arcola), Cinderella and the Beanstalk (Theatre503). Assistant and associate lighting design includes: Grounded (The Gate Theatre), The Broken Heart (Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre), Speaking in Tongues (GBS Theatre).

Nancy Kettle - Movement Director

Nancy is an associate artist at the Mercury Theatre. She is currently a visiting movement teacher at RADA, Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company and the Early Career Training Programme at The Mercury

Theatre. She has worked as a facilitator and movement director with the Mercury Young Company, Primary Shakespeare Company and National Youth Theatre. As movement director: Assassins (RADA), A Dangerous Woman, (Solo Show - Soho Theatre, Birmingham Rep), The Events (Mercury Theatre), Ballroom (Waterloo East Theatre, European Premiere), Breathe (Andy Serkis, Associate Choreographer), I Capture the Castle (Associate Movement Director, Watford Palace, Theatre Octagon Bolton), Agatha Christie's Partner's in Crime (Queens Theatre), Our House: The Musical (Queen's Theatre), Macbeth (New Wimbledon Studio), Anna Karenina (Brockley Jack Theatre).

The Cast

Our cast includes veteran stage and screen actor Ian Burfield (National Theatre company member, The Selfish Giant), Guy Porritt (Jerry Springer the Opera, National Theatre/West End), Charles Furness (Sense of an Ending, Sherlock) and recent graduate Kenny Fullwood.

We Need Your Help…

This programme of work simply cannot be delivered without your support.

Every penny raised will go towards fair payment of our artists, and will ensure the effective delivery of our programme activities without compromising on quality of experience for participants.

That’s it.

Any support you are able to offer will take us a step closer to achieving our three core aims:

1. To create a fantastic piece of theatre for our audiences

2. To effectively deliver a multifaceted engagement programme

3. To secure the future by delivering a product with genuine touring potential

Thank you.

In Return…

We’re not able to promise you the Earth, we’re already investing that in the production, but we would like to thank you in these small ways:

£10+ Heartfelt thanks and acknowledgement in the playtext

£50+ As above, plus a signed copy of the playtext

£100+ As above, plus a signed poster

£200+ As above, plus two complimentary tickets (mid-week)

£300+ As above, plus complimentary tickets (any time)

**Bespoke supporter’s packages are available upon request**

Our Supporters

We are incredibly grateful to have received support from the following trusts and foundations: