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Tiny Dynamite
2 Hampstead Walk London E3 2JN
t 020 8980 0557 m 07771 930974
e tinydynamite@bowiewonderworld.com
Written and directed by Adrian Berry
Camden Peoples Theatre London NW1 August 29 - Sept 16 (Tuesday — Saturday) at 8.00pm Tickets £8/£6 conc Box Office: 020 7916 5878
Love, Death and David Bowie…
Tiny Dynamite presents a play about a young boy obsessed with a living rock legend in this brand new and timely production. Martin is a boy with problems - a dysfunctional family, an illness which nobody understands and a raging obsession with David Bowie. And that’s just the beginning…. Thrust into a world of Britney girls and DJ culture, Martin is out of place and out of time, with only his fantasies to hide behind. But soon the truth will out. With a blistering soundtrack and the voice of comedian Rob Newman as Bowie, the life of the pop fan is dissected in this tale of unnatural teenage wildlife. The production features many Bowie songs, including Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide, Starman, Lady Grinning Soul, Little Wonder, Life on Mars and many more. This is the first production by London-based Tiny Dynamite. 31 year old Adrian Berry has worked in British Theatre for 10 years. This is his first play as both writer and director. For more details and colour/b&w photographs please call 020 8980 0557. Listings Details Production: From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads Venue: Camden Peoples Theatre, 58-60 Hampstead Road, London NW1 Dates: Aug 29 — Sept 16 at 8pm (performances Tuesday to Saturday) Tickets: £8/£6 concessions Box Office: 020 7916 5878 Nearest tube: Warren Street
Synopsis
Martin is 18 years old and has an eating disorder. We enter the play during a time when he has been admitted to a clinic for his problem, which he refuses to acknowledge. He shares a room with two slightly younger girls who find him very strange. Martin is a huge David Bowie fan — his life revolves around him and his bed is a positive shrine. It becomes apparent that his father has been absent for some time and this obsession with Bowie has been inherited from him. Martin has a strained relationship with his mother and sister, and has just one friend — Simon, who tries (but struggles) to share his obsession.
Martin is in a sense a contemporary Billy Liar - he believes himself to be close to Bowie, constantly writing him letters and having imaginary conversations and meetings, as well as throwing himself into fantasy situations where he believes he is Bowie himself. This leads to some very ‘Dennis Potter-esque’ scenes when the hospital comes alive to the sound of Bowie’s music.
Although tragic, the play is darkly hilarious at times — especially when Martin encounters a straight-talking no-nonsense nurse called Alex who teases him and makes allusions to his sexuality. Alex is erotic, highly educated and seems to have taken her cues from Julie Burchill.
The play ultimately spirals into a tragic situation, but one which ends on an ambiguous yet positive note as Martin discovers a few truths about himself, his family and David Bowie.
Cast
About the Company and Production
Tiny Dynamite was born at The Bull Theatre in Barnet, through the Education Programme, Youth Theatres and Theatre Workshop courses. It exists to create a professional platform for new and young actors. The company plans to continue to produce new writing and to tour future work.
About the Writer and director
After training at The Gladstone Theatre in Merseyside, Adrian Berry formed Hull Freetown Theatre - directing national tours of Kiss of the Spider Woman, Havel’s Vanek Plays and a critically acclaimed production of Becket’s Endgame. After spending part of 1993 in Sierra Leone, working with writers, directors and actors in the capital, Adrian developed the Education programme at the Albany Theatre in S.E. London and from 1996 to the present has been Education Manager at The Bull Theatre. This is his first full-length play as both writer and director.
