Award-winning company ThickSkin, will be touring Peak Stuff from February next year. The production, commissioned by ThickSkin and Lawrence Batley Theatre, was a winner of the New Play Commission Scheme from the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain.
Described as a “cautionary tale for modern times”, the show focuses on consumer culture and its role in shaping identity. Three fast-paced, funny stories question the role of “stuff” in “an age of retail therapy, thrifting, climate crisis and click and collect”.
In advance of the tour, the company has launched a spin-off “tongue-in-cheek” website for the audience to engage with, providing an interactive method of exploring the show’s themes.
The creative team behind Peak Stuff includes writer Billie Collins, director Neil Bettles and composer Matthew Churcher. The executive producer is Laura Mallows, and performer Meg Lewis plays the show’s three characters.
Collins said: “I’m buzzing to be working with ThickSkin on Peak Stuff. As an emerging writer it’s no small thing to be given the space to experiment and take creative risks.”
According to Mallows, the company is always considering how to develop new audiences without excluding loyal theatre goers. She said the show is “a great opportunity to do things differently, including how we use our digital platforms to take audiences on a journey before and during the live event.”
Peak Stuff is the first theatre show for ThickSkin since becoming an Arts Council England national portfolio organisation. It will be created from their new base at The Old Courts, Wigan.
The tour begins on 15 February in Chichester, and includes venues in Blackpool, Huddersfield, Lancaster, Exeter, Bath, Lincoln, Oxford and Coventry during February and March. Additional dates for Wigan are expected shortly.
Further information is available at Peak Stuff.
Words by Alexis Wolfe
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