Productions we have supported
Shmedic
'Shmedic' is a one woman play written by Dr Sara Otung. As a practicing medical doctor turned actress and writer, Shmedic is Sara's theatrical writing debut.
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Having studied for five years at the University of Birmingham, Sara spent much of her time at university volunteering to raise awareness for the genetic disease sickle cell anaemia. With this play, she tells a story that she passionately believes should be heard by all.
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Sensitive topics and strong language are laced with comedic irony and song as this play shines a light on the fragile line between doctor and patient. Exploring girlhood, sickle cell anaemia, mental health and cultural taboos, there is little left untouched.
The play is fairly simple. One actress and one chair on stage in a the theatre soon filled with an all encompassing original soundscape that intimately welcomes us into the world of Shmedic, in the way that only live theatre can.
Long Nights In Paradise
Long Nights in Paradise charts the journey of Scott whose life is broadsided by tragedy. It follows him through his descent into penury, and eventually madness. Scott feels he has been condemned to a state of non-existence, and is being punished by God. He is bound to memories of the past (what seems like a past-life), and trapped in the violent cycle of homelessness. His memories are a substance of relief that make life bearable, yet they are a constant reminder of the mistakes he has made and everything he has lost.
The play is set in the context of the tragedy that was the Grenfell Tower fire. Scott meets Adara, a resident of the tower. She provides him with companionship, offering a route back to humanity. But when the fire happens, Scott exploits the situation in a desperate attempt to salvage himself. When this fails to get him back on track, he begins to question whether he can be saved at all.
Home
The civil war in Syria led to the world’s biggest refugee crisis since WWII. ‘Home’ is a short play performed by actors portraying refugees who tell us a story of love. It sets out to show how, in the face of mounting racism and xenophobia, only love, tolerance and unity can serve humanity.
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Written & Directed by Lisa Ray-Jacobs
Produced by Collage Arts & Lisa Ray-Jacobs
BRITISH MUCH?
BRITISH MUCH? What does it mean to be British—yesterday, today, and tomorrow?
‘BRITISH MUCH?’, a scratch night that celebrates the stories, voices, and experiences of women in Britain. This event will provide a platform for artists to explore Britain’s evolving identity through new writing, spoken word, and performance. By blending emerging and established work, we will reflect on themes of belonging, heritage, and the shaping of the future. A celebration of the many identities that make up the nation today. Britishness in Flux – Who gets to define it? How has it changed over generations? Rooted & Routed – Stories of those whose heritage spans beyond the UK and whose lives are deeply woven into its fabric.
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Temps
Two young temps imagine what they’ll do when they leave their temporary jobs, and wonder what really goes on upstairs at the mysterious corporation they work for.
As their ‘temporary’ situations begin to feel inescapably permanent, Alia and Nora start to rebel, in their own small ways, against the randomness of their fates and the randomness of their economic situations.
Have they been putting their faith in ‘bullshit’ things, and can they find a way to put their faith in each other?
Alia is painfully open hearted and optimistic. We meet her when she has just moved to London to pursue her career as a singer. She ‘won’t be here for long’ she announces on her first day temping, as she will ‘hopefully’, ‘touch wood’ be famous any day now.
But her looming debt, the tedium of the everyday, and loneliness begin to erode Alia’s hope. Her superstitions become compulsive; her fatalism begins to paralyse her.
Nora has been temping at the office for longer than Alia, ‘a couple of months’ or ‘maybe a bit longer’, she can’t remember. Nora is leaving soon too, though. She wants to go away, but something is holding her back. She is irritated by Alia’s delusional view of the world and just wants to write her post-it notes in peace. But something about Alia’s hope punctures Nora’s lonely existence, forcing Nora to confront her own secret despair.
Zanabi Productions was founded by Safiyah Zanabi whilst at university. She has produced work at the Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford Playhouse, Edinburgh Fringe and recently a fully funded short film, Fear Itself, also written by Safiyah Zanabi.
Play On
PLAY ON was a night of new writing, live music and delicious food.
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Four short plays were performed, alongside a Jazz band in a relaxed cabaret environment. Karamel Café, an award-winning, 100% vegan restauraunt,
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Later in the evening, there was a jam session where any musicians in the audience were welcome to get on stage and join the band.
All the proceeds from the event went towards Collage Arts, a leading arts development, training and creative regeneration charity based in heart of Haringey.
GANGA
The first ever musical theatrical show (r&d) based on ancient hindu literature in a contemporary style with artists from ballet , bharatnatyam , khatak and contemporay style of dance.
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Parekh Productions is a premier Corporate Films and Photography Company, founded by Harish Vipin Parekh, with operations in both India and the UK. Known for its expertise in the art of storytelling, Parekh Productions specializes in a wide range of film production services,
Revolution
The Revolution is over 10 years old performing a number of times each year as a fundraiser. Most recently often in support of Collage Voices. Stars from Stage and Screen come to share work and perform in front of intimate audiences delivering a highly charged night of entertainment. Oscar, BAFTA, and Olivier winners have all come and performed as well as many faces from TV and the West End including, Simon Callow, Ann Mitchell, Sheila Atim, Arthur Darville and Omar.
Fire In An Empty Space
Fire In an Empty Space was the first play produced by production company and artists collective Fortune Baby founded by Rocio Rodriguez-Inniss – www.fortunebabyco.com
Fire In an Empty Space is a surreal, unfiltered look at isolation and the intersections between mental and sexual health.
Writing and Direction by Rocio Rodriguez-Inniss
Starring:
Alice Walker as Alara
Bradley Connor as Aaron
Martina Laird as Debbie
Bebe Barry as Teresa
Joanne Mason as The Shadow
Black Love
BLACK LOVE marks the writing debut of award-winning Welsh-Zambian-South African actor, Elan Davies. It follows charming West London native Adeola who is attending Notting Hill Carnival for her first time, which doesn’t quite turnout to be the jubilant experience she wanted it to be. Grappling with a nasty breakup and questionable life decisions, it all comes out after a few cups of Wray’s infused rum punch. Elan Davies explores identity, culture, relationships and the importance of black joy in this groundbreaking one woman play zinging with music, poetry, art and movement.
The Witchfinder
MANNINGTREE, 1645. In a time of civil war and uncertainty, paranoia runs rife. Whispered rumours of witchcraft spread. Suspicion turns to accusation as a local beggar woman is denounced as a witch. And a young witchfinder begins to come into his own —Matthew Hopkins, the self-appointed WITCHFINDER GENERAL.
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The events that followed would see one hundred men and women executed for witchcraft in England's deadliest witch hunt.
THE WITCHFINDER is an unsettling look at one of England's darkest moments and explores the rise of fanaticism, resistance, and legacy. Following a successful abridged preview at University College London, the full-length piece is premiering at McQueen's Theatre.
Stoke The Embers
Stoke The Embers is a London-based theatre company, specializing in live events and new writing.
Our goal is to revolutionise access to the performing arts, through programming that champions the creative potential of both emerging and established artists. At our events, artists from multiple performance and technical disciplines can share new ideas, network, and meet their future collaborators.
Maso Schism
When does catharsis become self-harm? Where do we draw the line?
Best friends Katie and Anastasia have shared everything since childhood - from scraping their knees as children to getting their first tattoos as teenagers. Now, as adults, each woman has a relationship with pain the other doesn’t understand.
Set in a neon-lit world of firing synapses and stinging flesh, this surrealist piece of physical theatre incorporates elements of performance art to experiment with real pain and explore the limits of bodily autonomy.
Maso Schism grapples with the complexity of the female relationship to pain by inviting our audience to bear witness to it.
That’s Why Mums go to Switzerland
In the spirit of airing her dirty laundry in public, Bonnie Oddie tells her story of becoming A bad mother and a bad daughter at the very same time.An expertly told tale of three generations of pissed off women living together under one roof, which includes social services, secret planning and an eventual trip to Switzerland... This one woman show speaks to the expectations we have of Mothers, happiness, truth, old age, death, smoking the weed and the queen!Written & performed by Bonnie Oddie. Directed by Steve Medlin
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Despite the serious subject matter, Oddie’s writing is infused with humour, bringing the relationships between the characters to life and dynamically propelling the story forward after moments of reflection. The simplicity of the language untangles complex themes and draws us closer to the protagonist. However, the ending feels a little anticlimactic due to the predictability of the story’s trajectory.
F*cking White Boys
'It's not stealing, it's reparations from Boots'.
Carmen achieves her childhood dream of attending Oxford University. Dating in a majority posh-white environment, Carmen begins to realise that finding her Mr Darcy as a mixed-race woman is no easy task.
Exploring the fetishisation of blackness, whiteness and identity in middle-class Britain, F*cking White Boys is a semi-autobiographical debut from writer-performer Gracie Oddie-James.
Originally performed at The Duke of York Theatre, this one night performance on 10th May is the culmination of an R&D process and we are looking forward to taking the story further on both stage and screen.