Now in its 6th year, the Nursery Festival is an annual coming together of collaborators from all over the world. Taking place over 3 consecutive weekends in October, this year’s festival offers opportunities to see the kernel of the next Richard Marsh show (Dirty Great Love Story, Wingman) alongside hot comedy performers from the USA, an exploration of what happens in the space where Ted talks overlap with improvised comedy, and much more.
The Nursery is London’s only dedicated venue for all things improvisation. From nurturing the newest player through our courses, to entertaining the most discerning fan at our shows, The Nursery offers an enormous year-round range of opportunities to enjoy improv in all its forms.
This year’s festival is presented in association with MERGE Festival, the annual arts festival throughout Bankside is curated by Illuminate Productions and supported by Tate Modern and the Business Improvement District, Better Bankside. Highlights include Alex Chinneck (Minor on the Moon also known as ‘The Upside Down House’ on Blackfriars Road), Infamous Jellymongers Bompas and Parr and British visual artist Peter William Holden.
The Wunderkammer Friday 10th October
Part-Ted-style talk, part improvised comedy show.A collection of interesting and inspirational folk sharing their knowledge, passions and stories, providing the inspiration for totally improvised comedy scenes and characters from DNAYS and special guest improvisers.
Ten Thousand Million Love Stories by Heather Urguhart and Jules Munns Saturday 11th October
Ten Thousand Million Love Stories takes stories from the audience and weaves the characters, situations and ideas behind them into an improvised play that changes nightly. Starting from a single loving couple, the show spirals out to meet the people they know, their families, friends, ex-lovers and workmates, before returning to the original pair, Ten Thousand Million Love Stories has been described as like an improvised Richard Curtis movie!
The Cat Came Back Friday October 17th
Have you ever told a lie? And then wondered where these lies go? Have you ever wondered what becomes of these lies? Have you ever wondered when these lies will die? The Cat Came Back is an interactive story of a liar, told through puppetry, song and dishonesty.
David Razowsky Friday 17th October
The internationally renowned David Razowsky will be improvising with a local improviser to bring his famous brand comedy to the UK stage. David Razowsky is the respected teacher and former artistic director of the Second City Los Angeles and, as an actor, has written and performed in ten Second City Chigago reveus. During his tenure as a performer at Second City he worked with Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jeff Garlin and Amy Sedaris, among others.
Death – A comedy by Single Shoe Productions Friday 17th and 24th October
You’re going to die and so are we. But what happens to all the stuff we leave behind? The end is creeping ever closer. Are you ready for it? Single Shoe Productions is a London-based collaborative project of international filmmakers and theatre devisers founded by Filipa Tomas and Bradley Wayne Smith.
My Name is B by Anthony Keigher, Emma Berentsen, Tiffany Murphy & Umit Erlim Saturday 18th October
‘My Name is B’ explores the theme of over control and questions whether by over controlling ourselves can result in a complete loss of self-control. The performance is built on the impulse to walk in red high heels while each performer completes/disrupts various tasks until the point of exhaustion. This performance is inspired by Breuer and Freud’s investigation into the case of Anna O. and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes.
Eggshells by Fiona Harper Saturday 18th, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th October
Eggshells is a two-hander, written in verse with comic elements addressing the very common and growing problem of anxiety disorders. Fiona Harper is a London based writer and arts projects co-ordinator. Eggshells is her second full length play and the first written in verse… but don’t hold that against her.
Bad Bride by Giulia Rozzi Friday 24th October
What if the happiest day of your life brought out the worst in you? In this candid show Giulia Rozzi ‘fesses up about being a depressed, drunk, coward that said I do” when she should have said “I don’t.” Written by & starring Giulia Rozzi (NYC based comedian, actress and writer originally from Boston that has appeared on Vh1, Chelsea Lately, MTV, TLC, and CNN) Directed by & featuring Brandy Barber.
Richard Marsh Saturday 25th October
Writer, performer and Nursery Festival repeat offender Richard Marsh will present a brand new piece. Hard to say what it’ll be like at this point, but there will be rhymes and jokes. His previous Nursery Festival shows won a Fringe First (Dirty Great Love Story, co-written with Katie Bonna) and the BBC Audio Drama Award 2014 for Best Scripted Comedy (Skittles, aka Love & Sweets on the radio). Have a look for his new Nursery Festival-fuelled rocket ship Wingman this summer. www.richmarsh.com This production is not available for review at this time.
Wretch Saturday 25th October
Voices of women who have experienced homelessness their; priorities, hopes, fears and dreams: early years, current circumstances and imagined old age. Sharing an optimism for the potential of a better life, a desire to be useful and part of a community – but at the same time a sense of being trapped in a political and social system that makes it hard to move on.
The Nursery Festival 10 – 25 October (Fri – Sat)
All evenings start at 7.30pm Doors open at 7pm Each evening consists of either 2 or 3 performances, audiences are encouraged to attend all shows.
Book online: thenurserytheatre.com/the-nursery-festival/
