FABULOUS CREATURES
Presented by Collide Theatre in association with the Arcola Theatre
World Premiere of a play by Quentin Beroud & Emily Louizou
Playing at the Arcola Theatre in London from the 22nd May to the 15th June 2024
The untold story of the female monsters of The Odyssey.
Welcome to the Monstrous Cabaret Club, a place to drown more than your sorrows, where the acts are unreal and the voices to die for! Whether you’re strapping in for the Sirens or caught between Scylla and Charybdis, you’re in for a night you’ll never survive/forget!
Once the pre-eminent killers of the mythical age, who even Gods would turn to for their dirty work, they’ve long given up their license to kill. Now they run a private club hidden somewhere between Mount Olympus and the Underworld.
They used to kill, but now they cabaret:
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SIREN, the woman-bird with the notorious voice
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SCYLLA, the rock star with her outrageous costumes
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And last but not least the shapeshifting CHARYBDIS aka “Whirlpool”, the hostess of the grotesque, your MC with no clemency.
But the glamorous routine of their cabaret life is about to be shattered. A desperate and determined woman comes to them for help in taking down her abusive husband before he returns from a ten year war. These fabulous creatures are now faced with a deadly dilemma: sacrifice the safety of the shadows or come out into the light and help a stranger in her hour of need?
As the stakes ratchet up, we move from cabaret to tragedy.
Collide (“clearly a company to keep an eye on”, The Guardian) invites you to an epic new show about revenge and sisterhood. An ensemble of three brings you the never before told story of the female monsters of The Odyssey, blending humour and darkness, myth and modernity and Collide’s signature dream-like aesthetic.
Written by Quentin Beroud & Emily Louizou
Directed by Emily Louizou
Movement & Choreography by Ioli Filippakopoulou
Music Composition & Sound Design by Irene Skylakaki
Set & Costume Design by Ismini Papaioannou
Lighting Design by David Doyle
Promo images by Mariza Kapsabeli
Production photography by Sophie Giddens
Executive Producer: Elizabeth Filippouli
Stage Manager: Ibraheem Hamirani
Assistant Director: Costi Levy
Assistant Producer: Glerren Bangalan
Assistant Producer: Asya Sosis
Assistant Designer: Ugne Garcia Velickaite
Research Assistant: Jessica Weaver
Head of Development: George Turner
Publicist: Kevin Wilson kevinwilsonpr@gmail.com
Special thanks to Sinéad O’Keeffe for lending her voice as Clytemnestra's mother.
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"To me this is very much a show about today – despite it drawing inspiration from ancient myths. For us making this show has to do with all the shame attached to women – throughout generations and centuries – and the battle to shake this shame off. Or perhaps instead of shaking it off, exploring how we turn this shame and anger into action.
All female characters in the play have been victims of abuse, and have been punished for all sorts of nonsensical reasons – such as turning down the advances of a man, or being perceived as acting in a way that a woman shouldn’t act!
I’d love it if the show acted as a cry for help, but also as a celebration for women finding their own fierce way of living their lives."
Emily Louizou - read the full interview here!
