Blackshaw is a theatre production company, championing new writing and adaptations on stage and in audio.
Compere: Ellie Pitkin
The Sad Kid in the Corridor by Duncan Gates
Bed for Sale, Excellent Condition written by Nikky O’Hare, performed by Natalie Winter
The Bistro by Andrew James Brown
Her by George Morris
The Dog Who Saw Ghosts by Eleanor Verner
Twinkle Twinkle by Reece Connolly
The Summer of 66 by Mike Levanzin
Photos by Richard Stratton
Some performances from the live and spooktastic Scare Slam, as recorded at the Old Red Lion Theatre on Friday 12th October 2018, for the London Horror Festival.
Nightsweats, written and performed by Sasha Wilson
Lay Me Down by Morgan Noll, presented by Somna Theatre Company, performed by Robbie Heath
Warm and Chewy by Ollie George Clark, performed by Dene Horgan
Banshee Bungle by Vivian C Lermond, performed by Victoria Howell
Mrs Miller, written and performed by Reece Connolly
Photos by Richard Stratton – https://500px.com/richardstrat
I – The Intruders, written and performed by Jason D. Brawn
II – Warm and Chewy, written by Ollie George Clark, performed by Dene Horgan
III – The Beast, written and performed by Scott Younger
IV- Nightsweats, written and performed by Sasha Wilson
V – Lay Me Down, written by Morgan Noll, presented by Somna Theatre Company, performed by Robbie Heath
VI – An Evening, written by Patrick Chivers, performed by Peter Frost
VII – Banshee Bungle, written by Vivian C Lermond, performed by Victoria Howell
VIII – Mrs Miller, written and performed by Reece Connolly
VIIII – Ellie Pitkin, Compere
The spooktacular Scare Slam is upon us and we’ve got chills…the terrifying line up is as follows:
Mrs Miller by Reece Connolly
At school, I’m the only kid who’s afraid of Mrs Miller. And I think that’s because – in all honesty – I’m the only kid who can see her…’ A haunted classroom, a sadistic ghost, and one terrified school kid. This is the story of little Rory and his least favourite teacher. Told in rhyme.
My primary school was a Victorian-build that looked a lot like the Amityville house and backed out onto a derelict graveyard. I feel a lot of that probably made its way into this piece of scholastic terror. I’m a writer and performer originally from the North East, now based in East London. I’ve written and directed HUBERT IS VERY DEAD which is playing at the London Horror Festival on Oct 23rd + 24th, and my original play CHUTNEY [about a couple who decide to spice up their relationship by murdering their neighbours’ pets] is running at The Bunker Theatre throughout November.
An Evening by Patrick Chivers
Performed by Peter Frost
A man pays a visit a friend, absent on the night of their bi-weekly textiles class. The savage plot he uncovers is both haunting and tragic.
This story is a Poe-lite fable written by Patrick Chivers – soon to be seen presiding over ‘Midnight Horror’ on 26 & 27th October (the only midnight production and cheapest ticket of the festival!!) He writes: ‘For those with a taste for pre-textual explanations, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong wordsmith. Like the shocked face of an unidentified corpse, this dumb tale must be left to speak for itself.’
Banshee Bungle by Vivian C Lermond
Performed by Victoria Howell
On the Eve of All Hallows, 2 Celtic Creatures on their way to “a job” miss the opportunity and one lucky man is spared to live another day.
BANSHEE BUNGLE is a monologue in the style of the old storytelling tradition. Vivian is an award-winning playwright whose one-acts and monologues have entertained audiences in the US, Mexico and the UK.
The Intruders by Jason D. Brawn
A couple get a rude awakening during their sleep, in a cottage in the middle of the nowhere. What if witch-hunting still existed today in rustic England?
Jason D. Brawn is a rabid fan of the horror genre, and a writer of dark fiction, which includes a plethora of published short stories and prose poetry, as well as a few produced radio plays and comic book scripts. His short screenplay Portrait was made as a successful short film, and he holds a BA in Film and Media from Birkbeck, University of London.
The Beast by Scott Younger
An 18th century merchant tells of his enslavement in Africa, and the terrifying cargo he escaped with.
This piece is taken from a longer play about The Beast of Gevaudan, a true story of a wolf-like creature that terrorised France in the 18th century.
Lay Me Down by Morgan Noll, presented by Somna Theatre Company
Performed by Robbie Heath
“Lay Me Down” is a short horror tale in the form of a spoken monologue, relying on the imaginative power of children to generate a grim story of religious fear and parental anxieties. “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” meets “The Babadook” .
New kids on the block, Somna Theatre Company, have produced Lay Me Down as a thematic appetiser for their debut show as a company, Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? A one man show focused on parental fears, alienation and child paranoia. If you like what you hear tonight, then be sure to attend their London Horror Festival premiere October 15th at 9:30pm at the Old Red Lion Theatre.
Warm and Chewy by Ollie George Clark
Performed by Dene Horgan
Warm and Chewy is the story of Gerty, the parasite of a small community and how, when the rain stops and food becomes scares, the community turn to feed on him and discover just how warm and chewy he is.
This is the story of Gerty, the over grown globby parasite of a small town, becoming the Warm and Chewy centre of the community. Written by BAFTA Rocliffe Writer Ollie George Clark, his writing credits include Coconuts at the Lyric Hammersmith Evolution Festival, Those we Exile at the Almeida and in the beginning… at the Bloomsbury Festival.
Nightsweats by Sasha Wilson
It is about a woman who finds herself alone and awake in the middle of the night in the Prairie during the period of Westward expansion. It’s about hallucination and a haunting and a man that comes running from the woods toward her house.
Sasha Wilson has been described as a “trifle morbid.” She is the author of Bury The Hatchet a true crime podcast meets live bluegrass musical about the infamous American axe-murderess Lizzie Borden. She likes history and things that go bump in the night. This evening is no exception. This evening, ladies and gentlemen, she presents “Night Sweats” a tale of terror and loneliness in the Wild West.
Listen to the podcast here:
Relevant Links
Ant Man & The Wasp – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5095030/?ref_=nv_sr_1
The Spy Who Dumped Me – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6663582/?ref_=nv_sr_1
The Scare Slam Tickets – http://bit.ly/ScareSlam2018
The Scare Slam, apply to take part – http://blackshawonline.com/whats-on/
Non Zero One: Put Her Forward – http://putherforward.com/ and http://www.nonzeroone.com/projects/put-her-forward/
Victoria Sadler: 2018 Theatre in Review: Challenges for Female Playwrights Continues – http://www.victoriasadler.com/2018-theatre-in-review-challenges-for-female-playwrights-continues/
Settle down for some spooky tales! A live recording of our 2017 Scare Slam, featuring the following performances:
The Scratch by Chris Lincé
The Fatberg of Whitechapel by Reece Connolly
Murder of Crows by Ed Hartland at Stack 10 Theatre
The Watching Eye by Dan Weatherer (performed by Ellie Pitkin)
Big Eyes by Liam Steward-George (performed by Jessica Brindle)
The Watcher by Joseph Willis
[podbean resource=”episode=a2skw-7fa7c5″ type=”audio-rectangle” height=”100″ skin=”1″ btn-skin=”107″ share=”1″ fonts=”Helvetica” auto=”0″ download=”0″ rtl=”0″]
Check out the pics and reviews here.
The Scare Slam was recorded live and will be airing on the Blackshaw Arts Hour podcast on 3rd Jan 2018.
Photos by Richard Stratton – https://500px.com/richardstrat
We’re soooOoooOoooo *insert own spooky voice here* excited to announce this year’s Scare Slam line up…
Chris Lincé – The Scratch
Synopsis – A woman suffering from workplace bullying, discovers a mysterious scratch on her arm.
Intro – Chris is the co-producer and director of Hermetic Arts, whose show BADD (Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons) is at the London Horror Festival at the end of the month.
Reece Connolly – The Fatberg of Whitechapel
Synopsis – Told from the perspective of the 130 tonne, 250 m long ‘fatberg’ of cooking oil, wet wipes, nappies, excrement, and other nastiness discovered in a sewer in East London, this piece of comedy-horror spoken
word details their birth, musings, and eventual decision to rise up and take revenge on its human creators who seek to destroy it [or at the very least, convert it into biofuel]. It’s Frankenstein, but a lot smellier.
Intro – Reece Connolly is a writer and theatre-maker based in East London, originally from deepest darkest Northumberland. He grew up next door to a Victorian cemetery in a household of one-eyed cats, dead farmer’s ghosts, garden-fairies, and a thing made of rags that lived in the attic – probably explains why he loves scary stuff so much. He is involved in two production at this year’s London Horror Festival, having written and co-directed MISTER MUSHROOM, and written and directed THE STOMACHING, in which he also performs as a psychotic nun.
Stack 10 Theatre – Murder of Crows
Synopsis – A crow is kicked to death. Crows remember faces, crows hold grudges, and one night a murder of them come for a reckoning.
Info – Stack 10 Theatre have returned to the Scare Slam to bring you more tales from Chiswick, the home of horror and gateway to hell.
Dan Weatherer – The Watching Eye
Synopsis – When Tom and Angela buy Wayside Cottage, they’re hoping for an escape from the rat-race, a slower pace of life in the countryside. They might get more than they bargained for…
Info – Award-Winning Staffordshire Based Author/Playwright Author of four collections, two novels (upcoming) a novella on Dr Crippen, ad a book of plays (due 2018) Visit http://www.danweatherer.com for more details
Joseph Willis – The Watcher
Synopsis – When a man discovers a pale figure stood watching his house and a mysterious doll in his child’s possession, his sanity and family’s safety will come into question; as he tries to work out what it wants, and more terrifyingly, what it’s going to do next.
Intro – Born in Sheffield, Joseph studied a Masters in Writing, Directing and Performance at the University of York, before starting his own horror theatre collective ‘Danse Macabre Productions’. His usual work can be categorised as ‘bloody tongue in cheek’ and his piece ‘The Watcher’, is a psychological horror that taps into his irrational fear, that people staring into space, are usually doing anything but.
Liam Steward-George – Big Eyes
Synopsis – Modern look at Little Red Riding Hood set in the context of a club and taxi.
Info – Another moralistic tale about a numpty who gets it all wrong. Just don’t be a dick…
Blackshaw Theatre 