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Prayers and thoughts: The Inseparables @Finboroughtheatre

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The Inseparables brings Simone de Beauvoir’s posthumously published novel to life. It traces a lifelong friendship between Sylve and Andrée, two unconventional girls who grew up in a stifling world where being a woman meant getting married or entering a convent. With a quick pace and engaging performances from the two leads, it is a journey back into the 20th century that captures two unconventional women trapped in a conventional world that will have you reflecting on how much or little things have moved on in the last century. It’s currently playing at the Finborough Theatre .  We’re introduced to Sylve praying for her country, France, to be saved from the war and indoctrinated into the world of faith and obedience. But too smart for all that, her life was full of detached guilt and boredom. But when she meets Andrée, a new arrival at her school, she is struck by how different she is from everyone else. She was burned in a fire and had a passion for life that nobody else she knew...

Previewing grey matter: Grey Man @Theatre503

 
Part theatrical experiment, part exploration on perspectives, the Grey Man at Theatre 503 promises to be an interesting night out. Two women, one half the age of the other, take a different perspective to the same event.

The piece explores how different perspectives reshape the world around us, and how the power of story telling.

Maya is a 50 year old woman revisiting the site of a terrible family tragedy. Meanwhile Maya is 25 year old woman returning to her family to help her sister who is recovering from a mental illness. 

One is dark. One is light. And if you missed a line first time around, you are bound to catch it on the second.

This is the second production from REND which aims to embark on risk-taking theatre experiences.

The piece is written by Lulu Raczka, who was part of the Royal Court Writers Programme in 2014. Her recent work, Clytemnestra, was part of The Iphigenia Quartet at Theatre503’s sister theatre, the Gate. 

The piece is directed by Robyn Winfield-Smith, who is is Artistic Director of REND Productions. 

It is on this week only at Theatre503 in Battersea.

Photo credit: Nick Rutter

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