University of Sussex Students' Newspaper

Sussex drama breaks into Brighton: ‘Wild East’ preview

The Badger

ByThe Badger

Dec 8, 2008

“PITT: That’s what our job is. To find what has been taken away and plug the gap with something else that pretends to be the answer…”

A nervous, socially defunct anthropology graduate called Frank applies for a job at a sinister and unnamed multinational corporation. He is interviewed by two formidable businesswomen; Dr Gray and Dr Pitt, who are entangled in a turbulent relationship of desire, reliance and manipulation.

Frank, suddenly finding himself embroiled in the fraught power struggles between the two lovers, becomes a pawn in a game he cannot understand. The characters exist in ‘a dollar-hungry world where the devil takes the hindmost’ (Telegraph review), and while they are all desperate for it to happen, none of them seems to know how to get out.

’Wild East’, by April De Angelis, is an exciting, funny and provocative play that is beautifully written and deals expertly with issues of clashing political ideologies, gender, sexuality and our relationships with the man-made and natural worlds. It explores the volatile nature of graduate and near-graduate life; the disillusionment, the encounters with those you might become and the need to re-assess who you are and make an impact while you can.

The cast and crew consist entirely of Sussex students and slightly disillusioned alumni. The director, Tinuke Craig, was one of the Royal Court’s young writers and has had her work short-listed for the prestigious Young Writers Festival.

The cast is comprised of Rosie Sansom (Dr Pitt), Katy Thomas (Dr Gray) and Alex Brown (Frank), who have all enjoyed numerous acting successes with SUDS and in London. The play is produced by company director, Holly McGrane.

‘Wild East’ is on at the Marlborough Theatre on Princes Street (near the Pavilion) on Wednesday 17th, Thursday 18th and Saturday 20th of December at 7pm.

You can book tickets by calling 07799144571, emailing info@marlboroughtheatre.co.uk or just turning up on the night.

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