This week The Old Market presents a whirlwind solo show of self-discovery, aided by the music of David Bowie.
Eighteen year old misfit Martin, portrayed by Alex Walton, has a lonely life struggling with mental illness and isolation from his peers. One day he embarks on a search for the Bowie-obsessed father who abandoned him, and so begins an odyssey across London, as he attempts to figure out who he is and where he belongs.
While the show’s spiralling success since its launch in late 2016 likely stemmed from the startling impact of his death earlier that year, writer and director Adrian what Berry is keen to stress the show isn’t really about the musical legend; it’s about a boy and what Bowie means to him. “The Bowie reference was always likely to get attention,” he admitted to Everything Theatre earlier this month. “There was a risk of how people would feel once they realised it wasn’t really a Bowie jukebox play. Because it’s a play about a boy with a mental health [issue].”
Adrian Berry designed the show as a semi-biographical exploration of his own isolated youth, and how his relationship with London and its music scene challenged that. Dark humour, magic realism and a powerful eighties soundtrack combine in a moving and sensational coming-of-age journey.
From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads shows at The Old Market from Tuesday 23 January – Thursday 25 January. All shows start at 8:00pm.
Tickets : From £12.50 standard / £10 concessions (including full time students)