Rejects Revenge Theatre Company

'Rejects Revenge' was one of the longest running and popular professional touring theatre companies in the United Kingdom.

History

Rejects Revenge was founded in Liverpool in 1990 by Ann Farrar, Tim Hibberd and David White. Ann studied English at Liverpool University; David was primarily a musician from Redditch who had come to Liverpool to seek fame and fortune in the home of the Beatles (they had unfortunately left by the time he arrived), and Tim moved from the Isle of Wight to study Medieval and Modern History. Ann and David met on a community theatre course at Hope Street; Tim met Ann when she joined The Network, an agit prop socialist theatre company based at the Trade Union Centre on Hardman Street. Their training consisted mainly of partaking in the numerous free workshops given by theatre practitioners at Hope Street in the late 80's/ early 90's, organised by Peter Ward. These companies and individuals, including Trestle, the right size, Theatre de Complicite, Peta Lilly, Mime Theatre Project, would usually then perform at Liverpool's Unity Theatre under the directorship, then as now, of Graeme Phillips. In 1990 The Everyman Theatre donated its space free for three nights for anyone on the Hope Street course who wished to perform. Ann asked Tim if he wished to create a piece based on the revolutions taking place in Eastern Europe at the time, and 'Staging The Revolution' became the first work they created together. David was introduced into the company later that year. Much of their work began as devised pieces, but unlike many devising companies of the time, they were keen to turn this into a strict performance script, normally written by Tim. Their work was often very physical, but the physicality of the words was always given equal weight. After 15 years of national and international touring the company fell foul of the 2005 Arts Council cuts, and created its final production in that year. The company's archive now resides at the Museum of Liverpool Life.

Shows

• Staging the Revolution (1990)
• Pie in the Sky (1990)
• Boiling Oil and the Bouncing Monks (1991)
• A Rejects Christmas Carol (1992)
• The Wheel (1994)
• Crumble (1994)
• Peasouper (1995)
• Dusty Fruit (1997)
• Whoredom (1999 - joint production with Dog the Monkey)
• The Rejects' Canterbury Tales (2000)
• The Bicycle Bridge (2001)
• Out of the Blue (2005)
• The Steppe Brothers (2005)
• Hoof! (2005-2008 - a co-production with Spike Theatre)
• Here Be Monsters' (2008)

Awards

• 1995: Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe for Peasouper.
• 1995 Spirit of the Fringe Award at the Edinburgh Fringe for 'Peasouper'
• 1997: Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe for Dusty Fruit.

External links

• http://www.rejectsrevenge.com/
• http://www.spiketheatre.com