Wanstead Theatre Co has been a regular feature at the Fringe and this year, the company returns with Talking Heads. Fiona Gordon explains what to expect and the innovative way it’s being promoted
As a site-specific theatre company, where we perform the play in the place it is set, we are always on the lookout for suitable Wanstead venues. Over the years, Eton Manor (Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson), The Bull (Two) and Our Lady of Lourdes (Bazaar and Rummage) have generously offered us their space and time.
And this year, it is City Place Coffee in the middle of our bustling High Street that has kindly agreed to host our production: the well-loved and universally acclaimed Talking Heads by Alan Bennett.
Filmed originally as a TV series in the late 80s and the early 90s, it was then remade during lockdown for a new housebound audience. It was one of the very few TV shows allowed to be filmed due to social distancing rules, as each episode only has one actor in it. However, the famous episodes featuring Thora Hird in the original series could not be remade due to social contact being restricted with anyone over 70.
Not often performed as a stage show, we are delighted to be bringing it to life in a vibrant high street setting. Three women in a café. Each has a story. What secrets will you overhear?
But that’s not all we’ve been working on. This year we have decided to harness the power of social media to widen our audience at our shows and elevate our profile.
We have made a mini mockumentary about the fictional production team who run Wanstead Theatre Co. Filmed in various Wanstead locations, it is a behind-the-scenes comedy about a theatre company and the current show they are doing, which as far as we know, has never been done before.
We want people to engage with the mockumentary, find it funny, then realise we are a real-life professional theatre company and they can actually come and watch the show featured in the episodes. And who knows? If they are lucky, they may also bump into some of the characters.
Each episode is just two or three minutes long, broken up into mini clips for social media, but the full episodes will be put on YouTube so they can be watched in a more traditional TV format. A selection of the clips can also be seen on the popular Facebook group, Wanstead Community Hub.
We hope this modern way of raising our profile will secure the future of our theatre company. Our mission of bringing the West End to Wanstead still holds true, but hopefully, with the added exposure, we’ll be bringing the audience to Wanstead as well.
For more information on Wanstead Fringe events, visit wnstd.com/fringe
