Hello!
We are a team of theatre makers working together to stage Joe Eyre's new play, Tiger, at south London's Omnibus Theatre this autumn. Tiger is the story of one young couple, Alice and Oli, as they deal with the fallout of Alice's dad's death. With Alice unable to work, they decide to rent out their spare room to ease their money worries - and into their lives walks a new flatmate in the shape of a talking, wise-cracking, unapologetic and inexplicable tiger. Blending comedy with tragedy and the real with the imaginary, Tiger is an exploration of love, grief and how we find a way back from loss.
Omnibus Theatre is a wonderful, supportive space for emerging artists, and we're thrilled that they've programmed us for a four-week run from 7 November to 2 December. A run of this length will allow us to attract press and industry audiences, and will ensure that the production acts as a valuable platform for all the artists involved.
We have put together a fantastic team including director Myles O'Gorman (Offie-nominated for The Blue House at the Blue Elephant Theatre) and designer Hazel Low (Splintered at Soho Theatre, Paradise Now! at the Bush Theatre), as well as lighting designer Cheng Keng, sound designer Jamie Lu, producer Jessie Anand and stage manager Emily Darley. The whole team really believes in this production as a means of talking more openly about grief, and as a chance to encourage queer theatre-making and magical realism on stage.
We will also be working with the Royal Trinity Hospice just a couple of minutes' walk from Omnibus Theatre, collaborating with them to offer wraparound events including:
- A post-show death café to open up conversations about bereavement
- A free drama workshop
What We Need
We have already raised the bulk of our budget via a grant of almost £30,000 from Arts Council England, but ACE requires match funding from other sources. We are now looking to raise £3,000 so that we can pay for vital design elements created by the brilliant Hazel Low, and so that we can run a wide-ranging marketing campaign to spread the word as far as possible.
Here are some examples of where your contributions might go:
- £150 pays for us to get posters and flyers printed
- £250 pays for digital marketing assets e.g. production photography
- £500 pays for us to have the staging and seating moved so we can perform in traverse
- £750 pays for our costumes
- £1,600 pays for our PR representation
Perks
We are thrilled to be able to offer signed posters and a scrapbook handmade by Joe documenting our process. These will all be delivered in mid-to-late-November, after the show has opened.
Risks & Challenges
Although this is the first time Joe's work has been produced at this level, our collective experience includes several productions of a similar scale. Producer Jessie Anand has produced four-week runs at Southwark Playhouse and the Finborough before, and has managed large teams via her work in musical theatre and opera. She will manage the team and the budget throughout.
All fringe theatre comes with risks, e.g. artists getting ill, rehearsal space falling through, etc. We have strong relationships with partners who can help us overcome obstacles, and we also have broad networks ourselves - so if there were an emergency, we would probably know who to call.
From our point of view, the most worrying risk is that the show won't reach a wide enough audience - and you can help us with that by contributing to our marketing campaign.
Other Ways You Can Help
Thanks so much for reading this far. If you'd like to help but you aren't able to donate, please do share this page to your networks and help us get the word out.
Thank You!