BEN(d)S [Working Title]

A NEW PLAY BY CHARLOTTE EAST

“PUT THE FEAR IN A BUBBLE AND SEND IT UP TOP. BUBBLES UP BUD, BUBBLES UP”

Joan is returning to the water for the first time. A champion free diver, she knows how to hold her breath, surrender to silence, and descend into the dark. But grief has its own depths.

“Down there, in the deep, there is nowhere to hide. You meet your mind in its rawest state. You face flickers of fear, the doubts, the surge of adrenaline, the impulse to escape. But you also meet something steady, ancient, and calm - a part of yourself that exists beyond reaction, beyond ego, beyond time. The still point in a turning world.”

- Simona Auteri Italian champion 95m

3 week R&D supported by ACE, Salisbury Playhouse, AD Infinitum & Sparks Bristol.

James Gow, Composer & Multi-instrumentalist played live with solo performer, Anna Marks Pryce.

Writer Charlotte East
Director Natalie Simone
Producer Shae Rooke
Performer Anna Marks Pryce
Production Design Angelica Rush
Sound & Composition James Now
Lighting & Video Hugo Dodsworth
Movement Cat Giles
Dramaturg Helen Morley
Freediving Specialist Simona Auteri
Company Stage Manager Seren Tuson
Scribes Tamsin Fessey & Sophie Corner

Photographer Craig Fuller