Marde Hen return with new play

Following on from the success of Late and their Eagle Award-nominated production Fish & Chips, and following the recently sold-out and acclaimed Shafted, Marde Hen Productions present their fourth play Light One Up.

Taking you back to 2007 with the introduction of the ban on smoking in public places, this new play by Jane Wilton inadvertently throws together a group of desperate and disgruntled employees of a factory that puts the fish into fish fingers.

Banished from their workplace, and huddled together under their dilapidated gazebo, these “pergola pariahs” chunter and mumble their way through their lunch break – putting the world to rights while concealing their own secrets which the audience will become privy to when the characters each ‘light one up’ and convey their inner monologue.

Not always palatable or conducive to lunch time dining, the audience alone may hear secret revelations, desires, dreams, and lies. Some of these revelations will come back to haunt them, sending the characters, along with the audience, on a journey of self-discovery.

“It was at university that I first became fascinated in what I believed highlighted a new sub-culture which sprang up when the smoking in public places ban was enforced,” says writer/director Jane Wilton. “I’ve never tried a cigarette personally, but I was fascinated by the way a lot of people were ‘chained’ together when forced to. I have tried to create a mismatched group of individuals.

“The play is honestly not really about smoking. Smoking is the vehicle that the characters use to communicate. It is a character based play, which examines the dynamics of dialogue and relationships which are explored when people are united in communal activity.”

Tickets are priced at £8 with performances taking place at the Strutts Centre, Belper on December 1-3 at 7.30 pm.

For tickets, visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/mardehenproductions, or call either 07875 648562 or 07886 017913. Alternatively, feel free to contact Marde Hen Productions on e-mail at mardehenproductions.co.uk. Don’t forget to follow @MARDE HEN on Twitter for updates on this show and future productions.