I HEAR THE FIRE
Touring in 2020
I Hear The Fire is Sparkle and Dark's latest production in development, in association with Jacksons Lane and the Bunker Theatre, using an experimental script, explosive movement sequences and a live on-stage sound artist.
A girl at Jerome’s school is dead. He didn’t know her, except he sat next to her in art class. And yet everything he does now seems to come back to her.
Everyone is expecting him get over it, man-up, be strong... ... but now he's stood above a paper-filled bin. He's got a lighter in hand. And nothing else matters.
We witness Jerome's whole story in a moment, as it flashes through his mind, as the bin is set alight. Conflicting voices, snatches of memory, violent visions and an impending zombie apocalypse... all as the world around him burns.
The show challanges social perceptions of masculinity, gender and mental health from the perspective of Jerome, as he searches for an emotional voice in a world that doesn’t want to listen and doesn’t want to see him cry.
In Development
The show is currently in development after an R&D in April 2019 with support from Jackson's Lane Theatre, Blighty Women's Project, the Bunker Theatre and Arts Council England.
I Hear The Fire takes an in depth look at attitudes towards mental health for adolescent boys in Britain today and the psychological and neurological consequences of a culture which supresses the emotional voice of young men.
Following the initial R&D in April 2019, we will be working closely with psychologists, neuroscientists and their research, alongside teen participants and experts by experience, to fully develop I Hear the Fire to tour nationally in 2020.
Meet the cast and creative team below in this short behind the scenes trailer:
The Team
I Hear The Fire aims to assault the senses and electrify our ideas of what it's like to be inside someone else's head. To bring this to life, we are excited to be working with Sound Artist Steph Horak to bring live electronic sound scapes into the space. Listen to her work here at stephhorak.wordpress.com. We will also be working with Video Artist Tom Brown to literally set the stage on fire and unleash an army of zombies... check out his work here at tombrownvisual.com.
We are also working with Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Nick Barnes as one of our primary project mentors, using his years of experience as an adolescent psychiatrist to guide our development of the script, sound design and character. Nick worked with us during I AM BEAST and has worked with children, young people and families in the London Borough of Haringey for nearly 15 years at the Haringey Adolescent Outreach Team. Neuroscientist Dr Kirstie Whitaker is also returning to work with us from I AM BEAST, helping us to understand the affect of trauma in the teenage brain. Dr Whitaker is a Research Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute (London, UK) and a postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
Jerome: Nathaniel Allen
Carla/Claire: Eileen Duffy
Boz: Ishmel Bridgemen
Alison/Mrs Richardson: Bronya Deutsch
Director: Shelley Knowles-Dixon
Writer: Louisa Ashton
Story by: Sparkle and Dark
Sound Design / performance: Steph Horak
Lighting: Claire Childs
Projection: Tom Brown
Producer: Natalie Alison
Photography: Robert PIwko
Trailer filming / editing: Tate Creations - Dylan Tate
Biomedical Collaborators: Dr Kirstie Whitaker, Dr Nick Barnes
Past Devisors: Howard Horner, Alex Capon
Supported by:
Special thanks to our biomedical collaborators Dr Nick Barnes and Dr Kirstie Whitaker for their ongoing support and input with I Hear The Fire after their work with us on I AM BEAST. Thanks to Jacksons Lane and their phenomenal support at this early stage. And thank you for support from the Bunker Theatre, bringing us into their space and allowing us to show the work in progress.
And thank you to Blighty Workspace for welcoming us into their family. Blighty raises money for the excellent Blighty Womens Project: www.blightywomensproject.org.uk