Cruelty

Edinburgh Fringe Preview: Cruelty

written Gabriel Blackwell, directed by Coco Cottam & Gabriel Blackwell

produced by The Better Craftsman

28th July at 7pm

Bringing alive the sights and sounds of the street, this darkly comic new play follows a young insomniac as he journeys through the bright lights of the city at night. Oli roams the streets, determined to find a spectacle to gawk at, and he likes nothing more than to sit and stare. That is until it begins to stare back. As vivid as a midnight joyride, 'Cruelty' is about the dubious pleasure we get from what we see and whether we can ever close our eyes to it.

'The lights are on tonight. It's ugly. It's fun.' Cruelty promises to be a lot of both.

Cast & creatives:

Oli: Luke Nixon

Voice of Brother: Alex Hopkins-McQuillan

Voice of Madge: Lydia Free

Producers: Isaaq Tomkins and Julia Males

Lighting Designer: Alva Orr

Sound Designer: Julia Males

Audience Warnings / Age Restrictions or Recommendations:

Flashing lights, profanity, references to suicide, discussion of self-harm

Review snippet from BAFTA award winner Peter Kessler:

'I never managed to see Fleabag in the theatre. But the experience must have been something like watching Gabriel Blackwell's first staged play, the astonishingly vivid, allusive and life-enhancing monologue, Cruelty . It's essentially a 70-minute poem, as captivating as a brilliant dancer caught in the flashing lights of a club'