Wake up, maggie

All Things Considered

Wake Up, Maggie is All Things Considered Theatre’s second collaboration with writer and performer Stuart Crowther. Directed by Sarah Hogarth this autobiographical performance explores Emma and Stuart's reflections on their own class status. We had lots of discussions about what we could create together and the idea came from a photo Stuart had taken of an empty stage, a microphone and a chair. From the very start we wanted this to be a stripped down performance, ourselves laid bare on the stage sharing our stories about growing up in the late 80's in London and the early 90's in Rochdale.

The performance centres around Emma's attempts to try and join Stuart at the local working men's club for a pint and a karaoke song. Whilst Stuart is certain he belongs there, Emma is less clear. When creating the work we explored what it meant to 'belong' to a class and the impact it has to feel 'classless' in a culture which places us so firmly within these set definitions. Emma grew up with a working class father and an upper class mother. Her experiences of living on the dole, wearing second hand clothes yet holidaying in different properties owned by her mothers parents led to her lack of clearly defined class status and essentially a sense of belonging. Using karaoke, spoken word, clowning and other silliness in the form of a duet with Tom Cruise the performance questions if class can be as easily defined as the quizes we see so often citing music taste or how many times you've been to the opera. It asks the audience to define their own class and begins to question ideas around social mobility. Within all of this we were determined that it would be a celebration of our working class experience and the people, places and experiences that defined our childood experiences. We had a ball and we are so pleased the audience did too!

Wake Up, Maggie! was performed at:

Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Ipswich

Liverpool Fringe Festival SOLD OUT

Didsbury Arts Festival SOLD OUT

Greater Manchester Fringe Festival SOLD OUT

We were nominated for every award at The Liverpool Fringe Festival and Emma won Best Actress.

Wake Up, Maggie received a Five Star Review from North West End Reviews.