Jack Dean in association with LittleMighty presents:GRANDAD AND THE MACHINEContact Dick Bonham (producer) at: dick@littlemighty.co.uk; 07956 573 679.

About the project:This is a story for anyone who ever dreamed of a different world.

A hundred-year-old mechanical monster emerges from the waves. Everyday objects turn on their makers and the Empire is plunged into chaos. No one knows why. No one can stop it. Except maybe Grandad. He always was good with a spanner.

That’s why Imogen and her father head north to find him. Their journey becomes an epic quest across England that leads to the heart of a dark family secret.

This is a brand new steampunk fairytale for grownups, mixing vivid storytelling with an original live score. There will be Zeppelins. It will be whimsical. We will overcome tyranny while having a rollicking good time.

Grandad and the Machine is an epic new storytelling show that takes on the rise and fall of British capitalism through the lens of a contemporary intergenerational fairytale. With a cheeky glint in its eye, it explores questions of our national identity and what makes us who we are.

The piece recently underwent a Research & Development period supported by Arts Council England, spoken word development agency Apples and Snakes and West Yorkshire Playhouse. He has now performed the piece at The HUB, Leeds, Plymouth Fringe Festival and the Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter.

During 2016 we are being supported in touring the show to theatre venues by the Unlimited Fund for arts by disabled artists, who are also helping us work on making the show accessible to different audiences, including preparing a printed version of the show text.

By working with Caravan we hope to open up the show to new international promoters and audiences, engaging with issues of politics and community that increasingly have a global importance and resonance.

“Peppered with wit and bristling with ideas” – Remotegoat“A sublime piece of storytelling that will have you hooked until the end” — North East Theatre Guide

About Jack Dean:

“Artists like Jack Dean make us excited about what they might do next” – THE GUARDIAN

Jack Dean is a writer, performer, poet and theatre-maker, who uses hip-hop, spoken word, comedy and theatre to investigate modern mythologies and the human condition. He has performed internationally at events and venues such as the Bowery Poetry Club in New York, Latitude Festival and the Radio 4 National Poetry Slam. He won an Ideastap Innovators Award in 2012, and has worked extensively with Apples and Snakes, with whom he toured the UK with spoken word show Rain.

His previous show, Threnody for the Sky Children, was commissioned by Bristol Ferment and won a Reading Fringe Award for Best Production, before a critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2014. In that year he was also commissioned by Camden People’s Theatre to write and perform his short play Camden on the Moon as part of their 20:20 Vision event.

He is currently under commission with Stockton ARC and Barnsley Civic to create a new children’s piece, Horace and the Yeti. This will be premiered at the theatres in February 2016, before touring later in the year and in 2017.

Jack is being supported in his work by producer LittleMighty. A partnership between Dick Bonham (ex-Carriageworks Theatre) and Gloria Lindh (ex-Your Imagination), the company works with remarkable artists to make brilliant theatre happen. Their other current clients include award winners such as Unfolding Theatre (“charming, harmonizing, enchanting” – The Telegraph) and Move to Stand (“full of wounded heart, this is a show that lingers in the mind” – The Guardian).

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Production Requirements:

Company2 performers, including touring musician / technician.

Playing Space:Suitable for small- and mid-scale studio spaces. Minimum playing area 6 m x 4m.Set consists of 2 infinity drapes, central screen and various smaller set and prop items.

Get-in: Minimum 3 hoursGet-out: 1 hour immediately after performance

Lighting and Sound:Lighting Rig, PA, and Projector.Full tech rider available on request.

Finance:

We are ideally looking to secure a fee of £750 per performance.

Upcoming Dates

13 – 15 October – Camden People’s Theatre21 November - Trouble At Mill, Farnsley, Leeds20 April – Stockton ARC

Further dates TBC

Credits:

Written, performed and with music by Jack DeanDirected By Polly Agg-ManningDesign by Sophie MosbergerLighting Design by Sam-Hollis PackDramaturgy by Alex ChisholmStage Management by Josh LucasProduced by LittleMighty