CHEER
By Kitty Hughes
Big Loop in Co-Production with The Other Room
This is Christmas.
In an attempt to capitalize even more on the country in a time of low morale, the government brought Christmas, hard. The elite celebrate the festive season, permitted to do so through their extortionately-priced Christmas licenses. The rest of society aren’t so fortunate, resorting to the synthetically produced ‘Cheer’, a black market substance dealt in pill form - simulating all of the warm, fuzzy feelings of the festive season.
In the back room of an illegal bar Jules sits making fake Christmas licenses in the run up to Christmas Day, selling them to those who can just about afford one, trading contraband with people who can’t. When a stranger, Todd, knocks on what she thought was the hidden door to her office, she is offered a new deal. But is Jules willing to take this next step into the Christmas underworld?
Is it safe?
What would happen if they were caught?
And all this talk of Cheer?
Would it just be easier to slip into oblivion?
An original play presented by Big Loop, Cheer asks “how far will you go to be happy at Christmas?”
What People Said:
“Dark, funny, very relevant and very watchable.”
“Duncan Hallis’ direction is also crucial here. The eccentricities of the Christmas motif could easily have gone further and off the rails, but Hallis stops that happening by staying true to the script’s dark and often depraved tone. The final few sequences of the play could be genuinely distressing for some people, and Hallis doesn’t play it for laughs at all. It’s brave and it works.”
— Jafar Iqbal, Wales Arts Review
“enjoyable and funny, as well as deeply political and thought provoking.”
“Cheer is a bleak outlook on the world and Christmas, but has messages and themes that really should be spoken about further than just in the theatre. It’s a brave production that won’t fail to get a reaction from anyone.”
★★★★
— Gareth Ford-Elliott, Reviews Hub
“brimming with wit & intrigue.”
“a thought provoking, Cromwellian nightmare.”
“Through all this is the fairy on top of the tree: the directing of Duncan Hallis. With a script as good as this, Hallis knows this and has helped formulate a well oiled machine here. Maybe Christmas has come early with this show.”
★★★★
— James Ellis, The Sprout
“There is bleakness, but also hope in a tale which, while it has its wacky moments, is more pensive than one might have expected.”
— Othniel Smith, British Theatre Guide
“Although a bleak tale of the trials and tribulations of consumerism, ‘Cheer’ offers a perverse humour and hope in a divided world.”
★★★★
— Izzy Wright, Quench
“immensely entertaining and engaging.”
“Duncan Hallis directs with energy and a lot of honesty. While there might have been room for development in the script, Hallis brings out the best in it-which is a combination of the comedy, and the honesty lurking beneath it. The final segments have some powerful undertones, and Hallis knows when to pull back, and let those moments land with an audience. He also knows when to balance the absurdity of the comedy with enough humanity to keep the piece focused and engaged. Hallis’ direction wrangles both script and actors into an effective package that really helps to focus what feels like the heart of Kitty Hughes writing.”
— Dr. Emily Garside, My Theatre Mates
“the two-page programme sheet contains 14 uses of the word ‘fuck’.”
★
— Nick Davies, The Stage
Written by Kitty Hughes
Directed by Duncan Hallis
Alice Downing as Jules
Cory Tucker as Todd
Creative Producer: George Soave
Designer: Ceci Calf
Lighting Designer: Garrin Clarke
Sound Designer/Composer: Matthew Holmquist
Stage Manager: Kitty Hughes
Assistant Producer: Yasmin Williams
Assistant Director: Alanna Iddon
Arts Placement: Natasha Grabauskas
Set Construction: Jack Calf
Promotional Design: Sean Cox
Photography: Tess Seymour