Productions & Events Summer Season 2025

PRODUCTIONS
& EVENTS
SUMMER SEASON 2025

PAGE 1
CENTRAL’S SUMMER
SEASON 2025
Welcome to another exciting season at Central.
Unique, provocative, inspiring, and existential: from
performances to exhibitions, events and screenings –
Central is the place to be.
Here you will discover the work of new writers and
of game-changing directors and designers. You will
encounter evocative settings, landscapes and labyrinths
through design and film. All this is made possible together
with visiting professionals and creatives, our brilliant
academic staff and of course, right at the centre of Central,
our students.
The stories we tell are secret maps to a world that can so
often feel in flux. They guide us and help to remind us that
we are not alone: we are more connected than we realise.
We are reminded that difference is to be celebrated,
teamwork and community are everything.
This is Central.
Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE
Principal
ONLINE www.cssd.ac.uk/events
CALL US 020 7722 8183
How to Book
PUBLIC PRODUCTIONS
4 – 7 JUNE PINTER 5 COURTYARD THEATRE 3
4 – 7 JUNE VOLPONE WEBBER DOUGLAS STUDIO 5
11 – 14 JUNE BRIGHTON ROCK EMBASSY THEATRE 7
18 – 21 JUNE 1972: THE FUTURE OF SEX WEBBER DOUGLAS STUDIO 9
25 – 28 JUNE Fuente EMBASSY THEATRE 11
10 – 12 JULY CARRIE: The Musical EMBASSY THEATRE 13
23 – 26 JULY LYSISTRATA (UPRISING) WEBBER DOUGLAS STUDIO 15
23 – 26 JULY THE IDIOT EMBASSY THEATRE 17
EXHIBITIONS
7 – 9 MAY THEATRE PRACTICE THROUGHOUT CENTRAL 18
30 JUNE – 3 JULY Scenography Exhibition DENCH STUDIO, Studio A 19
FESTIVALS
16 – 19 JUNE Ta-Dah Hoxton Hall 20
16 – 19 JUNE A Future’s Project Hoxton Hall 20
24 JUNE Directed Project Central 20
25 – 26 JUNE FESTIVAL! by Chaos in Shoes HOXTON HALL 21
25 – 26 JUNE TEMPERANCE HOXTON HALL 21
SCREENINGS
2 JULY SHORT FILMS British Film Institute 21
THE TEO ANTHOLOGY, FLAT FOR RENT
4 JULY SHORT FILMS New Studio 21
THE TEO ANTHOLOGY, FLAT FOR RENT
Cover image from Big God, Little Me, photo by Cam Harle.
Information in this brochure is correct at publication.
Please scan the QR codes or check on www.cssd.ac.uk/events for updates.

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PINTER 5
REQUEST STOP
PARTY TIME
THE PRES AND AN OFFICER
MOUNTAIN LANGUAGE
PRECISELY
BY HAROLD PINTER
Director Martin Wylde
Performed by MA Acting Contemporary
Movement by MA Movement: Directing & Teaching
In this stripped back production of a selection of Pinter’s short plays and sketches,
MA Acting Contemporary explore power and the abuse of power. From the woman
shouting at a bus stop, to the man who can end twenty million lives at the touch of a
button, Pinter’s words cut to the quick, in equal turns satirising and eviscerating.
Meanwhile, the privileged and powerful continue to party whilst uprisings on the
streets are crushed and political prisoners are denied the right to speak.
These short pieces expose the fragility of a world where humanity is its own greatest
existential threat.
By arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.
www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
“I’ll say it just one more time. Nuke London.
This is a presidential decree.”
Courtyard Theatre, Central
WEDNESDAY 4 – SATURDAY 7 JUNE, 7.15PM
FRIDAY 6 – SATURDAY 7 JUNE, 2.15PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/pinter-5

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Volpone
BY BEN JONSON
Directors Anna Healey, Morwenna Rowe
Performed by MA Acting Classical
Movement by MA Movement: Directing & Teaching
Volpone, a filthy rich Venetian, greedy for more wealth, pretends to be on his death
bed in order to trick some corrupt legacy hunters into giving him lavish gifts in the
hope of inheriting his estate.
This vicious comic satire is full of charlatans, swindlers and fools, each trying to out
trick each other whilst looking out for number one…
First performed in 1606 at The Globe Theatre by The King’s Men, the company that
Shakespeare belonged to, however, he doesn’t appear on any of the Volpone cast
lists, but there is good evidence that fellow company member Richard Burbage
played the title role.
“Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed...”
“All the wise world is little else,
in nature, but parasites...”
Webber Douglas Studio, Central
WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE, 7.00PM
THURSDAY 5 JUNE, 2.00PM & 7.00PM
FRIDAY 6 JUNE, 7.00PM
SATURDAY 7 JUNE, 2.00PM & 7.00PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/volpone

PAGE 7
Brighton Rock
BY BRYONY LAVERY
Director Ian Good
Performed by BA (Hons) Acting
Designed & produced by BA (Hons) Theatre Practice
Thriller set in the late 30s, early 1940s in a new adaption by Bryony Lavery based on
the classic novel by Graham Greene.
Brighton is embroiled in gang warfare in the between War era. Murder after murder.
Gangs in competition.
One woman, Ida, is in search of the truth
The troubles snowball as betrayal, guilt, false emotion, Catholic values, redemption
and the ongoing fight between good and evil climax and ultimately destroy
everything.
Through Brighton’s dark underworld,
a gang warfare is raging.
Embassy Theatre, Central
WEDNESDAY 11 – SATURDAY 14 JUNE, 7.00PM
FRIDAY 13 – SATURDAY 14 JUNE, 2.00PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/brighton-rock

PAGE 9
1972: The Future
of Sex
BY THE WARDROBE ENSEMBLE
Director Barry Fitzgerald
Performed by BA (Hons) Acting Musical Theatre
Designed & produced by BA (Hons) Theatre Practice
It’s 1972 – a time of endless possibilities, polyester and pubic hair.
Ziggy Stardust is on Top of the Pops, Pride protesters take to the streets and free love
is here!
1972: The Future Of Sex follows various characters as they navigate the up and downs
of sexual liberation. A hard and fast look at an era of revolution and shifting societal
norms. It was so much easier back then, right?
Originally devised and performed by The Wardrobe Ensemble, this new production
will set pulses racing and bodies grooving with newly composed music, a live band,
wild theatricality and beanbags.
By arrangement with Nick Hern Books.
This is it! 1972! Free floating across
the cosmos like groovy astronauts.
Webber Douglas Studio, Central
WEDNESDAY 18 – SATURDAY 21 JUNE, 7.30PM
FRIDAY 20 – SATURDAY 21 JUNE, 2.30PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/1972-future-of-sex

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Fuente
AFTER FUENTEOVEJUNA BY LOPE DE VEGA
Director Mark Maughan
Performed by BA (Hons) Acting CDT
Designed & produced by BA (Hons) Theatre Practice
Fuente is a bold reworking of Lope de Vega’s Fuenteovejuna, relocating its timeless
story of unity and resistance to a rural Spanish village just after the death of dictator
Francisco Franco in 1976.
When an outside force arrives and lays claim to the town’s water in the dying
moments of the dictatorship, intentions prove far from innocent. What begins as
extraction becomes something much deeper than water - a threat to shatter the
community at its core. As pressure mounts, they must decide whether to stay silent
or rise together.
Rooted in the Spanish Golden Age classic, Fuente speaks powerfully to the now – a
time when solidarity, courage, and collective voice have never felt more urgent.
At its heart, the production is a reflection on resilience, shared strength, and the
enduring need to stand up – together – in the face of adversity.
Uprising and rebellion in the
rural village of Córdoba.
Embassy Theatre, Central
WEDNESDAY 25 – SATURDAY 28 JUNE, 7.00PM
FRIDAY 27 – SATURDAY 28 JUNE, 2.00PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/fuente

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CARRIE: THE MUSICAL
LYRICS BY DEAN PITCHFORD
MUSIC BY MICHAEL GORE
BOOK BY LAWRENCE D. COHEN
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY STEPHEN KING
Director Jess Edwards
Performed by MA Musical Theatre: Acting & Performance
Being at high school can really suck. We all know how hard it is to feel like an outsider.
But Carrietta White is having a nightmare. Bullied by her classmates and oppressively
protected by her mother, Carrie feels like no one really understands her.
But when she discovers her emotions have a kinetic power all of their own, an
attempt to break out of the prison of her teenage angst can only lead to tragedy.
Based on the Stephen King novel and the Brian De Palma movie, the original 1988
production of Carrie has a cult following, infamous among modern musical theatre.
By arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk.
An awkward teenage girl
with telekinetic powers.
Embassy Theatre, Central
THURSDAY 10 – SATURDAY 12 JULY, 2.00PM & 7.00PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/carrie

The world is now in a woman’s hands.
Lysistrata (UPRISING)
BY PAULA RODRIGUEZ & REBECCA ROGERS
BASED ON ARISTOPHANES’ LYSISTRATA
PAGE 15
Directors Paula Rodriguez, Rebecca Rogers
Performed by MA Acting Contemporary
“We must do something to stop the war. If we don’t, we’ll be silent witnesses while
men destroy each other.”
Hellas teeters on the brink of catastrophe. Ravaged by endless war, society has
fractured - men sent to fight, women confined to their homes, and an oppressive elite
tightens its grip.
But a rebellion is coming.
A group of women launch a bold, unexpected strike to bring the war machine to a
halt. They demand a new world. Will they succeed, or is history doomed to repeat
itself?
Lysistrata (Uprising) reimagines Aristophanes’ comedy (411 BC) in a not-so-distant
dystopian future.
Webber Douglas Studio, Central
WEDNESDAY 23 – SATURDAY 26 JULY, 7.15PM
THURSDAY 24 & SATURDAY 26 JULY, 2.15PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/lysistrata-uprising

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A portrait of innocence confronted
by the brutal reality of human greed.
The Idiot
BY FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY
ADAPTED BY SIMON GRAY
Director Simon Scardifield
Performed by MA Acting Classical
“There’s an idea that’s been bothering me – to portray a perfectly beautiful man.”
Prince Myshkin has been in a Swiss clinic seeking treatment for epilepsy. He has other
ailments too: chronic compassion, honesty and hope.
The arrival of this awkward and unworldly character in a spiritually bankrupt St
Petersburg triggers an explosion of consternation, moral confusion, fear – and love.
Carnal, life-affirming and corrosive.
Dostoevsky’s The Idiot is one of the most colourful, passionate and bitterly comic
novels ever to have been written. This staging of Simon Gray’s adaptation is a timely
and unforgettable exploration of the Russian soul.
By arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.
www.concordtheatricals.co.uk.
Embassy Theatre, Central
WEDNESDAY 23 – SATURDAY 26 JULY, 7.00PM
FRIDAY 25 & SATURDAY 26 JULY, 2.00PM
Booking: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/the-idiot

THEATRE PRACTICE
Exhibition
Thursday 8 – Friday 9 May, 10.00am to 5.00pm
Throughout Central
Created by BA (Hons) Theatre Practice
Inviting you to celebrate the work & accomplishments
of final year Design, Production & Crafts students
SCENOGRAPHY
EXHIBITION
Monday 30 June – Thursday 3 July
Dench Studio & Studio A, Central
Created by MA/MFA Scenography
Information: Dr Simon Donger
simon.donger@cssd.ac.uk
Information: www.cssd.ac.uk/events/theatre-practice-exhibition
18 19

FESTIVALS
SCREENINGS
TA-DAH
Ladies, Gentlemen and everyone
between and beyond the binary
welcome…to Ta-Dah.
A contemporary cabaret inspired by
The Scissor Sisters self-titled, debut
album with a focus on short form
performance styles from the world of
cabaret, variety, vaudeville, burlesque
and music hall.
Cabaret, as an historically working class
form of entertainment, responds to
contemporary politics, to our histories
and traditions, and creates joyful and
silly moments of escape.
A FUTURE’S PROJECT
(for young audiences)
Set in the future, this will present
provocative scenarios of unpredictable
tomorrows (and days after tomorrow),
for an audience of teenagers to interact
with and re-shape. It will use gameand
simulation-based participatory
performance inviting our audience to
explore how life might be when they are
old enough to take important decisions
for themselves and for their families,
communities and the world.
Created, designed & performed by
BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre &
Education, BA (Hons) Performance
Design
Directed Project
A new collaboratively written work
dramatising a single day – the summer
solstice – as it plays out in different
areas of Hampstead Heath.
Over hundreds of years, from medieval
grasslands to industrial-era conflicts to
modern day leisure, the Heath and the
people in it change and they stay the
same.
Objects are lost and found, myths are
made, and stories that should and
shouldn’t have taken place unfold,
wending their way through time and
place in unexpected ways.
Created & performed by BA (Hons)
Writing for Performance
Tuesday 24 June, Central
Information/booking:
louise.owen@cssd.ac.uk
FESTIVAL!
by Chaos in Shoes
Created & performed by BA (Hons)
Experimental Arts and Performance
A student-led festival of crossdisciplinary
performance.
TEMPERANCE
Created & performed by BA (Hons)
Experimental Arts and Performance
& BA (Hons) Design for Performance
An immersive adaptation of an
amateur production based on a musical
reworking of a nineteenth century play
on temperance serves as propaganda
for a nefarious club running rituals in
the basement of Hoxton Hall.
Short films specifically developed by
a team of professional writers and
directors for MA Acting for Screen.
THE TELO ANTHOLOGY
By Megan Patten-Fellows
Directors Marta Baidek & Lydia Rui
Book a room for an hour – four
stories set over one day in a hotel
where clients seek love, spiritual
connection and the truth.
FLAT FOR RENT
By John Booker, Charles Pipe &
Emma Jo Pallett
Directors Amanda Brennan &
Jessica Pentney
In a fully furnished apartment
lives come and go as we eavesdrop
on some of the residents over an
undisclosed period.
A mixture of comedy, ghost, horror
and drama.
Wednesday 2 July, 5.00pm & 6.30pm
British Film Institute
21 Stephen Street W1T 1LN
Friday 4 July, 7.00pm
New Studio, Central
Information/booking:
industry.liaison@cssd.ac.uk
Monday 16 – Thursday 19 June,
Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton St,
London N1 6SH
Information/booking:
marilena.zaroulia@cssd.ac.uk
Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 June
Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton St,
London N1 6SH
Information/booking:
www.cssd.ac.uk/events
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Centre for Performance,
Technology, and Equity (PTEQ)
Image copyright Allan Joyce Architects.
Central continues its commitment to ensuring the student community can access
groundbreaking approaches to immersive and digital technologies through the
arts, further preparing them for careers across the creative industries.
Funded by a £5.6 million grant from Research England, the Centre for
Performance, Technology, and Equity (PTEQ) new building will be dedicated to
innovating ground-breaking approaches to immersive and digital technologies
from a performance-led perspective, in tandem with promoting social equity.
The final phase of the development is due for completion in 2026. For up to date
information see www.cssd.ac.uk/research/pteq