What Would Jarvis Do? runs at the Omnibus Theatre from 6-16 October, after two sold-out development performances at the same address.
What Would Jarvis Do? runs at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham from 6-16 October, with press night on Wednesday 7 October and tickets from £20. The play returns to the building that hosted its two sold-out development performances, this time for a full two-week run supported by Arts Council England.
Didi and GG are best friends and superfans of Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. When a pair of yellow trousers said to have been worn by the man himself comes up for auction through their wildly unconventional therapist, they empty their pockets to buy them – and then discover the trousers may not be his at all. The hunt for the real pair turns into a surreal odyssey of eccentric strangers, impossible coincidences and the creeping sense that they have been here before.
Writer Laura Grillo drew on her own experience of sudden loss during lockdown, and on the Britpop records that got her through it. The result is billed as an experimental, absurdist black comedy about fandom, grief and the stories we attach to treasured objects – a play for anyone who remembers the era first time round, and for anyone who has found Pulp since.
Maiya Pascouche directs, having previously staged her company Missing Rib Collective’s 4 girls the first letter e at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the King’s Head Theatre. Laurel Marks is lighting designer, Frew is sound designer and Ella Dale produces.
Before the run opens, Grillo is curating The Memory Lounge, a one-off gathering at Bobby Fitzpatrick on West End Lane on Thursday 24 September. Part listening lounge and part playful installation, it invites guests through a collection of familiar and unexpected objects – sleeping bags, dressing-up clothes, old photographs and magazines – chosen to trigger memories of their own, with a 1990s Britpop soundtrack and a later set from DJ J Hellfire. Disposable cameras will record the evening for a growing archive, and it is the first in a planned series.
The production runs at the Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common Northside. Performances are at 7.30pm Tuesday to Saturday, with matinees at 2.30pm on Saturdays and 4pm on Sundays. Running time is 80 minutes with no interval, the age guidance is 14+, and tickets start at £20.
