Reclaim: The Monday Scratch
Bringing together four local, up-and-coming and established artists to share their current work in progress. Expect a selection of female powerhouses trialling excerpts from one woman shows, experimental theatre pieces and thought-provoking reflections on real life.
Lucy / Lucia
Lucy / Lucia is an intimate play that tells the story of an encounter between two women at a cold bus stop: Sally, a local worker worn down by routine, and Lucia, a migrant woman in the midst of cultural adaptation. Through a mix of English and Spanish, moments of miscommunication, gestures of empathy, and small acts of kindness, the play explores isolation, identity, and the deep human longing for connection. At its heart is Lucia, a vibrant woman striving to express herself in a foreign language without losing her inner voice. Cold, dance, and silence become shared languages in this story of sisterhood.
Cristina Gómez Penna is a Chilean theatre director, producer, and performer based in Exeter since 2022. Former Artistic Director of Creces Teatro, she has directed and produced a wide range of theatrical works. Her creative practice is deeply rooted in explorations of gender and migration. In parallel, she has collaborated with community groups in diverse cultural contexts, integrating socially engaged methods into her artistic process. As a director, she sees theatre as a space for expression, connection, and transformation.
Age guide: 15+
Land
Physical ideas in process created and performed by Jane Mason.
Coming out of a need to keep moving as an older dancer.
Seeing what is left in a time of change.
Fragments of song, text and movement.
Here, here, here and gone.
Belly Flop
A highly physical comedy about diving head first into motherhood, Belly Flop is a semi-autobiographical solo. Sam explores juggling expectations and societal pressures, and draws parallels between her dance training and parenting. Expect mum dancing, myth busting and talking a lot of sh*t.
Combining comedy, poetry and movement, Belly Flop shines a light on being a new mum, and the word: Matrescence — the powerful transformation of becoming a parent, that is as big a change as adolescence. This is a bold, relatable and heartwarming show, with a mumifesto.
The show includes themes about maternal mental health and isolation.
Belly Flop is the first solo show by North Devon-raised theatre-maker, Sam Gilroy, who has previously performed with Theatre Workhouse, Multi Story Theatre and Burn the Curtain — all in 2023 whilst breastfeeding her 6 month old baby.
Sam’s work focuses on amplifying female voices of all ages to represent the 50% of our population, using real-life stories, comedy, movement and poetry.
Fruit & Veg
Cornwall, 2020. Jenna’s crash landed home; Mia can’t find a way out. Mid-pandemic at a packaging Warehouse, Mia’s tasked with training Jenna to pack hampers – despite knowing she’ll leave at the first opportunity. But if you’ve succeeded in spite of where you come from, what do you owe the place?
A delve into the mundane and often tragic reality of modern Cornwall, and what it means to grow up at the end of the line. Are young people obliged to stick around and improve our declining coastal communities? Or should we run for the border and never look back? Perhaps above all, Fruit & Veg asks: when all the fish and tin are gone, what are the Cornish girls to do?
This event is part of Reclaim Festival: a week-long celebration of women in the Arts. Click the link below to find out more.
Barnfield Theatre