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Nuns productions

August 2016 Perform & Give




Cast and Crew
Production Management: Jamie Victor Hamilton Billy Bristol, Ricky Knight Director: Edwina Strobl
Cast:
Mother Superior - Michèle Belgrand-Hodgson,
Sister Catherine -Sarah Malcolm
Sister Bernadette - Kesia Harriet Guillery,
Sister Roza -Mia Hall
Set Design: Reiko Tanaka
Head of Sound: Fintan Davies
Head of Lighting: Sam Killingback
Costume: Alexandra Kapsala Greenwood, Felicity Wood
Hosting Management: Tom Palmer
Charity Operations Lead: Nicola Elaine Claire Smith-Goodfellow


Perform and Give Trustee: Demetri Turin



Nuns is about sinful Catholic sisters. It is a truly entertaining performance despite the minor lighting glitches. Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll in a convent—it feels like a call to the Catholic Church to reform the system in a humorous way. Sex tapes, vodka, fetishes…this performance has it all but, thankfully, it is not as crude as one would expect. It does have erotic jokes and some form of innuendo, but it comes off as rather playful. For those who cannot bear the idea of sensuality on stage, this is not a show to see. The cast has great chemistry and a lot of fun on stage. Spectators can sense this. At the start, it seems like some bizarre fringe play with mediocre actors and poor mise en scène. This does not last long, and pretty soon everyone is chuckling. Nuns
EtceteraTheatre
27th August 2016★★★☆☆


People often say to write what you know, but unless there's something playwright Robert Luxford isn't telling us, Nuns isn't based on any real life experiences. Which is probably a good thing for the Church's reputation given the behaviour of Luxford's four wild protagonists. Set outside a convent, we witness Sister Catherine (Sarah Malcolm), Sister Roza (Mia Hall) and Sister Bernadette (Kesia Guillery) meeting to indulge in some illicit smoking. As Catherine and Roza explain, alcohol and sex are all okay as long as you're discreet about it. Smoking for some reason though is treated as a far more serious vice by the Mother Superior (Michèle Belgrade), so the sisters hatch a plan to blackmail her. Bernadette finds herself pulled in different directions by the two women she attempts to befriend and by her convent's matriarch, which all culminates in tragedy.Or starts in tragedy, depending on how you look at it. We begin at the end of the story and work our way back, with director Edwina Strobl rewinding the action in some fun sequences with plenty of light and colour from Sam Killingback and Fintan Davies. Although Reiko Tanaka's imposing set design with the grandiose pillars installed onstage creates an sense of tradition, Alexandra Kapsala and Felicity Wood's costume are allowed to be more inventive with their design than you would think. Yes, the protagonists are all dressed in drab habits, but underneath the black and white are 50 shades of corsets, negligees and fishnet stockings. This is an irreverent, daft piece of fun, reflected in all the different design elements.Give Nuns is obviously not intended to be a realistic depiction of life in nunnery, you have to suspend belief and let a lot of things slide, which is fine. It's primary a comedy, after all. However, the sudden shift where Bernadette stands up for herself seems unnatural, even within the loose limits of what goes for normal in this play and it's a shame that this turning point isn't handled more credibly. When the nuns are laughing and joking and playing around, there's a strong dynamic that works well, however scenes involving a bit more emotional depth aren't as successful, with the exception perhaps of Catherine's remorse. Malcolm's portrayal is the most rounded.The style of humour through is very much crude and basic, with the laughs derived from the notion that it must be hilarious for nuns to have any kind of desires or personal agendas, but this all follows from the writing. Strobl draws out the comedic elements and with a full house and plenty of laughter, it's evident that there is an appeal.Amongst all the madness, there are some interesting comments on religion, with the hypocrisy in condemning only certain vices and accepting others the loudest message in this play. The start is admittedly a little ropey and those who don't take issue with the holes in the plot may instead take issue with the blasphemy, however have a little faith, it does develop into something quite watchable and light-hearted. Profits are to be donated to Smart Works, a charity supporting women into employment and financial independence, which makes it hard not to forgive any lack of respect. The company's mission to perform and then give is an admirable one and I'm intrigued to see their future work.Nuns opened on 25th August and runs until 28th August 2016 at the Etcetera Theatre, as part of the Camden Fringe.Nearest tube station: Camden Town (Northern)


The Balcony : August 27, 2016 · 8:53 pm

It’s such a shame that the production of NUNS by Perform and Give, a theatre production company that donates all its ticket earnings to charity, was only on for four days this week during Camden Fringe. The hard work put in by the actresses, lighting and stage design and director should not go unnoticed.
Robert Luxford’s play introduces us to 3 nuns and their Mother Superior, all of whom should certainly not be judged by their habit. Indeed, we first meet Sister Catherine (Sarah Malcolm) and Sister Roza (Mia Hall) smoking behind the church and telling prim Sister Bernadette (Kesia Guillery) about their recent sexcapades with certain priests. While Mother Superior (Michèle Belgrand) seems to be trying to control the sisters to maintain tradition and order in the convent, we learn she also has quite some secrets to hide.

This is a really fun play. When you think about it, nuns are some of the most mysterious creatures. Is there ever rule bending? Do they even want to bend rules? With so much negative emphasis on male members of the Church in recent years, it’s great to watch a completely female story and hear these characters express their desires to become bishops and popes.
The production design was certainly memorable: set designer Reiko Tanaka put the small space to very good use, making certain props easily available on a table which was also serving as a private room for nuns to enjoy erotic literature. Sam Killingback’s lighting and Fintan Davies’s sound went hand in hand to create time jumps and a rock n’ roll feel. Finally, the costumes by Alexandra Kapsala and Felicity Wood gave each nun their own personal style and edge – either through their shoes when they were in their habit, or through their choice of underwear when they were undressed.
Finally, Edwina Strobl succeeded in giving history and detail to these nuns’ lives, as well as an intimacy between them. The four talented actresses completed each other very well, from Malcolm’s provocative and fun-loving character and Hall’s never ending curiosity as her sidekick to Guillery’s sweet innocence so easily picked on and Belgrand’s hilarious coolness – who knew such a strict nun would be the one recommending marijuana?
All I can say is this has certainly made me want to see more pub theatre! Congratulations to Perform and Give!




CAST

Sister Cathrine - Naomi Parszos

Sister Bernadette - Kit Bennett

Sister Roza - Kim-Cuong Do

Mother Superior - Fabiola Meza

Written & produced by Robert Luxford

Directed by Uma kali Shakti

Venue: Imperial Hotel March 22nd, 24th 25th. 2012

Venue:Gorilla Tango Theatre

July 7, 2010-July 28, 2010 Wednesday 7:30pm
Cast
Mother superior - Stace Crawley
Sister Katherine - Anna Dannielson
Sister Kimberly - Brittany Engler
Sister Burnadette - Kara Beth Karstedt

Produced & Directed by Kortney Simpson
.

Cast

Amanda Stephens -Lee-- Sister Cathrine.

Maite A --Sister Roza

Celia Kelly-- Sister Bernadette.

Director

Uma Kali Shakti

SHORT & SWEET 2010



NUNS (SHORT FILM )

Cast

Amanda Stephens -Lee-- Sister Cathrine.

Maite A --Sister Roza

Celia Kelly-- Sister Bernadette.

Director

Robert Luxford.


NUNS RADIO PLAY

In early 2012 Nuns (ten minute version) was produced as a radio play.

Produced by Evan Golde & Junsu kim

Cast

Sister Cathrine Esther Eden

Sister Rosa Holly Olivia Braine

Sister Bernadette Charly Flyte

The link is

http://vimeo.com/36478130



Nuns by Robert Luxford, director: Tucker Connor

Sister Catherine Renee Jordan

Sister Kimberly Linda Brown

Sister Bernadette Heather Eaton


If this is February, it must be time for some "Short Attention Span Theatre."
Each year, Pensacola Little Theatre presents this eclectic evening as a celebration of the Valentine's season. These short, mostly comedic works can be viewed as extended skits, often with definitive punch-lines or surprises, so I won't delve too deeply into each one-act lest I give away more than I should.
This year, I was able to view four of the six "Short Attention Span Theatre" one-acts in rehearsal


Nuns" is written by Robert Luxford, directed by Tucker O'Connor, and features Linda Brown, Heather Eaton and Renee Jordan.
While on a clandestine smoke break, two older nuns (Brown and Jordan) give the "novice" of the trio (Eaton) more information than she wants to hear about certain sexual exploits among the "celibate" crowd. As spicy details carrying right up to the Mother Superior and Bishop are revealed, we see a change take place in the youngster. Eaton steals the one-act as her Sister Bernadette goes from sweet and innocent to a screaming zealot.Andy Metzger, News Journal correspondent 3:53 p.m. CST February 11, 2015