- May 2022
Public House is a live one time performance happening on the 3rd May made up of submitted anonymous sexual assault/ harrassment testimonies by Cambridge students and alumni. The idea of Public House is to continue recreating the play annually until the University meaningfully addresses the prevalence of sexual violence, or until the play is no longer relevant for other reasons. It is staged by the alternative feminist theatre company The Old Vag Club, with a different cast, team, style and script each year. 50% of the proceeds raised from the performance will be donated to Cambridge Rape Crisis. As the play will deal with heavy sensitive themes we want to incorporate interactive audience workshops before and after the show.
- May 2021
Public House is an annual performance made up of submitted anonymous sexual assault/harassment testimonies by Cambridge students and alumni, staged by us (the Old Vag Club). This year, we're looking to put it on near the start of Easter Term.
- March 2020
'do you know what a pub is?
yeah, a public house
exactly: public'
The Old Vag Club is doing a third production of 'Public House', an interactive play that uses excerpts from verbatim stories of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault to create an immersive theatre piece about the pervasive nature of sexual violence in our society.
Much of the play is devised during the rehearsal process, and actors are free to share their own experiences and include them in the play. We attempt to make this a collaborative and safe experience for everyone involved and many of the previous contributors said they felt a sense of catharsis in sharing their experiences and having them be taken seriously.
50% of proceeds to be donated to the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre
- June 2019
__
What is hanger?
We are new here.
Hello.
hanger hangs on the edge of theatre and performance art, making multi-media, immersive pieces essaying on a topic.
Where narrative-based theatre might be said to provide audiences with things to think about, we aim to provide our audience with themes to think with.
hanger recognises its participants (performers + audience) as artists; we like to understand and interrogate performance as content/reality, as opposed to performance as dissembling content/reality. This is performance-theatre; there are no illusions.
Life as/is (an) art, basically.
hanger is not a theatre collective/group - rather, it is an exhibition space for hangers and the art they(you?) put on. Like any exhibition space, hanger is also a social event, and socialising is a huge part of what we aim to do - and continue to do, post-performance.
Be new with us.
What is on intimacy?
Our topic, this time, is intimacy, and how we navigate this with others, and ourselves - especially through different media. We lean into the abstract, to encourage audience connection in a more general way - a reminder that whilst we are all different in appreciable ways, there are some common themes/feelings we all occupy variously, and (if hanger does its job properly) simultaneously.
So, on intimacy is,
Siri's love song
a tragedy in five acts
bodies
a couple arguing about
...
- June 2019
THE OLD VAG CLUB PRESENT: EVERY BRILLIANT THING – AT THE MAYPOLE
(c/n mention of suicide)
‘The list began after her first attempt
A list of every brilliant thing about the world
Everything worth living for.’
Balancing sobering loss and cathartic laughter, this one woman play recounts a life lived in the shadow of suicide. In the first show ever staged at The Maypole, the audience is invited to engage in an immersive piece of theatre, helping to tell a story spanning two decades.
With each new audience, the cast changes, the script differs, the play adapts. Every night is unique, special to those in the room.
- November 2018
'do you know what a pub is?
yeah, a public house
exactly: public'
The Old Vag Club is doing a second production of 'Public House', an interactive play that uses excerpts from verbatim stories of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault to create an immersive theatre piece about the pervasive nature of sexual violence in our society.
Much of the play is devised during the rehearsal process, and
actors are free to share their own experiences and include them in the play. We attempt to make this a collaborative and safe experience for everyone involved and many of the 30 or so contributors and actors who participated in the first production said they felt a sense of catharsis in sharing their experiences and having them be taken seriously.
Reviews:
Varsity's Top Ten Theatre Highlights of 2017
‘The atmosphere was so charged with the implication: you are watching this happen and you're not doing anything. You can't be neutral when people are getting hurt.’ (The Tab)
‘I can't wind up Public House with a conclusive statement because that's not the point. I think it was a brilliantly done, fervent, eloquent show that drained me of all my resources just in being privy to it and I'm so glad it happened.’ (The Tab)
'Put on at this time, Public House is a moving and very important show; looking at the huge interest shown by the audience, I hope that it will be put on again – it deserves repeating.' (TCS)
50% of proceeds to be donated to the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre
- March 2018
Fresh Bulbs will be a three-day showing of new writing! 1st and 2nd will be performances of a new play 'What Would Harold Pinter Think' and the 3rd will be a selection of short performances of new student writing.
- November 2017
DO YOU KNOW WHAT A PUB IS?
yeah, it’s a ‘public house’
EXACTLY: PUBLIC
'Public House' will be a devised interactive theatre piece created using predominantly female testimonials about harassment in public spaces
The testimonials will be played gender fluid - some will adhere to the original, some will be reversed etc.
The audience will move through scenes while actors remain - immersive experience
Actors are free to share their own experiences and include them in the piece
Location tbc
50% of proceeds to be donated to the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre
