Incognito Theatre Company, winners of the Les Enfants Terribles’ 2018 Greenwich Partnership Award, will be making their debut at VAULT Festival with Tobacco Road from 13th to 17th February.
Image courtesy of Tim Hall
Based in the murky underworld of 1920s south east London, in the shadow of the Great War, this unique gangster story explores the stories never told in history books with every character being based on a real person or people. By shining a light on gang activity, this fast-paced production investigates how young people find themselves embroiled in gang culture while exploring the necessary violence of an implacable female gangster rising through a male-dominated society.
Five resourceful young men and women try to find fame and wealth even as staying alive poses problems in a cutthroat society of thugs and conmen. Incognito’s explosive physical choreography takes the audience on a fast-paced and thrilling journey from pickpocketing in murky back streets to fixed boxing matches in dark basements.
Every character is based on a real person or people. Elsie and Freda are inspired by the ruthless female gang, Alice Diamond and her followers. Tommy Carlisle is based on the bare-knuckle boxers of Lambeth, Alfie on the thousands of young men left deeply tormented by the effects of World War I, whilst the ambitious Felix is inspired by the bloodthirsty young men who were driven to succeed by their unerring determination.
Interrogating a strait-jacketed experience of gender, this thrilling production considers the complex and impossible standards of traditional masculinity while exploring the necessary violence of an implacable female gangster rising through a male-dominated society.
Tobacco Road is a magnified examination of the real people who forged a life for themselves in a world that had scorned them as disposable. By shining a light on gang activity, Tobacco Road investigates how young people continue to find themselves embroiled in gang culture and why it can sometimes feel as though there is no other option.
Performance Dates Wednesday 13th – Sunday 17th February 2019 Wednesday – Sunday, 6.15pm Saturday matinee, 3pm
Running time 60 minutes
Location VAULT Festival, Network Theatre, 246A Lower Road, London SE1 8SJ Box Office Tickets are available priced £15 from vaultfestival.com
Twitter @incognito107, #TobaccoRoad
Ages 14+, mild swearing and use of strobe lights