Monday 14 November 2005

1157 performancegroup presents - Ha Ha Ha

"Energetic, emotive and funny...non-stop entertainment...weird and wonderful" The Observer

HA HA HA by acclaimed writer Sam Dowling turns Noel Coward's Private Lives's witty look at the rich at play onto its creator; opening up the lives of Coward, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh and delving behind the scenes, both literally and metaphorically.

HA HA HA embraces technology, blurring the boundaries between visual and performance art. Performers interact with cine and contemporary films while responding hilariously to the fantastical foley-like soundscape.

HA HA HA satirises the stars' pompous lifestyle of sex, alcohol and Shakespeare improvisations with slapstick and physicality inspired by Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. The piece revolves around the well-documented tempestuous relationship between Leigh and Olivier who are joined for a weekend of madness and silliness by Coward and a photographer known only as Lucia. Leigh is in constant need of reassurance from her husband who is unable to satisfy her voracious sexual appetite as she teeters on the edge of despair.

HA HA HA is camp theatricality at its best with twists of slapstick, farce and songs.

It's like watching an old black and white movie on a Sunday afternoon.