My Uncle Arly

Written by Shôn Dale-Jones and David Farmer
Nominated for a Total Theatre Award 2003

Inspired by the life, poems and illustrations of Edward Lear, My Uncle Arly was an inventive and engaging production full of music, song and clowning that delved deep into Lear’s Victorian sense of nonsense humour.

Filled with some of his best-loved characters, the show created a stupendously silly and gloriously giggly world where easels became birds, hats flew and where we met the pobble who has no toes and the dong with the luminous nose.

In 2005 and 2009 Hoipolloi worked with WebPlay, an internet-based education programme, to bring our production of My Uncle Arly to schoolchildren in both England and the USA.

We toured My Uncle Arly to a variety of locations in England and the USA (Los Angeles and New York) where the children were able to see the production before participating in workshops about the show.

Afterwards, the children produced their own productions that were later uploaded to the internet to be viewed by other schools working on the project.

“Endearingly unhinged… one of those shows that entirely defies categorisation. It is equally suitable for adults and children, and all it requires is an audience that is prepared to embrace the absurd. Unlike Queen Victoria we were much amused”
The Guardian

Credits

Shôn Dale-Jones: Writer/Director
David Farmer: Writer
Stefanie Mueller: Designer
Adam Cork: Composer/Sound designer
Peter Harrison: Lighting Designer
Richard Couldrey: Production Manager
Jamie Maisey: Production & Technical Manager (2009 tour only)

Performed by Ben Frimston, Stefanie Mueller, Jill Norman, Andrew Pembrooke, Trond-Erik Vassdal and, occasionally, Cassie Friend

Based on an original production by Hoipolloi and Tiebreak Theatre