The Outside Edge theatre company
A Parsons Green theatre group with a focus on addiction is premiering a new play about substance misuse and the journey towards recovery.
Outside Edge, based in Munster Road, will perform Check-in/Check-out at the VAULT theatre festival in March – London’s equivalent of the Edinburgh Fringe.
The hour-long play has been devised by the company’s actors at their theatre base near Parsons Green tube, and is based on their experiences. It mixes performance and confession with humour to depict the real-life world of substance misuse.
“Check-in/Check-out is not a cautionary tale about addiction,” warned Outside Edge general manager Olivia Munk. “It is an authentic account of what it feels like to live on the edge of society and on the edge between life and death.”
Tipped for success
The show has already been named as one of the top plays to see out of 400 productions being performed at the capital’s largest arts festival by the Evening Standard and What’s On Stage.
It is being co-produced by the Outside Edge Theatre Company artistic director Matt Steinberg, a former assistant director at the Lyric Hammersmith, and West End veteran Christopher Holt, who was in the original cast of The Lion King, and who is in recovery himself.
Steinberg’s show Tumulus, which won an award at last year’s VAULT festival, is being reprised at the Soho Theatre this spring.
20 years strong in Parsons Green
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Outside Edge, which has produced nearly 50 shows, several of them being performed at treatment facilities and prisons.
Its monthly acting and writing workshops are free, and are open to anyone affected by substance misuse. Patrons include esteemed actor/director/producer Sir Mark Rylance and former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
“The work of Outside Edge changed my life as a man and a theatre artist,” Rylance commented. “It proved to me that people can change and theatre can be a part of that.”
Cllr Sue Fennimore, Deputy Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council, wished the festival production well.
“Outside Edge plays an important role in helping those coping with substance misuse take steps on the road to recovery,” she said. “The company’s work demonstrates the unique power of drama to help people overcome their issues.”
The hour-long play is being performed in Brick Hall in The Vaults, Leake Street in Lambeth on 6-10 March, 7.40pm (with a 4.40pm matinee on 10 March). Suitable for over 18s. Tickets £15.
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