Space Jockey - Based on a true story and real experiences and set in London at the height of Thatcherism and fall of Communism 1989-93, this is unbridled capitalism at its worst and yet most creative: the story of London-based telephone advertising salesman John Sherwood, a man who might or might not have existed, as told by five characters that rubbed shoulders with him. Featuring blistering sound bites from Nirvana, Happy Mondays, Killing Joke, The Stone Roses and EMF.
“On one of the hottest nights of the year, a one-man show at the tiny, stuffy Etcetera is not an exciting prospect. It is a measure of the quality of Tony Stowers’ performance that he keeps you in your seat as he trawls the murky world of the space jockey " . . . . . "this morality tale for our times makes for an entertaining hour – and one that would transfer very well to radio.” - Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, July 2004. Click to read the full Guardian review “Tony Stowers’ one-man show uncovers a seamy side of contemporary capitalism – the world of the “space jockeys”, high-pressure hucksters who sell worthless advertising space in impressive-sounding but bogus publications." - Jason Best, The Stage, July 2004. Click to read the full review "Do you want to earn what you’re worth? What are you worth? What is any of us worth? Well, my friends, if you can you persuade a person you’ve never met to pay a few grand plus for something that doesn’t exist, armed with nothing more than an empty wallet, wordplay, some imagination, bare-faced bullshit and a telephone, then you are worth something to me. So sit yourselves down and make yourselves comfortable. This’ll only take about an hour. My name is Bob Page but I want you to call me Uncle Bob. And today, Uncle Bob and his little chums are going to show you every sneaky, underhand trick in the space jockey’s book. Think you’ve seen it all in ’The Office’? My friends, you ain’t seen nothing yet. So leave your pride at the door and prepare to be pitched!" . . . . . "Featuring blistering sound bites from Nirvana, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Killing Joke and EMF, this one-man show tears the industry wide open in a study of the free market at its best . . . and worst. This is not for the faint-hearted. It is black, bitingly funny, breath-taking and provocative. Keep your wits about you, stay focussed, the journey is littered with quality writing and you will not be disappointed. Tony Stowers has done for the morality of aggressive advertising what Wilfred Owen did for WWI!" - Derek Brown, Freelance Theatre Reviewer, Tyne & Wear |
A Horse With No Name - Baghdad, Iraq, the spring of 2003. The Battle of Baghdad rages. One retired Iraqi soldier - Ali- and and one active American soldier - Rick , are trapped by rubble in a secret basement bar. Rick and Ali somehow make it through the two acts without killing each other but getting to know each other instead, finally ending up on the roof where they play a real-time game of Classic pool - not a staged game - which, depending on who wins the game - offers alternate endings to the play.
. . . One Of The Lads - As NATO forces enter Iraq the media feeds a constant river of images of war into the daily lives of millions of people in Britain through television sets. One such home is that of a young waster who has just died injecting heroin with two other lowlifes and one ambitious young woman determined to alter her destiny whatever the cost. Violence overseas or violence at home – what’s the difference? . . . The Next Life - Blended as a hybrid theatre play/film from the book “All This Is Mine” by Tony Stowers, this is the story of a young northern drug dealer drifting through London’s post-Thatcherist underbelly in the early 90’s. Based on people the author knew in Camden Town at that time, Rob Barlow is the key antagonist whose imagination and paranoia conflict in a seedy London of hustlers and thieves, pimps and backstabbers, corrupt journalists and nouveaux riche wasters, as he drifts inexorably to a disaster that offers a slim strand of redemption. . . . X - Saturday night beneath the plastic palm tree and two pairs of dissatisfied male friends who’ve never met before (one gay couple, the other straight) hit town. By Sunday, one will have been re-born, one will have won insight, one will have lost everything and one will still be bad at playing Dominoes. Originally entitled “A Town Called X” and in part inspired by the title of the American film “American History X” and the murder of Matthew Shepherd by homophobes in the late 90’s in mid-west America, “X” is performed over 60 minutes, promenade style in atypical spaces and with the music of David Bowie. “X” is a challenging but important piece of work . It was translated into Czech and performed at Prague Pride in August 2015 and then toured in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. “Six years in the making, X is a powerful piece of promenade theatre that playwright Tony Stowers describes as his “labour of love”; it’s a passion that’s evident throughout the play. A modern-day tale of love, loss, sex and identity, the cast consist of just two actors: the equally impressive Terry Betts and David Hannah, who portray four well-crafted characters you genuinely care about. The opening scene – in which straight friends Dave and Mark discuss their dubious sex lives and opinions on homosexuality, while intermittently shouting lewd comments to passing women – could have been a cliché-ridden disaster. Instead, the dialogue is painfully accurate, as it remains throughout. Despite very little verbal interaction, the crucial scene, in which Dave allows himself to be seduced by the charismatic Stewart during a game of chess, is passionate and makes for slightly uncomfortable viewing, while the close of the play, which sees live-in lovers John and Stewart part ways, is genuinely moving. Staging X at The End (one of Newcastle’s best-known gay bars) will undoubtedly bring theatre to audiences who may not otherwise access it. Unfortunately, however, it’s also unlikely to attract the audience it so widely deserves. - Amy Rudd, The Tyne & Wear Metro Magazine, March 2006. |
