
Echo House
Julia Bolden and John Harper
Julia Bolden and John Harper
Content warning [May contain spoilers]
Echo House is a part-devised, part-scripted, part-improvised drama. Hazel fell pregnant at 15. Did she keep her baby, give him up, abandon him or was he taken from her? Each show explores a few of the infinite number of paths Hazel, now 65, and her son, Robert, now 50, may have travelled, to arrive at the point where they find themselves back together at the house where Hazel grew up, which is now empty, Hazel’s parents having recently died. Even the cast don't know how each other’s character will respond, what their intentions are or where each of the stories will take them and they get to surprise each other with unexpected twists.
This is the first UK work-in-progress performance of this innovative new show created by Julia Bolden and John Harper (The Two Jays). It was very well-received in France, earlier this year, where audiences said:
‘I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps’
‘LOVED it! A fascinating and original take on the choices we make. It might count as "experimental theatre" - but if so, then the best kind: entertaining, compelling and thought-provoking. A really fascinating piece.’
There will be two completely different versions of the show. You can see one for £3 or both for £5.
This production is suitable for ages 16 and over.
The show is partly improvised so content will vary but will include teenage pregnancy, adoption and family estrangement. Some versions may also include references to baby-snatching, neglect, abandonment, abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death or maternal death, dementia, cancer and other health issues and there may be strong language.
The ADC Theatre is Britain's oldest University playhouse, today administered and maintained by the University of Cambridge. Plays have been presented on the site since 1855, when the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club (CUADC) was founded, and the society met and performed in the back room of the Hoop Inn, which stood almost exactly where the ADC Theatre stands today. Today, the ADC Theatre is the centre of University drama in Cambridge, run almost entirely by students with no Faculty involvement.
The Larkum Studio is accessed through the far side of the ADC Bar.
This venue is wheelchair accessible. More information can be viewed here.