A talented North East pair are wowing audiences with their first play after setting up their own theatre production company last year.
North East creatives Lucy Curry and her partner Carl Wylie launched Peachplant Productions to tell original stories with a local heart. Their debut show, Whale of a Time, is now showing at Newcastle’s Alphabetti theatre and has already earned stellar four and five-star reviews from critics.
The unusual play is set inside the belly of a whale, where twenty-something Robbie washes in and meets Albert, a man in his fifties who has been living inside the whale for 25 years. Robbie brings Albert up to speed on what he’s missed in the outside world, from Google to vegan sausage rolls, in a hilarious and heartfelt tale of friendship.
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Writers Lucy, 26, and Carl, 29, are both actors, while Lucy also does movement directing and Carl does illustration. Lucy is originally from Washington, and Carl decided to make the North East his home after moving to Newcastle from Belfast for university.
The pair decided to set up Peachplant Productions last spring after Alphabetti did a call-out for new work, with the idea for Whale of a Time coming to Carl while he was out walking the dog. This new venture, of course, came in the wake of the creative industries being brought to their knees by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Within one day, all of my work was cancelled,” Lucy recalls. She and Carl both ended up leaving their usual day jobs behind and working for the NHS, but as restrictions began to ease and theatres reopened the couple were keen to get back to their calling.
“We had this new fire in our bellies - we were ready for this industry to start again,” says Lucy. Whale of a Time was born as a result - directed by Paula Penman and starring Luke Maddison and Steve Byron, it's Alphabetti’s first show that has opened to full audience capacity since the pandemic began.
The first year of getting Peachplant off the ground was focused on writing the play from home, and the past few months have entailed learning new producing skills that neither Lucy nor Carl has ever done before. But this was a challenge that they were keen to take on: “I love just being thrown in the deep end and having to work it all out,” Lucy admits.
The pair have also had the support of Alphabetti, which continues to do incredible work to bring undiscovered North East creative talent into the spotlight. As well as being a long-time fan of Alphabetti, Lucy has also worked with them as an actor and recently got her first directing job at the theatre.
“They just really champion new writers - it feels like home,” she says.
What can audiences expect from Whale of a Time? The play has some important themes at its core, exploring toxic masculinity and generational differences - as well as another surprise revelation that Lucy made us promise not to spoil for anyone planning to see the show.
But Lucy hopes that the play will help to get people talking. “We don’t want the conversations to stop just as they’re leaving the theatre,” she says. “We want them to carry on when they’re sitting at home on the sofa and chatting to their families.”
Lucy promises that Whale of a Time has “a little bit of everything” for audiences, full of moments that will give people a good giggle as well as moving scenes that may leave some shedding a tear. What’s more, the show has its roots set firmly in the North East.
Carl and Lucy wanted to write a play that steered away from the “pretentious” side of theatre - and the result is a story that follows two working-class men from Bensham and Felling, packed full of mentions of North East places. Despite taking place in the belly of a whale, it promises to be relatable to its local audience.
And the regional focus isn’t just present on stage, but behind the scenes too. “When it comes to the work that we’re creating, we really champion the North East and the people who are here, because there are some incredible creatives who work and live up here,” Lucy explains.
The quirky tale with universal issues at its heart is exactly the sort of thing theatre lovers should come to expect from Peachplant Productions as Lucy and Carl begin work on their future projects. “We want to tell ordinary stories in extraordinary ways - and I guess putting two men inside a whale is definitely not ordinary,” Lucy laughs.
Whale of a Time runs at Alphabetti theatre until June 4. Tickets are available to book via the Alphabetti website and the show is Pay What You Feel, meaning that audience members can decide afterwards how much to give towards the price of their ticket.
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