Theatre / chris thorpe
Chris Thorpe comes to Bristol with his play on human stories of nuclear disarmament
Chris Thorpe is an award-winning playwriter and performer whose new production explores the human story woven through the field of nuclear disarmament.
Following Confirmation and Status (both of which were Scotsman Fringe First winners), A Family Business is the final part in Thorpe and Rachel Chavkin’s trilogy of shows addressing globally challenging issues through an individual, human lens.
is needed now More than ever
Following dates in Germany, Luxembourg and Exeter, the play comes to Tobacco Factory Theatres on February 7 for two nights before a month-long national tour.
Developed following conversations with activists, academics and diplomats, the play focuses on the ordinary people “whose business it is to try and stop us blowing up the planet”.
In taking this approach, the narrative aims to make the little-discussed but ever-present threat of Nuclear war more accessible to audiences, asking “what happens when constructed stories of nationality have to communicate with each other at a global level”.
For Thorpe, A Family Business is coming at an apposite time when the issues it explores appear to be ever-more pertinent. He hopes that seeing the play may help to open up engagement and debate.
“Like most of my work,” he says, “this show started by accident and became an obsession – it’s about one of the biggest, and least visible threats to global civilisation, and why we don’t talk about it enough.”
A Family Business is at Tobacco Factory Theatres on February 7-8 at 8pm. Tickets are available at www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com.
All photos: Andreas J. Etter
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
