Crimson Eyes
Around 4,000 people sleep rough in London every night. That’s 4,000 sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mums and dads – all people with problems, worries, hopes, dreams and responsibilities – just like us.
Crimson Eyes is a monologue, looking through the eyes of Phoebe, a young female living on the street – and refers to the vacant, distant stare of rough sleepers, looking through a mist of despondency.
You can tell a lot from a person’s eyes you know. As Phoebe says, you can’t feign security, contentment and fulfilment, when your eyes are seeing pain, desperation and hopelessness.
Platform: Monologue - Theatre and Radio Play
Running Time: 15 minutes (approx.)
Status Date Company/Venue Director Actors
Performed August 2023 Carol Parradine - YouTube - Carol Parradine
Performed July 2023 Haywire Theatre - Online Lisa Jayne Connie Peel
Performed 11th September 2021 Wooden Arrow - Young Actors Alan Hall Cate Welmers
Performed 6th January 2021 Upload, BBC Essex - Alan Hall Eloise Jones
(Radio Play) Live Broadcast
Performed 20th November 2020 Small Steed Theatre, - On-line Lauren Tranter Kate Donnachie
Performed 18th-20th September 2020 The Bradford Players - Taunton Katie Cooke Alison Jenkinson
Performed 30th September 2020 Scene Sessions - On-line Meg Matthews & Jennie May
Performed 26th August 2020 Encompass Productions - Liam Fleming Megan Pemberton
On-Line
Performed 9th August 2020 Angel Theatre - Sundays in the Park John Patterson Jasmine Raymond
(Clapham Common)
Reading 11th March 2019 Ten Minutes a Month Playwriting None Katie Smith
Productive - Farringdon, London
PAST PRODUCTION
Carol Parradine - YouTube - August 2023
Crimson Eyes was performed by Carol Paradine for her own purposes and a video of her perfoirmance was uploaded to YouTube.
After a lifetime of ‘acting for the love’ Carol joined the professional world in 2018 after co-founding a comedy sketch trio that went on to have successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 & 2019. Carol’s most recent experience includes playing multiple roles in ‘Norman Balon - It’s All True’ at The Shaftesbury Theatre and playing June Lintott in BAFTA qualifying short film ‘When The Clapping Stops’.
PAST PRODUCTION
Haywire Theatre - July 2023
A filmed version of Crimson Eyes" available on-line was produced by Haywire Theatre, as part of their Pocketful Project in July 2023.
The part of Phoebe was performed by the talented Connie Peel. Lisa Jayne was the Director and it was produced by Olivia Payne.
Haywire is devoted to "the extraordinary ordinary". Through everything they create, they search for a means by which art can reveal another’s experience and the simple but utterly defined truth to that individual’s life. It's ethos is that each of us sees the world in our own way and, by telling the stories that some may consider to be the “little person tales”, it hopes it can open people's eyes to new experiences, new ideas, and new ways of viewing the world - which, indeed, correlates with the message of Crimson Eyes.
PAST PRODUCTION
Bare Essentials, Encompass Productions - August 2020
"Crimson Eyes" was performed on-line as part of the Bare Essentials series of short plays by Encompass Productions on 26th August 2020, during Lockdown 2020.
The part of Phoebe was performed by Megan Pemberton, who was directed by Liam Fleming.
Encompass Productions are a London-based company that have been making bold and visually arresting new theatre since 2010. Through collaborative processes they explore the psychological and emotional, drawing from cinematic influences to tell stories through heightened reality and stunning minimalism. Their mission is to challenge, move and entertain. Bare Essentials brings theatre with no frills, in its most stripped-back and elemental form.
PAST PRODUCTION
Scene Sessions - September 2020
"Crimson Eyes" was performed on-line during the 2020 Lockdown by Scene Sessions on 30th September 2020.
The part of Phoebe was played by Jennie May.
Scene Sessions is a free online platform run by "The Megs", Meg Matthews and Meg McCarthy, to help writers develop new material and keep actors connected and working with material during the 2020/21 Pandemic.
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Scene Sessions has staged four of Alan's plays.
PAST PRODUCTION
Ten Minutes a Month Playwriting Collective - March 2019
An unrehearsed reading of "Crimson Eyes" was performed in Farringdon,. London as part of the Ten Minutes a Month Playwriting Collective in March 2019. Each month, a theme is selected for plays to be read the following month, together with a phrase which must be included in the script.
"Crimson Eyes", a monologue, was read by Katie Smith for the theme of "Desperation", to include the phrase "reuniting with a long lost relative".
PAST PRODUCTION
Wooden Arrow Productions, Young Actors Theatre, Islington - September 2021
"Crimson Eyes" was performed live at the Young Actors Theatre, Islington, London on 11th September 2021 as part of an evening of short plays produced by Wooden Arrow Productions.
The part of Phoebe was performed by Cate Welmers. Alan Hall was the Director.
Wooden Arrow provide a platform for artists to develop their own work and act as a Creative Hub for artists of all kinds - through theatre productions, scratch events and a podcast aimed at projecting the voices of emerging talent. They aim to create a space that mirrors a shifting industry where creatives are pushed to have more than one speciality. They always have a focus on the ‘Unseen Perspective' and champion new writing and stories that give a fresh view on mainstream topics.
PAST PRODUCTION
Upload, BBC Essex - January 2021
"Crimson Eyes" was performed as a radio play on Rob Jelly's Upload programme on BBC Essex on 6th January 2021.
The part of Phoebe was performed by Eloise Jones. who was directed by Alan Hall. Alan was also interviewd by Rob live on-air.
Upload gives ordinary members of the public the chance to showcase their talent on the BBC - whatever they're making or creating, Upload can help them share it. The Upload Team watch, read, or listen to everything that's uploaded and what catches their attention will go on air or on BBC digital platforms.
PAST PRODUCTION
The Bradford Players, Sheppy's House of Cider. Taunton, Somerset - September 2020
"Crimson Eyes" was performed at an outside theatre at Sheppy's House of Cider, Taunton by The Bradford Players over 3 nights between 18th and 20th September 2020, during the Lockdown 2020.
The part of Phoebe was played by Alison Jenkinson.
The Bradford Players are an amateur theatre society based in Taunton.
PAST PRODUCTION
Angel Theatre's Sundays in the Park - August 2020
"Crimson Eyes" was performed on Clapham Common, London, by Angel Theatre on 9th August 2020 - as part of their innovative Sundays in the Park during Lockdown 2020.
The part of Phoebe was played by Jasmine Raymond.
During Lockdown, Angel Theatre wanted to continue to plan and create plays, in preparation for when venues re-opened and came up with Sundays in the Park - an initiative that allowed them to discover and explore new writing as well as giving creatives an opportunity to work and network safely by maintaining social distancing guidelines.
They gathered a selection of new plays that they felt had the potential to be produced and cast them from their database of professional actors. Over the summer months of 2020, they held a workshop and rehearsed reading of each play. Sessions took place in the open air on Sundays in London parks, maintaining social distancing at all times..
Angel Theatre Company is dedicated to producing London fringe theatre of the highest calibre. Their aim is to create work which is entertaining, challenging, engaging and thought provoking. Although they often perform in small venues, they aim wto ensure that their audiences experience the same quality of production as they would in any West End theatre, but for a fraction of the price !
PAST PRODUCTION
Small Steed Theatre's Lifelogues - November 2020
"Crimson Eyes" was performed on-line by Small Steed Theatre as part of their Lifelogues series on 20th November 2020 during the Lockdown.
"Crimson Eyes", was performed by Kate Donnachie and directed by Lauren Tranter.
Kate is an actor, singer, beatboxer and one half of @adandkdtheatre. She recently appeared in Crongton Knights with Pilot Theatre and in a new play ‘3 Years, 1 Week and a Lemon Drizzle’ with @baftaface.
Lauren is in her final year of study at Goldsmiths University and works as a director and facilitator across London. She is one half of Wipe Your Feet Theatre, who are currently working on a new commission with Greenwich Theatre.
Small Steed aims to "produce and perform theatre which does not put people into boxes, but instead breaks those boxes open and challenges what's inside".
