Danielle Pearson
Jemima James
14 Mar - 20 Apr 2018
Fuel and Ovalhouse present The Restless State
East Berlin, 1989. Alone at the kitchen table, the radio on, Margot learns the wall has fallen and with it the only world she has ever known. Rome, 2052. In the wake of a devastating refugee crisis and The Continental War, Galina waits in line, ready to cast her vote in the first Europe-wide referendum. London, 2017. Jesse’s train pulls out from the platform, bearing him towards the home and childhood bedroom he knows he’s about to see for the last time.
Combining intimate storytelling with evocative sound, this one-man show took its audience across our continent’s past, present, and future with a story of family, nationhood, conflict, and love.
This Restless State built on the success of Jesse Fox’s previous shows with his company Engineer Theatre Collective, which had seen his work nominated for various Off West End Awards and featured in The New Yorker. He collaborated with Danielle Pearson, Playwright in Residence at the Watermill Theatre and the winner of the EU Collective Plays! Competition.
Supported by Arts Council England and the Leche Trust and co-commissioned by Ovalhouse
Lead artist and performer: Jesse Fox
Director: Jemima James
Writer: Danielle Pearson
Sound Designer: Ella Wahlström
Set and Lighting Designer: Ben Pacey=
Key image by Guy Sanders
Production photos by The Other Richard