The Catastrophe Trilogy

‘A triumph, theatrical magic’ **** The Times
‘Revolutionary theatre’ Time Out
‘A hope-filled story for the twenty first Century’ De Standaard

A celebration of the human spirit’s ability to survive even the most testing of times, The Catastrophe Trilogy is a collection of theatre works that share a common playful interest in the act of storytelling and are at once touching, comic and resolutely hopeful. The Catastrophe Trilogy premiered at the Barbican, London (2010) before a European premier at KunstenFESTIVALdesArts, Brussels (2010)

The Catastrophe Trilogy comprises three Lone Twin Theatre productions:

Alice Bell (2006)
A fictional character born into a fictional conflict, Alice seeks happiness in a divided land, finding love and companionship but at a terrible cost. Part DIY-musical, part fairy-tale, Alice Bell offers a portrait of life as an act of hope, life as something to sing and dance about.

Daniel Hit By A Train (2008)
Inspired by a Victorian collection of 53 true stories about people losing their lives in the attempt to save another, Daniel Hit By A Train tells each tragedy in turn, in all its heart-wrenching, comedic, vaudevillian glory. Sincere, but unafraid to raise a smile, Daniel Hit By A Train stands as a testimony to the human spirit and our abiding impulse to help each other.

The Festival (2010)
A chain of events discretely alters a private world to devastating effect when two lives cross at a festival of music and song. Told against a backdrop of the here and now, The Festival is a simple story of love and expectation, of family and companionship, of the mundane and the extraordinary.

Whelan and Winters initiated and directed the project with an international ensemble working as devisors and performers: Nina Tecklenburg, Paul Gazzola, Molly Haslund, Antoine Fraval, Cynthia Whelan and Guy Dartnell. David Williams worked as dramaturg and Paul Dale-Vickers joined the company for The Festival as Musical Director.

Alice Bell commissioned by: Sophiensæle, Berlin; KunstenFESTIVALdesArts, Brussels; Farnham Maltings, Farnham; and Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster. Funded by Arts Council England. Supported by: The Tron, Glasgow; and The German Federal Cultural Foundation.

Daniel Hit By a Train commissioned by: Wiener Festwochen, Austria; brut Wien, Austria; the Barbican BITE, London; The Arches, Scotland; Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster; Farnham Maltings, UK; and Leeds Met Studio Theatre, UK. Research and development, and touring, supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Also supported by The Basement, Brighton.

The Festival commissioned by: Barbican BITE 10, London; Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels; The Point, Eastleigh; Uovo Performing Arts Festival, Milan; and the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster. Supported
by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Also supported by The Royal Exchange, Manchester; the Corn Exchange, Newbury and The Basement, Brighton.