After their huge success with Smart Casual: A New Musical last summer, we’re thrilled to announce that GOYA Theatre Company will be The North Wall’s inaugural ArtsLab Graduate Company.
Formed in 2019, GOYA Theatre Company is comprised of four friends who met whilst studying at the University of Oxford: Sam Woof (Artistic Director), Mrinmoyee Roy (Co-Producer), Lowri Spear (Co-Producer), and Natasha Mallett (Marketing Manager). The company’s relationship began with the venue in 2020 when Smart Casual was selected as The North Wall’s annual student new writing show. It premiered in 2021 to critical acclaim, and enjoyed sell-out runs in Oxford and Above the Stag and The Cockpit Theatre in London.
Ria Parry & John Hoggarth, co-directors of The North Wall, said: “We’re delighted to be working once more with this talented young company. The ArtsLab Graduate Company presents an opportunity for us to support a newly-formed theatre company, either from drama school or university, at the earliest stage of their careers. Smart Casual was a fantastic show and we’re excited to continue collaborating with Goya.”
GOYA Theatre Company said: “GOYA makes new work about right now. Our productions are bound together by a love of ensemble storytelling and a fascination with the meeting point of music, text and movement. Always collaborative, often queer and rarely predictable, our work is full of contradictions. We find stories that speak to us, and we’re extremely lucky to be able to share them with audiences across the UK. We are truly thankful for all of the support given by The North Wall team, and greatly look forward to developing this relationship.”
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022
GOYA Theatre Company can be found at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer with two new shows:
Don’t Say Macbeth
Written by Sam Woof, with Music and Lyrics by Math Roberts
Come backstage and witness preparations for the world premiere of a feminist-communist-dermatologist retelling of Macbeth from the perspective of the three witches. That’s right. It’s the soon-to-be smash-hit Double Bubble: The Musical. Unfortunately, things aren’t going to plan. The composers have stolen most of the songs from other musicals, the performers have forgotten all their lines and the technical team are technically incompetent. In just under one hour, can this company of hard-working artists ruin both music and Macbeth for a generation?
ZOO Playground 2, 5-28 August
Sex with Friends (and other tiny catastrophes)
Written by Sam Woof, with Music and Lyrics by Sam Woof and Livi van Warmelo
Mel needs a job. Marc doesn’t believe in love. Willow is addicted to yoga. Ben would wear a hoodie to the opera. Lily has emotional problems. Jordan might have herpes. Adjusting to city life, navigating complex relationships, figuring out who you really are – easy, right? Well, there’s a reason it’s called Generation Z. Because it can’t get much worse than this.
Sex with Friends (and other tiny catastrophes) started as Smart Casual: A New Musical, which premiered at the North Wall Arts Centre last summer. Told over 18 months, the show follows six inseparable friends as they fall in love, and fall apart.
