“I started to tell myself that the legs I’d traded my tail for were better, even though they felt like walking on knives.”
Morveren (Cornish, noun): sea maiden, mermaid
Ambitious banker Keren is determined to make her mark, but the siren’s song is calling her, drawing her back to her roots. In this mythic hidden village, where women make the rules and no one has to shout to be heard, Keren has to decide: career or community?
Oxford’s Marvellous Machine Theatre Company presents Morveren by Kate Webster, directed by Lou Corben. Featuring new music and arrangements by Becki Jayne Reed, with the voices of Oxford Community Choir and London City Voices.
Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 March 2023, Old Fire Station, Oxford.
Following the success of ORLANDO in 2018/19, and their 2016/17 show The Tiger’s Bride, Marvellous Machine Theatre Company return to the OFS with their first piece of original writing. Combining a digital community choir, dance, and movement, they bring to life Kate Webster’s lyrical new play.
Drawing on Cornish mythology, Morveren is centred around a hidden coastal village where women make the rules and no one has to shout to be heard. Imagining an alternative way of living, Morveren is a celebration of community made with Oxford’s singers of all levels of experience, and a coming of age for three generations of women.
Reviews
Praise for Morveren:
● “A stunning play exploring folklore, family struggles and what it means to find your own place in the world. Brilliant, lyrical writing from Kate Webster.” – Scott Matthewman, Theatre Critic
● “An enthralling theatrical experience.. I was enchanted.. a feel-good evening in the companyof exceptionally talented
female artists.. a captivating and immersive experience” – West End Evenings
● “a show that I would not hesitate in recommending” – Pink Prince Theatre
● “heartfelt, moving and thought provoking” – audience member
● “Deftly weighs today’s priorities against older, deeper values. Moments of magic grounded in the everyday; strong performances; an inspired soundtrack. Thoughtful and rewarding.” – audience member
Praise for Past Work:
● “a masterful adaptation… a splendid piece of theatre” – Daily Info
● “succeeds in teasing out provocations within Woolf’s story… [an] intriguing, thoughtful production.” – Newbury Weekly News
● “A plush and captivating take on one of Angela Carter’s famously subversive fairy tale retellings… There is luxury enough to sink into” – Daily Info
● “A small-scale show thinking big. Wonderful” – Newbury Weekly News
Box Office
Box Office: book online at https://oldfirestation.org.uk/whats-on/morveren/
For further information, contact Lou Corben loucorben@gmail.com or call 07971 375 936
About Marvellous Machine Theatre Company
Marvellous Machine is a female-led theatre company made up of theatre maker Lou Corben and musician/composer Becki Reed. We’re a small ensemble-driven company with limited resources, yet the stories we tell are ones of castles, beasts, and magical transformations. We bring stories to life using live music and foley, object theatre, puppetry, and physical theatre.
Some say that limitation breeds invention and that seems to be the case with us.
Website: www.marvellousmachine.com
Trailer: https://youtu.be/35DEh93dctQ
