The Last Lunch / Betsy: Wisdom of a Brighton Whore.

Two of the Best of Brighton Fringe. Best New Play 2012 (Last Lunch) & Best Actress nomination 2013 (for Betsy)

The Last Lunch.
(Winner Best New Play Brighton Fringe 2012.)

It's Sunday lunch, and where the roast should be, there's a tofu wiener casserole instead.
Albert, a butcher, is mortified and questions his wife Jean who has put it on the table.
Why has she?
One of their twins, Mark, a vegan, and his opinionated vegan spiritual-midwife girlfriend Julie, are coming to lunch, and Albert takes it all very personally.
Twin sister Maddy, is on her way too, with 16 her year old daughter, Hannah, who has an intense personal secret she needs to share.
Everyone is converging on Albert's house, including beef-farmer Pete, (father to Hannah's dreamy boyfriend, Andy), abattoir worker Dave, (and his set of large knives), Andy himself, Sam (Albert and Jean's youngest, just back from fighting in Afghanistan, and bearing frightful news) and the spirits of some of the animals that Dave, Pete and Albert have, between them, been instrumental in dispatching.
All is set for a monumental clash of beliefs, values, knives,… and hearts.

On the farm one boy spends hours listening to the animals. Their cries and calls to each other, to the wind and to the Gods.
In The Last Lunch, butchers and vegans find strange common ground, and common ancient knowledge, locked away in tombs buried for millennia
Now deeply hidden secrets must emerge, and new disturbing secret pacts must be made.
A blood blessing is required. To seal the family in, for ever.

'...think "The Archers",Only with more vegans, more acid,.........oh.......and more ritual murder.'
Written and directed by Jonathan Brown.
http://www.jonathan-brown.co.uk/page34.htm

Betsy: Wisdom of a Brighton Whore

Performed by Eleanor Dillon-Reams
Written & Directed by Jonathan Brown
Winner, Best New Play, Brighton Fringe 2012 (for The Last Lunch)
Shortlisted Best New Play Brighton Fringe 2013 (For The Silent Stream)
(with Rachel Guershon Best Female Performer nominee Brighton Fringe 2013 (for this show)

It's 1820 (ish) and Betsy is a Brightonian, "at work". Having parted company from the St Mary's Home for Penitent Women, she's been given a "situation" by the knobs of the town, keeping an eye on the house of builder and land developer Thomas Kemp, lest he should return with the money he owes his creditors. Whilst she's there, she's required to give comfort to members of the brotherhood, and it isn't long before she meets Guardian of the Town and Chair of the Committee for the Provision of the poor, George Bintshaft.

Flowers arrive. Then wine, then dresses. A carriage to take Betsy to a private supper. More wine, soft words, and then a hot wine-laden breath, urgent whisperings, fumblings at the same dress....

5 Stars! "...Right from the start she blew us away. .... it was hard to remember that we weren't actually watching two people........ it will haunt me for years............... a lot of very funny lines ....and an awesome piece of physical theatre..."
Fringe Review, Brighton, May 2013.

4 Stars!
".. Betsy, a spectacularly foul-mouthed but deeply flawed woman." fringeguru.com Brighton, May, 2013