Touring Production - "Piskie" by Boondog Theatre
26th July from 19:30 to 21:00
In the Auditorium and Bar
*26/07/24 - PLEASE NOTE. We are experiencing some difficulty with the ticketing system for tonight's show. If you encounter any difficulties, please either email boxoffice@criteriontheatre.co.uk, or you can purchase a ticket at the theatre box office this evening. Seating is unreserved, in a cabaret style.
BoonDog Theatre presents PISKIE*, a brand new beautiful story about the tug of war between fantasy and reality. Written and performed by Lucy Roslyn and directed by Jamie Firth, PISKIE is a show for all those who believe there is still a little magic to be found in the world.
Ouida Burt was raised on the fantasy stories of her hometown - where the piskies of Dartmoor are waiting to lead dreamers astray. The family joked that her father - a somnambulist - was at risk. He would sleepwalk, “piskie-led” - so he said - by Ouida’s cherished imaginary friend “Bert”. But, one night, he sleepwalked out of their family home and onto the moors… never to return.
After the search was called off, the family was forced to accept that he had most likely abandoned them; agreeing, from that point on, to give up all notion of fantastical things.
Years later, Ouida is now a respected psychologist, an academic, and a realist. In PISKIE, the audience joins her as she leads a talk on fear. As usual, she’s here to debunk the irrational and fantastic - to explain away the inexplicable with cold, hard evidence. It is time to turn a light on all those things that go bump in the night.
But one of the things that keeps Ouida up at night cannot be explained. Something that followed her back from the moors all those years ago. Could “Bert” really be… back?
PISKIE interrogates the entrenchment of ideas, showing that even the most rational people have irrational beliefs, and asks why it is so easy to give advice that you do not take. A beautiful story about magic versus cynicism that sends the audience away charmed, and just a little bit spooked.
*Piskie is a Devonian word for Pixie.
About BoonDog Theatre
BoonDog Theatre is a collaborative theatre company, creating exciting new stories for the stage.
Founded in 2011 by Creative Director Lucy Roslyn and Productions Director Jamie Firth, BoonDog are passionate about new work and starting conversations that hopefully last long beyond the time the audience are in the theatre.
Their first show was "The State vs John Hayes" in 2013, which gained great critical acclaim: It was described in one review as "Beautifully brutal", and that has almost become their goal to be achieved with each and every show. Next, a suite of interweaving stories set backstage at the "Boon and Doggett Circus" - an ongoing project with 3 different shows produced so far: "Showmanship" (Theatre503 Best of the Fest), "The Stooge" and "Goody" (LET Award winner 2017). Working with Jesse Anand Productions and director Josh Roche, they have also created "Orlando" ("Brits Off Broadway" 2023) and "Pennyroyal". They also help to develop other peoples shows - In 2022 they worked with Colin Hoult on his Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show "The Death of Anna Mann"