• Advertise
  • Request Review
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy
  • Login

Theatre Bubble

The UK Theatre Network

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Opinions
  • Interviews
  • Guides
  • Tickets

Annie Siddons Discusses How (Not) To Live in Suburbia

January 5, 2017 by Tom Bailey Leave a Comment

Annie Siddons takes a look at the time in her life when she found herself – performance maker, part Greek, part Egyptian, full Londoner – as a single mum living in the nuclear family haven of curtain-twitching Twickenham, the most married place in London. Following its successful Edinburgh Festival Fringe run at Summerhall in 2016, Annie brings her show about living in suburbia to Soho Theatre. Through performance and surreal film, she recalls her gauche attempts to fit in with the yummy mummies who run triathlons and the families that row and cycle at weekends. From sexist toddler groups, to judgmental book group leaders to the advances of married men, Annie takes a poignant and humorous look at what it is to live in a community you don’t fit in, the compromises we make for the sake of our children, how chronic loneliness manifests itself and her own personal quest to cure it.

Part love letter to London, part satire of suburban culture, part text book case of a woman reacting to chronic loneliness, How not to Live in Suburbia pairs Annie Siddons’ most determinedly autobiographical writing to date withfilm made by Richard DeDominici, whose The Redux Project was broadcast on BBC4 as part of Live from Television Centre.

Annie Siddons said, “I’m an inherently gregarious person. I’m not the person that you would think would be lonely. But I became pathologically lonely, and it affected me really deeply, changed my personality and my outlook. It became impossible for me not to talk about it. It became very dangerous for me. There’s a brilliant quote in Julius Caesar: “Dwell I but in the suburbs of your good pleasure” and that’s what it was like for me, I was dwelling in the suburbs of my own life, both literally, as a lifelong Londoner, and psychologically, as someone who had got themselves stuck in isolation and ever decreasing circles of interaction. Reading John Cacioppo’s seminal book on Loneliness [Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection] after making the show made me realize that what I describe in the show is what happens to a human ape when they are confronted with enduring loneliness.”

Annie Siddons is a London based playwright, musician and performance maker. Her previous show was Raymondo (Edinburgh Fringe 2014, British Council Showcase 2015 and UK tour) and her past credits include Rapunzel with Kneehigh and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King for the Unicorn Theatre. How not to Live in Suburbia premiered at Summerhall at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2016, and is her first directly autobiographical piece and her first collaboration with Richard DeDomenici, whom she met in Edinburgh 2014. Annie trained as a Samaritan while she was making this show, an increasingly overloaded service since mental health provision on the NHS has been reduced.

Richard DeDomenici makes work that’s social, playful, political and critical. He created The Redux Project as part of BBC4’s Live From Television Centre, and has been shortlisted for the Arts Foundation Fellowship, nominated for the Jerwood Trust Moving Image Prize, and was a finalist in the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award.

Director Justin Audibert is a freelance theatre director and Artistic Associate for HighTide Festival Theatre and Red Ladder. He directed Annie Siddons last critically-acclaimed play Raymondo. In 2012 he was the Acting Coach for the finalists of BBC 2’s Shakespeare Off By Heart. Co-director and performer Nicki Hobday is a contemporary theatre-maker and performer. She co-founded Trace Theatre in 2007 and has worked with Forced Entertainment, Nigel and Louise, Andy Smith, Michael Pinchbeck, GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN, Lucy McCormick, Hannah Ringham and Red Shift.

@LaSiddons | #HNTLIS | www.anniesiddons.co.uk

 

Author: Tom BaileyTom is a theatre maker and writer based in London, England. He covers news and interviews for Theatre Bubble.
T: Twitter F: Facebook

Filed Under: News

Join the discussion Cancel reply

INTERVIEW / Silent Faces on Godot is a Woman’s first UK Tour

Silent Faces return to the stage with their signature style of playful and political physical theatre, interrogating permission, patriarchy, and [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Max Rinehart on The Retreat

We spoke to actor Max Rinehart about his experience working on the European premiere of Jason Sherman’s The Retreat at [Read More]

NEWS / Frozen Light celebrate 10 years with Sensory Symposium

The UK’s premiere company for adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities invites industry professionals of all genres and sensory [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Jenny Foulds on Life Learnings of a Nonsensical Human

Performer Jenny Foulds tells us about her forthcoming one woman show Life Learnings of a Nonsensical Human, coming to the [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Monique Touko on We Need New Names

We Need New Names is a defiant and exuberant coming-of-age story follows a young girl from the playgrounds of Zimbabwe [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • The Adrian Pagan Award is Back - Could You Win It?
  • Max Rinehart on The Retreat
  • Katy Owen: How to Apply to Drama Schools*
  • 10 Tips to Help You Prepare for Your Reality TV Auditions
  • Jenny Foulds on Life Learnings of a Nonsensical Human
  • The Donmar Warehouse's Julius Caesar at the King's Cross Theatre
  • Crowdfunding In Theatre - An Overview
  • How to Applying for Arts Grants and Funding
  • No Lies Here - Things I Know To Be True Announces UK Tour
  • Tom Bailey
    Editor

  • January 5th, 2017
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • Facebook1TweetLinkedInEmail

    Newsletter

    Enjoyed what you've read? Get even more great content directly to your inbox - Completely Free

    About Theatre Bubble

    Theatre Bubble is the news, review and blogging site created by Blue Pie Media and run by a dedicated team of outstanding editors and writers: we're always looking for new contributors - to find out more click here.

    Contact Us

    News: news@theatrebubble.com
    Reviews: reviews@theatrebubble.com
    Website: webmaster@theatrebubble.com

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2023 · Blue Pie Media

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

      Email sent!