Birds of Paradise Theatre Company

Scotland's touring theatre company promoting disabled artists and supporting the arts sector

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A woman leans on the end of her bed and kisses a man who is standing beside her holding a glass of wine.

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Wendy Hoose

Getting your leg over is sometimes more difficult than you think

Laura and Jake just want sex. Late Friday night drunken sex. Nothing more. No strings attached. But getting your leg over is sometimes more difficult than you think. Starring James Young and Amy Conachan, Wendy Hoose is about two twenty year olds searching for love in all the wrong places!

Wendy Hoose contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature. All performances include audio description, BSL and animated surtitles.

CHECK OUT THE PROGRAMME

Supported by Inchrye Trust : The Hugh Fraser Foundation : Sylvia Aitken Charitable Trust : Unlimited

Written by Johnny McKnight
Directed by Robert Softley Gale and Johnny McKnight

Coproduced with Random Accomplice

Previously part of the MADE IN SCOTLAND showcase

Supported by Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists. Unlimited is delivered in partnership by Shape and Artsadmin, with funding from Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council Wales and Spirit of 2012. www.weareunlimited.org.uk

The Team

Amy Conachan – Laura
James Young – Jake
Julie Brown – Anna Maria
Johnny McKnight – Writer/Director
Robert Softley Gale – Director
Neil Haynes – SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER
Jamie MacDonald – Animator
Grant Anderson – Lighting Designer
Kay Hesford – Stage Manager

Tour Dates

Fri 7 March – Sat 15 March, 8pm
TRON THEATRE

Glasgow

Tue 18 March, 1.30pm
PAISLEY ARTS CENTRE
Wed 19 March, 7.30pm
MACROBERT

Stirling

Thu 20 March, 7pm
THE LEMON TREE

Aberdeen

Sat 22 March, 7.30pm
LOCHGELLY CENTRE

Fife

Tue 25 March, 8pm
ACHMORE HALL

near Stromeferry

Wed 26 March, 8pm
EDEN COURT

Inverness

Sat 29 March 2014, 7.30pm
THE STUDIO @ FESTIVAL THEATRE

Edinburgh

Wednesday 27 Aug 2014, 7.30pm
THE BEACON

Greenock

Fri 29 & Sat 30 Aug 2014, 8pm
PERTH CONCERT HALL
Tuesday 2 Sept 2014, 7:30pm
PLATFORM

Glasgow

Wednesday 3 Sept 2014, 7:30pm
HOWDEN PARK CENTRE

Livingston

Thursday 4 Sept 2014, 7:30pm
FTH

Falkirk

Sat 6 Sept, 7:30pm & Sun 7 Sept, 5:30pm
UNLIMITED FESTIVAL at SOUTHBANK CENTRE

London

10 – 13 September, 2014
SHERMAN CYMRU

Cardiff

Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 September, 7:30pm
Friday 12 & Saturday 13 September, 5:30pm & 9pm

Mon 17 – Sun 30 Aug 2015
Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

Edinburgh Fringe 2015

Mon 11 Apr – Sat 7 May 2016
Soho Theatre

London

Fri 20 – Sat 21 May 2016
Teatro Valle Inclán

Madrid, Spain

Sat 28 May 2016
Teatre El Musical

Valencia, Spain

Reviews

“As a calling card for the new direction for Birds of Paradise, this is a wonderfully full-on, no-holds-barred declaration of intent to produce entertaining theatre with heart, intelligence and flair. It may well be rude at times, but it clearly comes from a Scottish theatre that’s in rude health.”
DISABILITY ARTS ONLINE
“A vulnerable James Young and a defiantly sexy Amy Conachan
 star in this outrageously funny comedy of manners”
THE GUARDIAN
“the production, co-directed by McKnight and Robert Softley Gale,
has no time for such soppiness; it is rude, ribald and
hilariously off-colour, and bodes tremendously well for
the new directorship of Birds of Paradise.”
THE GUARDIAN
“Writer McKnight is the master of witty wordplay and Young
 delivers his painfully cruel rejections with perfect timing and 
zeal.”
TV BOMB
“Conachan in particular does a beautiful job of painting Laura as a real woman with needs, wants, desires and obligations, who’s not willing to be repressed by the ‘disabled’ label.”
TV BOMB
“The knotty problems and see-saw dynamics of the pair who are keen to have sex but don’t know each other is captured through McKnight’s brilliant ear for authentic West of Scotland speech.”
EDINBURGH GUIDE
“Julie Brown, whose dry, non-committal tones as observer manage to create a highly comic, virtual ménage a trois.”
EDINBURGH GUIDE
“unstintingly well acted, totally on the mark and painfully funny”
EDINBURGH GUIDE
“McKnight’s script is sharp, twisting Jake’s Paisley patter to comic vulgarity, while Laura is a perfect foil.”
THE LIST
“Unashamedly vulgar, but with a compassionate core, Wendy Hoose is a bold, entertaining and sensitive production.”
THE LIST
“Above all, it features two fine, brave comic performances from its stars, Amy Conachan and James Young.”
THE SCOTSMAN
“some superb use of video and graphics, and Neil Haynes’ lush red bedroom set”
THE SCOTSMAN
“The audio describer, brilliantly voiced completely deadpan by Random Accomplice’s Artistic Director Julie Brown (a la Scarlett Johanssen’s conscience-ridden computer in Her) gets some juicy one-liners too—hilarious references to ”lady gardens” in one scene, and amusing disgust at what she her career has become- ”I went to drama school, you know!”
EXUENT
“it’s the most brilliant, wrong-est disability coup-de-theatre you’ll have seen in a while”
THE PUBLIC REVIEWS
“The design of Wendy Hoose, courtesy of Neil Haynes and Grant Anderson, is as creative and energetic as its leads.”
THE PUBLIC REVIEWS

Photos & Videos

The stage is set like a bedroom with red walls and red bed sheets. A woman sits up in bed looking at a man who is sat on the foot of the bed. He looks back at her. They are both holding glasses of red wine. Both are young, white and have dark hair.
A woman sits on a bed looking at a man who is standing by her bed talking with one arm in the air. The phrase 'I'm Leg less' is projected on the back wall. The man is young, white and is wearing a blue polo shirt and jeans. The woman appears to be wearing a sparkly black negligee.
A young woman sitting on a bed appears to be singing. A man lying on the bed next to her is holding a glass of wine and looking at her.
The stage is lit in a low purple glow. A young white man and a young white woman lay on a bed looking forward. The man looks taken aback
A woman leans on the end of her bed and kisses a man who is standing beside her holding a glass of wine.
A woman lies in a bed looking forward. A man lies behind her on his side and he looks down at her with his arm on her side. They are both young and white with dark hair. The woman is lying under the sheets, whereas the man is lying above them and is wearing a dark brown leather jacket.

[toggle title_open=”Previous Tours” title_closed=”Tour Dates”]

Spring 2014

TRON THEATRE (Glasgow) Fri 7 March – Sat 15 March, 8pm

PAISLEY ARTS CENTRE Tue 18 March, 1.30pm

MACROBERT (Stirling) Wed 19 March, 7.30pm

THE LEMON TREE (Aberdeen) Thu 20 March, 7pm

LOCHGELLY CENTRE (Fife) Sat 22 March, 7.30pm

ACHMORE HALL (near Stromeferry) Tue 25 March, 8pm

EDEN COURT (Inverness) Wed 26 March, 8pm

THE STUDIO @ FESTIVAL THEATRE (Edinburgh) Sat 29 March, 7.30pm

Autumn 2014

THE BEACON (Greenock) Wednesday 27 August, 7.30pm

PERTH CONCERT HALL Friday 29 & Saturday 30 August, 8pm

PLATFORM (Glasgow) Tuesday 2 September, 7:30pm

HOWDEN PARK CENTRE (Livingston) Wednesday 3 September, 7:30pm

FTH (Falkirk) Thursday 4 September, 7:30pm

UNLIMITED FESTIVAL at SOUTHBANK CENTRE (London)
Saturday 6 September, 7:30pm
Sunday 7 September, 5:30pm

SHERMAN CYMRU (Cardiff)
Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 September, 7:30pm
Friday 12 & Saturday 13 September, 5:30pm & 9pm

Edinburgh Fringe 2015 – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Mon 17 – Sun 30 Aug 2015

Summer 2016

Soho Theatre, London Mon 11 Apr – Sat 7 May 2016

Teatro Valle Inclán, Madrid, Spain Fri 20 – Sat 21 May 2016

Teatre El Musical, Valencia, Spain Sat 28 May 2016[/toggle]