New Play 'Devon and Demelza' at Exeter Bikeshed Theatre this week

PRESS RELEASE

15 March 2012

'DEVON AND DEMELZA'

A brand new play inspired by the *Devonwall proposal

at The Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter  20^th – 24^th March 2012

'It's the Tamar, not the Amazon, for heaven's sake!'

This was the 'off-the-record' response by Prime Minister David Cameron when quizzed about a proposed new parliamentary constituency that would flout the Devon/Cornwall boundary – a boundary that has remained unchallenged for 1000 years.  And it became the inspiration for a brand new play by Cornwall playwright, Elaine Ruth White.

Elaine, who was the writer on the award-winning local opera, 'One Day, Two Dawns' (English Touring Opera/Hall for Cornwall) said:

'Boundaries are crucial to who we are as people. They are an essential part of how we define ourselves.  When a boundary changes, so does our identity. And there are few places this is more true than Cornwall.'

Set in the Morwenstow area of North Cornwall, 'Devon and Demelza' is a satirical take on the Devonwall proposal.  Elaine explained:

'There's a lot of humour in the play, but like all satires, it identifies a very scary reality about the world we live in today.'

Storyline

Despite their sibling rivalry, the sisters have a strong bond, but when a Community Risk Advisor arrives and declares Demelza’s potato patch a national hazard, their world is changed forever.

The official soon gets his feet well 'under-the-table', and tensions start to escalate.

As events conspire against her, Demelza discovers that even in the age of cyberspace, it's land that people will kill for.

This satire with a surreal edge can be enjoyed at several levels, and affectionately parodies the relationship between Devon, Cornwall and Westminster.

10 years +

'Refreshing, intriguing and unique'.  Response to the premiere performance.

Note for Editors:

*Devonwall is a jocular name used for a proposed Parliamentary constituency that would transgress the border and combine parts of Devon and Cornwall.

 

A published and broadcast playwright, Elaine Ruth White was writer on the Royal Philharmonic Society award-winning production by English Touring Opera, 'One Day, Two Dawns',  and recently wrote a fresh libretto for Mozart's 'The Magic Flute', set in the 1920s, for Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter.  She lives in Penryn, Cornwall.

For more information, contact  Elaine on: 07980570087