PRODUCTIONS-2010
PRODUCTIONS 2010
LES AVENTURES DE LAPIN
THE ADVENTURES OF RABBIT
SUITABLE FOR: 6-11 YEAR OLDS
Language: French

A sunny, joyful, Caribbean tale for primary school children.
Touring UK schools 12th June -7th July 2023

Originally developed with children from South Shields schools in the Custom's House with designer Alison Ashton, this show went on to  become one of TSF's most popular touring shows, with excellent hummable songs from Ken patterson - J'adore les bananas  and Ile du Paradis.
It featured a number of indigenous Caribbean tales based around the Trickster Lapin (Rabbit) and his mischievous antics. These stories had travelled from Africa during the time of the slave trade.
Actors  from various versions of the show included:
Deb Pugh (Ad Infinitum theatre), Emily Grant, Jack Burton, Benjamin Alonso, Katy Tranter, Kevin James, Aron de Casemaker, Paddy Burton and our current team- seen here- Mark Hanley, Rocio Galan, Kit Kopieske, and Olo Olan.

Directors: Sarah Kemp and John Cobb
THE GREAT BOXING BOOTH REVIVAL
2012
SUITABLE FOR: 8-12 YEAR OLDS, families
Language: English

TSF were delighted to be asked to perform in this extraordinary venue set up in a tent outside Hexham Abbey. The Great Boxing Booth Revival was set up to celebrate the Olympic games playing in London summer 2012. All the invitees devised their own material to suit this very particular space and reflect the sport and internationalism of the time. 
TSF in the great boxing booth revival finale:

Paddy Burton and John Cobb, after a washed out summer, finally get to play in the Boxing Booth! After extensive downpours which ended in cancelling our appearance at Skelton and catapulting the whole project into Gateshead Sports centre when Saltwell Park was inundated, we finally see the Boxing Booth set up in Hexham Abbey cloisters in full sunshine. We had heard tales of gloopy Glastonbury-like mud and bales of straw thrown down to make the whole event possible elsewhere, but here all is well. The space itself is very interesting being, of course, on 4 sides, but you never know where the audience will be so each performance necessitates adjusting to where they watch from. Our little sketch is very silly, based on the fictional meeting of Sir John Falstaff and Don Quixote's side kick Sancho Panza. They fight over a fictional island and end up in a fictional Coalition. Plenty of opportunity to lampoon celebs, sports stars and the body politic, while throwing in the odd bit of Shakespeare and dreaming the Impossible Dream.... Hope you enjoyed it and thanks to Judith King, Carl and Dennis and all the team for making it happen.


CAPABILITY BROWN: THE EYE-CATCHER
2016
SUITABLE FOR AGES 12+ YEARS
LANGUAGE:ENGLISH

A one-man theatre show based on the life and works of Capability Brown,
Britain's first professional gardener, in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth. Devised and acted by John Cobb, Capability Brown – The Eye-Catcher is an affectionate, comic and visually stimulating appraisal of the life and gardens of Lancelot Brown.  With evocative music from the period and a wealth of visuals, songs and personalities, audiences will be entranced by the life and times
of Lancelot Capability Brown. Toured England from Brown's birthplace in Kirkharle, Northumberland to Dorset and many stops in-between.
CANARY GOLD
2013
SUITABLE FOR: Adults 15 YEAR OLDS and up
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH, SPANISH AND SOME FRENCH, WITH SURTITLES

Canary Gold connects Sir Francis Drake's plunderings, the exploitation of Canarian wine-growers, the Madeira forgery scandal and contemporary financial fraudsters, inviting audiences to to ask, who are the real pirates?
A delicious satire on contemporary financial dealings, set against a backdrop of 500 years of wine trade between the UK and the Canary Islands. Canary Gold is an original piece, featuring atmospheric music, outrageous characters and absurd comedy, devised by the actors and director. TSF collaborates with Tenerife company Teatro Tamaska. Performed by an international cast. 
"An intriguing, full-blooded production"   Newcastle Journal
Culture Trips’ Top Ten Picks of the Fringe “one not to miss!”.
Edinburgh Festival
LA CHANSON DU RETOUR
THE SONG TO TAKE YOU HOME
2014/18
SUITABLE FOR: 8-12 YEAR OLDS
Language: FRENCH

La Chanson du Retour is a fun and interactive performance in simple French and is packed with funky songs, rhythms and raps. It follows the story of the protaganist Léa, who has found herself transported into the strange and colourful world of her computer game.
Touring UK schools 19th February- 23rd March 2018
Originally devised in collaboration with Sage Gateshead

Directed by: John Cobb and Sarah Kemp
Music by: Rob Kitchen, Marianne Tertrais and Claire Tustin
Cast: Bethan Screen, Claire Tustin, Ziad Jabeiro, Aron De Casemaker
CHERNOBYL @30
SUITABLE FOR: 14+ YEAR OLDS
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH. 
VIDEO IN UKRAINIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

On April 26, 1986, an accident occurred at the Chornobyl NPP.
Through documentary film and eye witness testimony, combined with evocative music and movement, Chernobyl@30 travels between the Ukraine and the UK as the consequences of the accident unfold. An invisible cloud of radiation spreads across Europe, falling on people, animals and land.
A FROG CALLED WOANDA/ WOÂNDA

SUITABLE FOR: 6-11 YEAR OLDS
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH OR FRENCH

A play with shadows, puppets and live music for children aged 5-10 years,
families and friends. Woânda is a frog who lives in the bathroom pipes. One day he suddenly pops up and meets the Laura, the little girl who lives in the house. Laura has dropped her mother's ring down the plughole and so Woânda helps her to look for it. Their search takes them on a whirlwind of twists and turns that combine dreams with reality and laughter with tears.
HEAVEN EYES
SUITABLE FOR: 9 - 14 YEAR OLDS
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

A play adapted from the novel Heaven Eyes by David Almond.
Adapted for the stage by internationally acclaimed children's author 
David Almond (Skellig, Song for Ella Grey).
Almond's eerie tale is an astonishing piece of writing The Guardian
Performed in English by a cast from the UK and Sweden and featuring 
original music and video. Suitable for ages 9+ years.
Recommended by the British Theatre Guide as one of the Best Family Shows in the North-East of 2014
HEY PIGGY PIGGY
SUITABLE FOR: 4-10 YEAR OLDS
Language: English

Hey Piggy Piggy 
Touring in the North East 21 June – 7 July 2017
Free for schools.
A fun show for KS1 children with animation, live music and action.

It explores the issues of fuel poverty in a child-friendly way:
About entitlement to health and a warm house to live in.

The Wolf keeps knocking at the door but it’s by counting their pennies, and
with their own wits and clever use of materials, that the Piggies get cosy in the end.
Free KS1 Package : The Hey Piggy Piggy show comes with:
New songs to sing
 A show followed by a workshop at a venue close to your school (this programme lasts for an hour)
· A follow–up video, song accompaniments and lyrics sheet
· A teachers’ resource with KS1 curricular links, resume and follow up ideas

Hey Piggy Piggy
Is especially commissioned and funded by the National Energy Action charity: www.NEA.org.uk
It is a collaboration between Théâtre Sans Frontières, 4 Corners Music Network: www.4cornersmusic.com

With script and songs by John Cobb, Sarah Kemp, Ken Patterson & Richard Scott
Cast included Eleanor Cobb, Joey  Holden, Jake Ashton-Nielsen
Design by Alison Ashton
IF IT’S NOT ON, IT’S NOT ON
SUITABLE FOR: 14 YEAR OLDS and up
Language: English
8-11 September 2014

The Pentland Theatre, Artsdepot, North Finchley, London

How do you know if you have a Sexually Transmitted Infection? What exactly are they? Where do you go to get advice and help?

Follow the story of Luke, as he discovers answers to these questions and more... From his first awkward sexual experience and frank discussions with his friends and his Dad, to a humorous adventure through the history of sexually transmitted infections!
Both Luke and the audience will discover the facts behind STIs, who is at risk, where to get help and advice, and much more...

Suitable for all over the age of 14, this show is informative, eye-opening and, most of all, fun!
Tickets are free and available through Eventbrite.
Production commissioned by The Society for General Microbiology





ISLANDS/ ISLAS / INSELN / ΝΗΣΟΣ
SUITABLE FOR: families, 14 YEAR OLDSand up
Language: English, Spanish, German, Cypriot Greek
watch a preview 2010
Paradise or prison? What does it mean to live on an island?

Two young European women are sunbathing on a beach in Tenerife when they find the body of an African woman washed up on the shore beside them. Nothing can ever be the same again. Follow Joanne and Sabine as their interweaving stories cross borders and touch the lives of others, wherever they go. Discover beauty at the heart of sadness and absurdity in the mundane as you are taken on a journey from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland to Aphrodite's Rock in Cyprus, in search of island identities.

Islands is a new and original piece of theatre to be written and created collaboratively by Théâtre Sans Frontières (UK), Teatro Tamaska (Canary Islands), Theater Wahlverwandte (Germany) and Persona Theatre Company (Cyprus). Three of the companies involved in the project are based on islands on the margins of Europe and the fourth is from Berlin, which was an 'island' metaphorically during the Cold War. In devising this piece of theatre, we wanted to explore the question 'What does it mean to live on an island in Europe?'

During the Islands tour, we collected thoughts from the audience on what an island meant to them and incorporated them into a display which was on view in the foyers of the venues we visited.
Cast:

Fernando     Carlos Belda (Canary Islands)
Sabine     Silke Buchholz (Germany)
Robert     John Cobb (UK)
Joanne     Becky Jameson (UK)
Pambos     Diomedes Koufteros (Cyprus)
Michael     Hans Piesbergen (Germany)
Rosa     Josefa Suárez (Canary Islands)

Director     Franziska Schütz (Germany)
Designer     Jane Heather (UK)
Composer     Juan Belda (Canary Islands)
Lighting     Design Mark Pritchard (UK)
Video Artist     Nicoleta Kalatha (Cyprus)
LORCA: LOVE IN THE GARDEN
LORCA: AMOR EN EL JARDÍN
LANGUAGE: SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES
Suitable for: Adults,14 year olds and up
Older, wealthy man marries younger, gorgeous woman.
What could possibly go wrong?
Indulge in a luscious evening of performance, poetry and music 
with Spain's greatest writer of the 20th century, Federico García Lorca

Touring April/May 2015

Indulge in a luscious evening of performance, poetry and music with Spain's greatest writer of the 20th century, Federico García Lorca

In Lorca's 'garden of love', the fantastical story of Don Perlimplín unfolds. A wealthy and studious man, he just wants to spend his days quietly reading books. Reluctantly, he marries the gorgeous and much younger Belisa - but what has he let himself in for?

TSF brings its unparalleled visual and physical style to this passionate and original adaptation. With evocative live music, larger-than-life characters and Lorca's poetry, you'll be seduced by this surreal tale of deceit, disguise and obsession!

'Interpretations do not come much more faithful than this' The Guardian


Opening on Tuesday 14 April 2015 at Southwark Playhouse until 25 April, then touring nationally until 14 May. Tickets now on sale! 

Cast and Creative Team
Don Perlimplín   Ángel Alguacil
Belisa    Verónica Moreno
Marcolfa    Sarah Kemp
Madre    Alicia Martel

Director    John Cobb
Set and Costume Designer   Neil Murray
Lighting Design   Mark Pritchard
Composer   Allan Tall
Additional Music   Alicia Martel
LE MYSTÈRE DE ST DENIS
LANGUAGE: French with ENGLISH 
Suitable for:12 -16year olds
Reluctant holiday-maker Sophie arrives on the French-speaking Caribbean island of St Denis, the island of “eternal youth” - la jeunesse éternelle. She quickly finds out that very strange things are happening on the island and becomes embroiled in a series of mysterious events – bodies disappearing from graveyards, magic potions and secret rendez-vous. And who is the enigmatic Baron Samedi?

A spine-chilling adventure for students in years 7-10, performed in French with a little English, masks, shadows and live music. The play has been created with the assistance of Years 8 and 9 students from Hexham schools.

2014 Cast and Company
Jeremy Bradfield (UK) Baron Samedi
Aron De Casmaker (Canada) Zeb
Emily Jane Grant (UK) Sophie
Rebecca Jameson (UK) Madeleine

Directors: Sarah Kemp and John Cobb
Set and Costume Design: Alison Ashton
Composer: Jeremy Bradfield 
Production Manager: Jack Burton
Competition Video: Christo Wallers
TI-JEAN ET LA CHÈVRE
TI-JEAN AND HIS GOAT
SUITABLE FOR:6-11 YEAR OLDS
Language: FRENCH

A theatrical production in simple French touring UK schools in summer term 2022. Suitable for 6-11 years. TSF presents a feast of magical tales from around the French speaking world - including Canada (Quebec), Mali and Cambodia.
Ti-Jean and his goat tell stories to one another to keep their spirits up whilst travelling from town to town. A fun filled show told through live action, puppetry and catchy songs from Ken Patterson, with a colourful and enchanting set from Alison Ashton (La Chanson du Retour, Les Aventures de Lapin).
LIST OF SHOWS BY DECADE
The Golden Conch Shell / La Voix du Coquillage Doré
Les Olympiques Des Animaux /Tokyo
Sherlock Holmes – The Speckled Band
COMMUNITY AND SCHOOLSHOWS
- The apples of immortality
- Broken pieces
- The french revolution
- Le moulin magique
- Make do and mend
- Queen camilla’s lost her fella
- Les trois mousquetaires
- An uncertain world
Les Aventures de Lapin
The Great Boxing Booth Revival
Capability Brown: The Eye-Catcher
Canary Gold
La Chanson du Retour
Chernobyl @30
A Frog called Woanda/ Woânda
Heaven Eyes
Hey Piggy Piggy
If it’s not on, it’s not on
Islands/ Islas / Inseln / ΝΗΣΟΣ
Lorca- Amor en el Jardín
Le Mystère de St Denis
Ti Jean et La Chevre
Aladin et La Lampe Enchantée
Alice
Around the World in 80 Minutes
Le Chat Noir
Como Agua Para Chocolate
Contes Dorés
L’Enfant Peul
Lipsynch
Manon Lescaut
Les Olympiques Des Animaux /Rio
La Pelota Mágica
El Sombrero de Tres Picos
Le Tour de France
Les Trois Mousquetaires
L’Avare by Moliere
La Belle et la Bête et Les Souhaits Ridicules
La Belle aux Cheveux d’Ors
Candide
A Change in the Weather
Contes d’Afrique
Contes Mauriciens
Cuentos de Amor
Diamonds in your Pocket
Grimm Tales
Le Mariage de Figaro
Le Moulin Magique
Notre Dame de Paris
Pig Boy
Le Petit Chaperon Rouge et La Barbe Bleue
A Tale of Two Cities
La Tulipe Noire