“Maps out the growing pains, adversity, hilarity and perseverance of a human spirit.”

Left Lion

Five Years

 

Let me tell you about Foxwood. A place that my skipping voice would not get me thrown down stairs. Unlike other schools. It was very much like other schools.

From 1998-2002, Neal Pike attended a special educational needs school in Nottinghamshire. Five Years is about trying to hold on to a sense of who you are during those messy, brutal and mundane years of adolescence. With warmth and humour that cuts to the bone, Neal Pike explores identity, community and the parts of him that were shaped by Foxwood.

Commissioned by New Writing North, Five Years has been supported by Arts Council England, Sunday for Sammy Trust, Square Chapel and Alphabetti Theatre. Special thanks to Kickstarter Backers: Oliver Housley, Rosie Burn, Kristy Diaz, Andy Briggs.

Writer and Performer
Neal Pike

Director
Matt Miller

Script Advisor 
Jess Thom

Producer 
Rosa Postlethwaite

Photography 
Chris Bishop

Audience Feedback  

“Powerful, brave, thought-provoking”
“Lots of impact, vivid, we began to inhabit the performer’s biography”
“An important voice”
“A Midlands version of Stand By Me”

Review from Left Lion 

“The exploration of youth, friendship, sexuality and loss will resonate with most as experiences we all have to come to terms with, as we grow up and grow older. However, the honesty of this, from the viewpoint of someone who due to circumstance and societal labels, gives a voice to those who do not always have the words to express themselves.” 11/10/2017

Review from Hey, What’s On Notts?

“Through Five Years (Neal) has become the narrator of his own story . . . His ability to set a scene with movements and tone is spot on” 06/10/2017

Content/Trigger Warning: references to sexual abuse and bullying

All performances Relaxed and BSL interpreted

For Autumn 2019 Tour Booking please contact producer, Rosa Postlethwaite
rosapostlethwaite@gmail.com