Men in the Cities

Framed by the fallout from two violent deaths – the apparently inexplicable suicide of a young gay man,and the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich in May 2013 – Men in the Cities is a compelling piece of incendiary storytelling about harm and complicity.

From a working-class man nearing retirement who no longer knows whose side he’s on, to a ten-year-old boy cheerfully obsessed with pornography and American punk, Men in the Cities presents fractured snapshots of dozens of seemingly disconnected lives that together offer a challenging but radically humane portrait of how we live now.

Men in the Cities takes the gently seductive storytelling style of Chris’s previous solo shows like Kiss of Life (Fringe First, 2002) and The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirley (2011) and subjects it to a controlled explosion. Blurring fiction and reality to create a complex, volatile, richly textured work, Men in the Cities is a risky but carefully crafted piece about the radical possibilities of hope and of change.

IMAGES

“A smeared, soulful, messy, impassioned rant that… has moments of such staggering potency that it feels like the air is on fire.” Time Out ★★★★

“Chris Goode’s new show is exquisitely angry. Beautifully fucking furious. A throbbing red vein of humane, poetic rage.” Exuent ★★★★

“A fierce, poetic and troubled 80-minute dramatic monologue which conjures up a range of characters adrift in 21st century city… destined to become a quiet classic of post-social theatre” The Scotsman ★★★★ FRINGE FIRST AWARD

“His crafted language is so studded with emotional depth charges and brilliantly throwaway comic touches that you don’t want to miss a beat.” Total Theatre

“An important, zeitgist-pricking piece from one of the UK’s most interesting theatre-makers.” Independent

“Head and shoulders above most of the other such shows you’ll find in the Fringe programme… mesmerising” Telegraph ★★★★

The Herald ★★★★ The Stage ★★★★ FT ★★★★ Metro ★★★★ The List ★★★★

Fest ★★★★ A Younger Theatre ★★★★ Edinburgh Guide ★★★★

CREDITS

Writer / Performer - Chris Goode
Director - Wendy Hubbard
Designer - Naomi Dawson
Lighting Designer - Katharine Williams
Production Manager - Hattie Prust

A Chris Goode & Company production in association with Royal Court Theatre
Supported by Arts Council England

DATES

Upcoming

31 July - 24 August - Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh