A new production at Newcastle's Live Theatre is a wild celebration of punk rock and the 1980s.
Charged with the anarchic spirit of the North East, We Are The Best! is a high-energy ensemble comedy is about finding your voice, the power of friendship, and the joy of sticking two fingers up at a society that tries to define you. The stage production is based on the 2014 cult film of the same name.
Set in Stockholm in 1982, the story follows friends and misfits Bobo and Klara. Tired of oppression from classmates, parents and teachers, Bobo and Klara decide to start a band, joined by Hedwig, the shiest girl in school. They’re on a mission to change their world and their hair.
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We Are The Best! is directed by Jack McNamara, Live Theatre’s artistic director and joint CEO. This will be his first production at the Newcastle Quayside venue Jack says: “This is a play about the unashamed joy of DIY creative expression. Of being who you are and finding your own way against the endless tide of adult banality. For this opening show I wanted to give everyone a messy, massive, loud-as-hell hug.
"It’s been a nightmare few years but there is always joy to be had, there are always friendships worth fighting for, and there is always art to be made. And sometimes the noisier and messier that art the better. How else to express the madness of the time we are in?"
The show's writer, Rebecca Glendenning, adds: “I am so excited to be working on this loud, unrestrained, anthem of a show. It's a love letter to the time before you start to learn what real life is and before all the boring admin of life sets in."
Jack McNamara continues: "Our production of We Are The Best! currently running at Live Theatre is set in Stockholm in 1982. At that exact time here in the North East there was an explosion of punk and DIY happening primarily in Gateshead and documented in the glorious book From the Garage to the Station and Beyond, published by Amorphous Pieces .
‘Punk’ is of course a massively overused word, and ‘post-punk’ is beginning to suffer a similar fate. But in a way it’s overuse is a positive thing. Punk is less about specific bands or styles. In a way it’s a spirit that can belong anywhere and to anyone. It becomes a byword for doing what you want in a kind of energised and unrefined way. It’s not a historic description."
We Are The Best! is running until Saturday, June 18. Tickets are priced £10 to £24, with concessions from £6. To book tickets and to find out more, contact Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232 or visit www.live.org.uk
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