Productions by Fail Better

To view pictures, plot information, synopses and cast & crew listings for a production simply click on the relevant link from our archive below.

Play Without a Title

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by Federico García Lorca
in a new translation by David Johnston

2nd-8th October 2008, The CAPITAL Centre, Warwick University

"I like the truth as well - just for a moment".
Exploring the relationship between theatre, politics and poetry, as well as the distance between reality and illusion, this lost classic marks the beginning of Lorca's quest to stage 'the impossible'.

Persephone

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after Ovid

In development

"A living curse. A commandment from the highest god. Thank you for giving me this nothing".
Fail Better return to Ovid for the first time since 2003's Echo and Narcissus ("challenging, gripping, creative" The Stage) in this poetic trilogy with hyper-real interludes. The final draft of this new play will emerge after a series of practical workshops at The CAPITAL Centre.

Stasis:Beckett Shorts

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Rough for Theatre II and Ohio Impromptu
by Samuel Beckett

First performed at The CAPITAL Centre, Warwick University

"I don't seem to be able ... to depart".
A rare opportunity to see a double bill of short plays by Samuel Beckett, staged together for the first time. As their stories and lives come to an end, the characters consider what has happened, how things may have been different and what remains of the past. Static bodies in concrete stage images begin two intensely focused dramas of the mind.

Diary of a Madman

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after Gogol - 28th August-16th September 2007

The Rosemary Branch, London Fringe

"I love going to the theatre. As long as I've a kopeck in my pocket, you can't stop me".
A bold new adaptation of Gogol's absurdist masterpiece, adapted and devised by the company. The story examines the life of Axenty Ivanovich, a civil servant whose ordered existence spirals into fantasy and despair as his obsession with the enchanting daughter of his superior grows.

Meanwhile, two little dogs contemplate his fate...

Head

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by Zoë Simon - 5th-29th August 2004

The Smirnoff Underbelly, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2004

"The worst kid in the park now"
Sometimes ferocious, sometimes delicate, this is a tale of destructive love between two young delinquents. Set on a South London estate, this stunning new play is premiered by a "young, unhyped, first-rate company" - List. Fail Better's devised show Echo and Narcissus received critical acclaim on the London fringe last summer.

Phaedra's Love

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by Sarah Kane - 5th-29th August 2004

The Smirnoff Underbelly, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2004

"It burns. Meant to be. We were. Meant to be."
This powerful retelling of the Phaedra myth mixes brutality and beauty, revealing a royal family ripped apart by obsessive love. Fail Better return to The Smirnoff Underbelly following their massive success with Sarah Kane's Crave in 2002 ("a diamond of a show" - List).

Echo & Narcissus

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after Ovid - 24th June-13th July 2003

White Bear Theatre, London

Having been cursed to eternally repeat the words of others, Echo developes an infatuation for the self-obsessed Narcissus. But when he cruelly rejects her, Narcissus himself is cursed to crave the one thing he cannot reach, his own reflection.

Crave

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by Sarah Kane - 1st-25th August 2002

The Smirnoff Underbelly, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2002

"I feel nothing, nothing. I feel nothing".
Deep in the city, four characters relive memories of life, love and loss. Their stories, confessions and conversations interweave to expose the horrors and desired at the centre of contemporary life.

Pinter Double Bill

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by Harold Pinter - 3rd, 4th & 14th May and 23rd June

multiple venues

Two of Pinter's lesser known plays are brought together for the first time by Warwick University Drama Society and Fail Better Productions in this unique double bill exploring the relationship between memory and the self.