WHO WE ARE
A Northern based not-for-profit Professional Theatre and Film company, created to improve young people's mental health through arts and culture.
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We provide OPEN platforms to EMPOWER young people to tell REAL stories to CHALLENGE current perceptions.
Sophie and her mum don’t seem to connect like they used to. When new boyfriend Eric moves in to take the role of ‘Stepdad’, Sophie feels pushed out more than ever.
Now endless partying has become screaming and shouting and Sophie must choose…
Get the hell out or save her mum.
Are you ready for a unique experience like never before? 1 Actress and 2 Beatboxers, will take you on a journey with powerful beats and hunting rhythms, leaving you mesmerised and captivated.
Written and directed by Abby Melia
Produced by Kitchen Sink Live.
(A Theatre and Film Company, created to improve young people’s mental health through arts and culture)
Get your tickets now and be part of a night that will stay with
you forever.
Age Advisory/ Content advisory
Suitable for age 13+
Content warning: Discusses experiences of domestic violence, flashing lights and loud sounds.
*Based on a true story
MEET THE CAST
EMMA BURNS
Emma is a actress based in Liverpool.
She was apart of 20 Stories High for 7 years where she toured two times in
professional productions And stared in a show on BBC2 and BBC3 called “I told
my mum I was going on a R.E Trip” she is currently studying screen acting at LMA to further develop her future in the arts.
HOBBIT
Hobbit has been beatboxing since 2003, performing everything from intimate gigs to stadium tours across the world. Passionate to push the art form as well as himself. Proof in this is being the official 2x UK Loopstation Champion, 3x UK Team Champion and member of World Champion UK beatbox crew, 'The Beatbox Collective'. World renowned in the scene and creating a show using just his mouth it has taken him from Glastonbury Festival to Times Square. This has given him opportunities to work with Virgin Media, Microsoft Windows, Audix, SKY, Roland and also artists such as Congo Natty & UK Pop Legend Gabrielle. In 2010, Hobbit co-wrote and performed the soundtrack to 20 Stories High’s theatre production, "Ghost Boy". He returned to create music with cellist Hannah Marshall on their next show, "Melody Loses Her Mojo" and in 2016, created the soundscape for and performed in “The Broke 'n' Beat Collective”. This process helped lead the shows to 5-star rave reviews. In 2019, he was back on the theatre stage having co- composed and performing all the music for 5-star show “Big Up!” with just him and a Loopstation.
KIMMY
KIMMYBEATBOX is one of the UK’s top beatboxers, reaching the semi finals of the UK Beatbox Championships 2019 whilst being the first person who isn’t male to get that far in the competition for over 10 years. Growing up in Manchester Kimmy discovered their talents by busking, using their voice to recreate the sounds of instruments and beats they loved. As the crowds got bigger Kimmy’s passion got stronger.
Since moving to London to pursue their career as a performer, Kimmy has collaborated with brands such as UEFA, Google Pixel, Coca Cola and has performed at festivals Glastonbury and Bestival. Kimmy also mentored at the Brit School and regularly workshops with up and coming beatbox talent. If you want to hear one of Kimmy’s mesmerising performances you can usually find them cruising through the city with their speaker in tow.
Our Services
Arts Council England, Gordan and the Unity Theatre team,
Ayla, and everyone at Merseyside Domestic Violence Services, Carly And
Everton in the community team, The 20 Stories High team, Voice4Change,
Worst Kept Secret, Keith Arrowsmith, Lee Corner, Rob Shaw, Karen Cody, and
all of our audience members, and especially All the People whose voices And
feedback have help shape Real-Eyes.
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Creative Team: Writer: Abby Melia / Director: Abby Melia / Musical direct: Bradley Thompson
Set design: Stephanie O’Hara / Technical stage manager: Jordan Barnes
Producer: Kitchen Sink Live & Joe Taylor / Graphic designer: Joe Harper Artwork
Videographer: Kofi owusu / Photographer: Rebecca Oliver / Lighting Designer: Xenia Bayer
KITCHEN SINK LIVE VIDEOS
KITCHEN SINK LIVE VIDEOS
INTRODUCTION TO KITCHEN SINK LIVE
KITCHEN SINK LIVE
THEATRE FOR YOU,
THEATRE FOR EVERYONE,
THEATRE FOR ANYONE.
OUR TAGLINE IS MAKING YOU THEATRE.
We engage with participants aged 10-30 from disadvantaged backgrounds to collaborate with professional Artistic Directors to help tell real stories creatively,
through Theatre and Digital platforms.
We are changing the face of youth theatre and how audiences value it.
Breaking down communication barriers for young people and vulnerable adults
through arts and culture, with mental health and wellbeing at the forefront of our work.
Recently (KSL and The Epstein Youth Theatre) won an MYA award,
Celebrating 130 years creating positive and lasting change for
‘SERIOUS’ - a suicide prevention film created by our participants.
REAL-EYES
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KITCHEN SINK LIVE THEATRE REVIEW 2019
"This new work-in-progress play wrong-footed me. I expected a ‘worthy’, earnest issue-based youth theatre piece; what I got was a profoundly compelling and moving personal monologue – and an electric performance from actress/writer Abby Melia, based on her own experience of witnessing her mother’s abusive treatment at the hands of her partner.
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Kitchen Sink Live are presenting this piece; as a new Liverpool company dedicated to making ‘authentic’ theatre with and for young people, we see what could’ve been a soap opera scenario become so much more and given emotive veracity.
Sophie and her Mum live together, with responsible Sophie taking the part of the house husband, doing chores while mum works. Sophie craves more time spent with her mum but when mum’s new boyfriend Phil moves in and starts behaving in heavy-handed paternal ways, Sophie feels increasingly alone and alienated. Witnessing screaming matches and wanting to protect her mum, Sophie gives her an ultimatum.
For such a young performer, Melia exudes an inner power; her character is not a victim but, although vulnerable, is a fighter with a keen sense of injustice, loudly protesting when things start to go wrong under her roof. She will not stay silent and exposes her feelings, so it is all the more crushing – for the character and the audience – when her mother makes a shocking choice. If you’re a parent, you may find yourself contemplating if you’ve sometimes made the right choices by your child.
Melia populates the stage all by herself, fleshing out the other characters and relaying Sophie’s mum, her nan’s & Philip’s words and behaviours, with Philip’s coerciveness and controlling behaviour deftly played out in just a few scenes. You’re completely invested in her – and on her side – and her character exhibits maturity in the face of poor and compromising parental decisions. The importance of grandparents who often step into the breach when the nuclear family breaks down or hits trouble is underlined here; nan proves to be a lifeline and almost the saviour of the piece.
At just over an hour long and a work in progress, the monologue feels slightly abruptly truncated, and I wanted to see more of Sophie, learn more about her life as a survivor and to see her relationships – with her family and with others – develop.
Julia Samuel’s tidy and efficient direction allows what could have been a choppy piece with time and location jumps, a fluidity and holistic neatness, and musical director Bradley Thompson deftly employs song to bridge, open up and develop individual scenes.
The piece had its genesis in 20 Stories High’s Young Writer’s Group and was developed with the help of dramaturg Philip Osman, and unusually for a new work by an unknown writer and a new company, this one-off performance was sold out. It has proved so popular that the show returns to the Unity on November 13th
Real-Eyes is refreshing, affecting and ultimately upbeat. It proves that you can’t keep the will, spirit and resilience of the young down, but it’s the specificity and the detail of Melia’s story and a barnstorming performance from her which singles this tale out. I’d urge you to get a ticket to catch this writer-performer at the start of her promising career.
Reviewer: Tracy Ryan
Reviewed: 29th October 2019
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★