Alone, Together, Hen and Chickens Theatre & Bridewell Theatre
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Francesca Woods‘ Alone, Together explores what it means to be lonely even when surrounded by people. But clearly Francesca isn’t alone as she ropes in other members of the Troupe 22 team to answer some of our questions as well.
Alone, Together opens at The Hen and Chickens Theatre between 28 and 30 July (tickets here).
What can audiences expect from the show?
Alone, Together‘ is a bold new theatrical work written & directed by Francesca Woods that delves into the quiet, universal experience of loneliness through the lives of six teachers. Though surrounded by students, colleagues, and constant communication, each grapples with a deepening sense of isolation – raising the question: if I am surrounded by people, why do I feel so alone?
The play is a poetic and honest exploration of disconnection, community, and the longing to be understood & seen in a world that rarely pauses.
Will you pause for a minute / 60 with us?! Come feel seen. Come feel heard. Come feel together.
Is Camden Fringe going to be the show’s first time on stage, or have you already performed elsewhere?
Alone, Together is coming back after its sold out preview run at The Union Theatre in May 2024. You don’t want to miss its four night only return exclusively at The Camden Fringe this summer! It’s even bigger & better than before…
What was your inspiration behind the show?
Loneliness is something that had been on my mind and in my experience more and more since the aftermath of the pandemic. Something in me is always longing for greater authenticity, so I actually like talking about topics that a lot of people might avoid talking about – maybe because it actually helps me to feel more connected to people and less alone in my own humanity. Having the topic playing on my mind for a while I knew I wanted to make some theatre around the subject – because I believe theatre should reflect what it means to be alive and ideally connect us and make us feel less alone… and the only reason not to do it, was because I was scared. And I like to do things that scare me a bit. Also my lovely co-directors at T22 said ‘you should do this’. So I did.
How long have you been working on the play?
It’s a year and a half since the process began. But the initial part was pretty quick as I chose to devise the play with a select group of actors who would become the cast. This was for my theatre company’s annual new writer’s festival in May 2024, so once I’d cast it we only had five weeks in total to be show ready. So we were devising material together for three weeks in workshop rehearsals, then I had a week to write the script before then doing a couple of weeks of getting it up on it’s feet! So it was quick!
But in that time, a very deep and a very special and beautiful experience for me and the cast to have had together. I didn’t want to write a play on isolation, in isolation ironically – I didn’t want it to be just mine or one person’s experience … so doing it together was always the plan. It felt like a rebellion and a massive F you to loneliness too anyway! So that was a plus.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed drastically since you first put pen to paper?
This second go is an even better and more refined version of our first go – not necessarily in terms of dialogue as the response was that already resonated but in terms of setting up context, exploring the physical theatre moments more, elevating the poetic moments and sharpening the transitions means it does feel like it’s been taken to a new level – it definitely feels even more ready now. In the best way.
What was it that drew you to this show and role?
JEN (playing Daisy): After reading the script for the first time I really felt that something had encapsulated how I was feeling at that point in time. And it was just such an interesting project to explore.
CHLOE (playing Sophia): Loneliness is stereotypically associated with the elderly, but loneliness can happen at any stage of life and is increasingly found to be prevalent in young people. The concept of feeling alone even when surrounded by people (perhaps most acutely so) resonated with me and I hope it resonates for our audience too.
ENZO (playing Pietro): It was the theme, loneliness for me too. A hugely felt theme, which is always relevant at any stage of age. The way of researching the theme of loneliness made for being at times deeply together with the cast
RACHEL (playing Farren): I was interested in being involved in a devised piece, and the theme is something I think about a LOT. I was curious about the direction the project would go in when exploring such a huge, multifaceted topic.
ADAM (playing James): I watched the show last year and thought it was great, so when the opportunity arose to be in it, it was a very easy decision to make!
What brought you all together?
A bunch of us met and connected whilst studying Acting together at IDSA, a part-time drama school. I, Francesca, sort of accidentally formed a theatre company after finishing, because I didn’t want to wait around for someone to give me acting work and I deeply believed all my talented friends I’d met deserved to be seen by the industry for all they have to offer. So I just put on some showcases that has then become what we now have as ‘Troupe 22 Theatre Company’ – we met directly or indirectly through connecting there basically!
If your show had a soundtrack what songs would definitely be on it?
ENZO: What Once Was – Her’s
RACHEL: First Love / Late Spring – Mitski
ADAM: Werid Fishes / Arpeggi – Radiohead
JEN: Gypsy – Fleetwood Mac
CHLOE: A&W – Lana Del Rey
FRANKIE: Never Felt So Alone – Labrinth
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
Feel the fear and do it anyway!’ & ‘sometimes the only thing stopping you is you…’.
These have both felt so true for me! How much we let fear steer the internal narrative we play out, or the perception we hold of ourselves and our limits, can on the whole ultimately be a choice. There can be a lot of gold, the other side of fear – so pushing through it is essential, especially as a creative – in my opinion.
Thanks to the team for telling us more about Alone, Together. If you like the sound of this, you can catch the show when it plays at Hen and Chickens Theatre from Monday 28 to Wednesday 30 July and then Bridewell Theatre on 3 August.
