Experimental, absurdist, black comedy What Would Jarvis Do? is heading to London’s Omnibus Theatre for a two-week run with support from Arts Council England.
Written by Laura Grillo and directed by Maiya Pascouche, What Would Jarvis Do? centres around fandom, grief, and the stories we attach to treasured objects. It’s a playful exploration of what happens when the people and things we hold onto disappear – and how we might find a way forward.
The play follows Didi and GG, best friends and super-fans of Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. When a pair of yellow trousers, supposedly worn by the man himself, come up for auction through their wildly unconventional therapist, they empty their pockets to buy them. Only there’s one problem. They might not be Jarvis’s trousers at all…
Their subsequent search for the real trousers spirals into an increasingly surreal odyssey populated by eccentric strangers, impossible coincidences, and the unsettling feeling that they’ve been here before.
Inspired by writer Laura Grillo’s own experiences of sudden loss and grief duing lockdown, the play is a tribute to hope, yearning, and the Britpop music that helped her find some light in the darkness.
With moments of repetition, restarting and looping in a world that both disintegrates and expands simultaneously, Didi and GG find themselves exploring their own wants and needs as they journey though the ever-shifitng environments, meeting increasingly eccentric strangers and trying to maintain the one goal they have set out to achieve.
A loving, funny tribute to Britpop, What Would Jarvis Do? is for those who remember the era first time around – and for everyone who has since discovered the particular charm of Jarvis Cocker, Pulp and a moment when Britain seemed bright with possibility. Through music, memory and a pair of possibly genuine yellow trousers, it looks back at what we hold onto when the world changes around us.
What Would Jarvis Do? plays at Omnibus Theatre between October 6-16, with shows at 7:30pm Tue-Sat, with additional shows at 2:30pm on Sat and 4pm on Sun.
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