Root & Branch
Productions
Our Previous Work
In The Bones
In The Bones by Cody Daigle-Orians
A son, brother, nephew, lover and soldier. A life lost and the lives left behind.
Luke, a young soldier, returns from war and commits suicide having been unable to reconnect the pieces of his life. We start the play at Luke’s funeral and each scene moves ahead a year, exploring how his family and his boyfriend are coping with their grief.
Communication breaks down and new connections are formed, punctuated by filmed flashbacks captured on Luke’s mobile phone. We get glimpses of the life he left behind, through playful interactions with his sister, intimate quiet moments with his partner, and coming out to his mother about his sexuality.
Combining live action and film, In The Bones is a compelling and moving play exploring the ongoing (and perhaps never-ending) process of dealing with profound loss.
All photos by Laura Mateescu Photography
"Absolutely incredible. Genuinely totally engaging, wonderful writing and a really great cast. A phenomenal show."
Henry Filloux-Bennett, Executive Director of HOME
"Last night I was reminded how affecting it is to be totally held by a play."
Victoria Firth, Former Artistic Director of the Lawrence Batley Theatre
Promo photo by Laura Mateescu Photography
"I had never heard of this play and thought it might be a risk but it is so inescapably compelling that everyone in the audience was holding their breath.
I applaud Root & Branch for choosing it and it reflects the ambition, artistic vision and collective experience of this new company. Anything but a risk, it was a sell out show for us; I have never known a company so committed to getting the audience."
Victoria Firth, Former Artistic Director of the Lawrence Batley Theatre
18 Victoria
18 Victoria by Cody Daigle-Orians
What would you do if you had three weeks to live?
Three siblings struggle to piece together their broken relationship against a very real deadline: a huge meteor, 18 Victoria, is about to crash into Earth. As they grapple to come to terms with their lack of a future, the wreckage of the past endures.
The show premiered at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in April 2018.
18 Victoria won the Write For The Stage Award and was nominated for Best Drama at the Greater Manchester Fringe 2018.
The adaptation of 18 Victoria written for Root & Branch is available for purchase here.
A Respectable Wedding
A Respectable Wedding by Bertolt Brecht, Translated by Rory Bremner
What’s the best wedding you’ve ever been to? Did you spend a happy day sipping champagne & basking in the glow of a couple’s love? Were their friends & family all smiling and laughing, eager to get along?
This is a very different sort of wedding. One at which no one really gets on – even the bride & groom – and where the furniture is collapsing at the same time as the social niceties.
Will the father-of-the-bride ever shut up? Will the best man stop making dodgy jokes? And just what is the sister up to in the kitchen with the handsome young man?
A Respectable Wedding was nominated for Best Comedy and Best Revival at the Greater Manchester Fringe 2017.
"The strong, capable cast turn it up to 11 from the outset, particularly Joe Geddes as the increasingly wound-up groom who successfully manages to elicit laughs and sympathy in equal measure. Nifty choreography with some poorly constructed furniture, also adds a touch of slapstick to the self-loathing."
Northern Soul
Promo photo by Laura Mateescu Photography