Donkey Work

Donkeywork is the creation of Alan Sharpington and Rob Crouch and was begat to tell strange stories in unusual places. We are not 'site-specific' by definition but instead are open to all possibilities of presenting a performance in non-theatre space, with a strong emphasis on collaboration.

Our style of performance has many inspirations but is also unique in current theatre. Many of our contemporaries provide amazing environments, stunning design, strong narratives or well-crafted texts, but it is very seldom, if ever, that all these things are seen together. This has always proved a frustration for us as audience members - why can a play not absorb you into its physical and sensory environment AND have a gripping, linear narrative?

And this is precisely what Donkeywork has set out to do with 'The Case'.

'The Case' sprung from a desire to produce a meaty, site-specific horror story, with dark corners where anything could happen and a good dash of Grand Guignol to decorate the walls! Despite the bewildering range of great horror stories that we looked through, they all seemed too insubstantial or predictable from a theatrical perspective. It was then that we came across this story and the more we talked about it, the more we realised it had everything we wanted and so much more.

The modern resonances of the story are immensely relevant to what is going on today - mentally scarred returning soldiers living in a peaceful society, people forced into living beyond the law through economic necessity, a government unable or unwilling to help the social situation it has created. It is an epic story told on an intimate level. It is both universal and timeless whilst being very specific to its characters, social background and period. On top of this, of course, it also perfectly fits our original remit - a story with an insidious, creeping sense of terror that has a startling and brutal climax.