Hull Truck Wants You to Cry Until You Laugh

Poetry, music, two balloons and a bathroom that rains collide in an exploration of how adults deal with grief. Sad Little Man is the latest show from The Pub Corner Poets, a collaboration of artists that celebrates “the joy of the spoken word”, which saw sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival.

A stand-up tragedy set that combines performance poetry, physical theatre, pounding music and creative projection, the semi-autobiographical work comes from the mind of Josh Overton, winner of The Times Playwright Award 2015. Having proven hugely successful at the Fringe, the show now heads back to its hometown for two performances in Hull Truck Theatre’s Studio.

Taking the form of a classic two-hander and then breaking it a little, the audience joins protagonist Lee in a bathroom. It’s raining inside, and the only way he can talk about what he’s thinking is through a stand-up comedian’s microphone. Emily doesn’t speak, she doesn’t want to. She wants to swim and dance and make his life hard. She wants to get drunk and sit on his shoulders. She wants to love him harder than he hates himself.

An argument between a man who has words for every situation but this one and a woman who has no words at all, it tells a tale of how shock and guilt can turn our happiest memories into something sad.

Performers Oli Harvey and Danielle Harris bring this delicate yet explosive piece to life, asking the audience to embrace a shared moment of catharsis. This is an exploration of themes that are universally important, going beyond the walls of theatre and into everyday conversation.

Writer Josh Overton said: "Sad Little Man explores the pain of loss and the sheer, world-ending energy it takes just to understand how you feel. Performance poetry, rap and bursts of angry physical theatre have always felt like the best way to tell these sorts of stories."

The first piece of work by The Pub Corner Poets, Angry, combined free-flowing aggression and shouting to define the company’s voice as unique within the theatre scene. Sad Little Man is quite different, using poignant recollections and explored moments of silence to communicate the intensity of emotions behind the action. As a result, the collective has refined its voice into “an equally effective and potent whisper”.

The Pub Corner Poets are an emerging theatre company with plenty of opinions and nothing holding them back from saying them. They receive support from Hull Truck Theatre, New Diorama Theatre and the New Wolsey Theatre, helping to further develop their powerful, visceral and unashamedly honest style.

Sad Little Man runs at Hull Truck Theatre on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 October at 8pm. Tickets are £12.50 and concessions £10.50.