THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF SMACK & CRACK
by Ed Edwards // dir. Cressida Brown // Movement Direction by Sagovsky
‘BOOM! Neil feels a violent leap of ecstasy in his chest. The history of Manchester jumps off its axis. The history of England jumps off its axis. 2am, 8th July, 1981, 20 cities across England burn.’
The Political History of Smack & Crack is an epic love song to a lost generation; the story of two star-crossed lovers annihilated by the Northern heroin epidemic of the Thatcher years. This urgent play traces the fate of the pair from the epicentre of the riots in ’81 through to their present-day struggle surviving on the streets of Manchester. Drawing from his own personal experience, Ed Edwards' script crackles with anger, humour & authenticity about the road to recovery.
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Co-produced by Offstage Theatre & Most Wanted in association with W14 Productions & Alastair Michael // Co-commissioned by Soho Theatre // Performed in 2018 at Homeless Refuge: The Mustard Tree (Manchester) | Thameside HMP Prison (London) | Paine’s Plough Roundabout (Edinburgh) | Soho Theatre (London) | The Lowry (Manchester) // UK National Tour 2020
★★★★★ The Stage
★★★★★ The 730 Review
★★★★★ Backstage on the Fringe
★★★★★ Morning Star
★★★★ The Guardian
★★★★ The Scotsman
★★★★ Financial Times
★★★★ Whats On Stage
★★★★ The Independent
★★★★ The List
★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
★★★★ Fest Magazine
★★★★ British Theatre.com
★★★★ Fringe Guru
★★★★ Ed Fringe Review
★★★★ Everything Theatre
★★★★ The Outlier
★★★★ “Brilliant lighting design & movement work support the text with mesmerising force & theatricality.” - Fest Magazine
“The space is divided & divided again, Kate Sagovsky making sure the actors are circling each other constantly, never getting a moment to rest. The stage feels alive, even when one of the characters is dead.” - Exeunt
“Set in the round, the actors made great use of the space, whether this was interacting at diagonals or creating dynamic shapes that were striking on all sides… Even more impressive was their ability to synchronise sharp physical movement which…worked perfectly to demonstrate the importance & gravity of different moments. Bell was particularly good at changing his posture to show how addiction had degraded Neil over time.” - The Mancunion