Breathless

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However, something looms over her life that she can’t bear to let go of – the vast collection of designer clothes that takes up every spare inch of her new flat. Both felt it was an accurate reflection of their lives, far removed from the casual treatment of hoarders on TV who are often shown as living in piles of vermin infested rubbish, with ‘a cure’ being as simple as chucking house contents in a skip and a jolly good clean. Breathless is part of the Theatre Royal Plymouth gang who have sent half a dozen pieces to Edinburgh, of which Horton’s is but one. Performed by Madeleine Macmahon, Breathless is a funny, honest and stylish exploration of the knife-edge of hoarding, from the joy to the addiction and suffocating shame.

Written by Laura Horton based on her own experience, the show shines a light on the real life consequences of hoarding through a touching, warm-hearted one-woman show.I’ve only really just transitioned out of still taking on PR clients in the last year, and I still have one, just in case. She plays her as a woman more dented than strengthened by experience, an air of childlike wonder undercut by her endless apologies and lack of confidence. Following our recent news on Laura and her play Breathless, our Trustee, Sharon and I were lucky enough to see it before its transfer to Edinburgh.

The degree to which this is a problem comes into focus in this solo show by playwright Laura Horton when Sophie starts dating Jo, the first time she has had the courage to go out with a woman after years of relationships with men. Heading to Soho Theatre following its Fringe First winning run in Edinburgh, Breathless is a funny, honest and stylish exploration of the knife-edge of hoarding, from the joy to the addiction and suffocating shame. Meeting and dating Jo has been transformative, but when she looks at any of the clothes that pack her flat, memories flood over her. To reveal a tiny snatch about myself, I had the sheer joy of performing with the Contemporary Dance Company, ‘Dancers Anonymous’ up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival back in 1978-1980. There’s all the time in the world to see my place,” Sophie says, except there isn’t, because Jo is weary of being kept at a distance.Similarly, Ellie Showering’s simplistic soundtrack serves the quiet of this story: there’s no major catastrophe, nobody’s seriously hurt. Laura Horton, in association with Theatre Royal Plymouth, brings brazen new play Breathless to the Fringe. Breathless follows Sophie, a journalist in her late thirties who has left London and moved back to her parents' house. That’s obviously off to London to SOHO Theatre, I get a tiny percentage of ticket sales for that, but there’s a lot of interest in it and we have some bookings to tour internationally afterwards which is really exciting! The sound design, however, by Holly Harbottle, goes a way towards this, introducing sounds of breathing throughout the play to intensify moments of both sexuality and of panic.

This humanises hoarding and is a reminder that it can be far less severe than the cases that make it onto telly documentaries. This new innovative direction will ensure TRP is fully orientated to meet the needs of artists, audiences, and those who take part, but mostly about creativity. We do this by creating and presenting a breadth of shows on a range of scales, with our extensive creative engagement programmes, by embracing the vitality of new talent and supporting emerging and established artists, and by collaborating with a range of partners to provide dynamic cultural leadership for the city of Plymouth. Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. Wheeling about to create different spaces, the rails are a much cleverer way of expressing the seeming invisibility of this problem, as well as the fantasies Sophie ladens her wardrobe with.Her mild West Country accent works for the scenes with her Mum, who lives in Plymouth, and she uses other accents effectively for other characters.