Actress is part of the crowd at fringe show
AFORMER King’s School pupil will perform a play with a difference about loneliness as part of a theatre festival.
Jennifer Campbell, 25, from Prestbury, will stage the interactive ‘I’m standing next to you’ as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe festival.
The play, which features just three characters, addresses the issue of loneliness in modern city life and sees the actors mingle with the crowd to share their stories.
The Manchester University student, who set up The Mill Theatre Company with the play’s co-director, Tom Hodson, around three years ago, said: “The idea is that the audience and the actors will form a crowd without the audience knowing who the actors are and the actors will then emerge to share their stories with them before disappearing back into the lonely crowd.
“We chose to do it this way so people will see the characters as everyday people rather than actors on a stage and will feel more connected to them.”
The themes in the play will include internet dating, the early stages of motherhood, loneliness in the workplace and our reliance on social media.
Characters’ stories will also examine how the lines between digital and real life have become blurred.
Jennifer, a former member of Macclesfield Majestic Theatre Club and the Silk Opera, said: “Loneliness is a growing problem due to the growing use of social media and we began to look at how its use has changed people’s lives.
“People say we’re more connected than ever before. We can contact people around the world instantly, like their photos on Facebook and comment on their lives, but we’re much less connected on a face-to-face basis.
“You can be on public transport for example and no-one talks to each other anymore.”
The aspiring geography teacher added: “We’d like the play to make people more aware that others are feeling lonely too and encourage them to reach out to one another.”
There will be a free performance of the play on Thursday, June 30 at Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery at 7pm.
It will then run from Saturday, July 2 until July 16 at Twenty Twenty Two, 20 Dale St, Manchester.
Tickets are £5/£4 concessions and are available through the fringe website at greatermanchester fringe.co.uk.