Written by Liam Grogan and Marco Biasioli
A new historical comedy-drama about the unbelievably ‘true’ story of St. Augustine of Canterbury and his seemingly doomed quest to convert the people of Britain to Christianity. Augustine may be the Vatican’s greatest preacher but will it be enough for him to wrangle the wild pagans of Britain into salvation? Seemingly surrounded by the confused and deluded, Augustine embarks on a crusade to uncover the truth behind the corruption that prevents the the Britons from seeing the light and the completion of his quest. With the help of Esma, a simple villager and seemingly the only positive candidate for conversion, Augustine interrogates the highs and lows of British medieval society to find the truth and rid the land of false beliefs. But will he achieve his mission and return to Rome a hero or will Britain’s inclement environment and hostile natives prove too much for the Pope’s chosen son?
PRODUCTION INFO
Genre: Historical Dramatic Comedy
Running time: 75 minutes
Previous performances:
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The Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Camden | 15-17 July 2024
SYNOPSIS
'The superlative David Allen steals the show in the role of Augustine, his demeanour shifting from gravitas to laugh-out-loud humour in the flick of an eyebrow.'
'Wry and topical, Conversion is a delightfully light-hearted take on weighty subjects.'
Sarah Birch, Camden Citizen
'...fast and funny, boldly reimagining an unfamiliar period of English history.'
'...the real humour has depth, rooted in serious ideas about what is, in effect, political vision.'
Jane Darcy, The Reviews Hub
'...through its collection of interestingly drawn characters, the play emerges as a dramatically heftier piece...'
Ian Foster, There Ought To Be Clowns
'The cast's performances are fun, with clear characterisation from everyone throughout.'
Abi Assock, The Deskbound Dramatic
THE TEAM
LIAM GROGAN
Director / Writer / Producer
Liam is a Bristol born director and composer and a founding member of Precarious Theatre. Involved in all aspects of theatre from a young age, his directorial debut came with Precarious and Marco Biasioli's Failure Studies at the GM Fringe in 2021. Conversion is his third show with Precarious and the first he has contributed to as a writer. As an artist, Liam finds the basis of innovation in fun and honest collaboration and seeks to access the humanity of theatrical work, embracing the complex and the absurd, to draw out that which can speak to an audience in compelling and engaging ways.
MARCO BIASIOLI
Writer
Born in Rome, Marco lived in London and Moscow before relocating to Manchester, where he completed his PhD in Russian contemporary music at the University of Manchester and is now a lecturer in Russian and East European Studies. A founding member of Precarious, his plays examine the relationship between humans and society through the exploration of themes such as work, technology, and the complexity of living together in contemporary society. He has had work performed at the Greater Manchester, Camden, and Edinburgh fringes, receiving plaudits from audiences and critics alike.
GEORGE BENNETT
Production Design
George is a North Devon born, London-based theatre maker whose practice encompasses design, writing, directing, devised making and performance. Having graduated from the BA Theatre Design course at Wimbledon College of Arts in 2022, he has since designed for a eclectic range of projects, from German touring theatre, to devised Brechtian ensemble work to naturalistic new writing. George also co-founded jarfrog in 2021, a performance company through which he collaboratively makes work for stage. He is really looking forward to getting stuck into the design process for Conversion and helping to bring this fantastic play to life!
NIALL ROWLEY
Lighting Design
Niall is a lighting technician and designer based in South East London. Having finished university with a Music Technology degree, he continued working within the creative and theatrical world. Over the past few years, Niall has worked on lighting designs in theatres across London, finally landing as in-house tech at Brixton House Theatre. He has a passion for working on creative projects and is looking forward to bringing light to the stage for the Precarious Theatre company this July.
JOSHUA WARD
Original Music
Joshua Ward is a London-based composer and producer whose collaborative work spans live performance, theatre, film and radio. His music, “at turns propulsive, tender and unnerving”, makes reference to an array of industrial textures, uncanny worlds and musical memories. His work has been exhibited across Bristol, Manchester and London with organisations such as The Brunswick Club, Creative Youth Network, Noods Radio, Royal Exchange Theatre, Rung Magazine, Studio Stendhal and Hero Magazine. This is Joshua’s second production with Precarious Theatre.
ROSS STEPHENSON in the roles of LEAX and THE BISHOP
Actor
Ross Stephenson trained at Italia Conti Drama School where he received a BA Honours in Acting. He recently appeared in You Won’t Help Me at The Other Palace Theatre. Ross is also a writer having recently published his first play Artorigus: The Downfall of a King which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022. He is very excited to now be working with Precarious Theatre and is really looking forward to playing the role of 'The Bishop'.
TILLY WOOF in the role of THE QUEEN
Actor
Tilly is a trained theatrical performer, having just graduated last October. Some of her recent theatre work includes: Education, Education, Education (2023), Scenes From a World That Has No Night (2023), The Other Side (2023), Britannicus (2022), and Mind The Gap! (2022). She has also worked on multiple features over the years, alongside a BBC Radio Mini Series back in 2020. Tilly is also set to work on a new devised piece of theatre this summer. Having just completed a short stint of filming with FabUK Productions, she is excited to be back on stage.
FRANCESCA MARIA IZZO in the role of ESMA
Actor
Francesca is an actor and creative, born and living in London with an MA in Professional Acting from ALRA North. Represented by Inspiration Management, she has experience in a variety of performance settings from motion capture to voice work and has performed in venues across the UK, including the Lowry and HOME in Manchester. Francesca is currently combining her skin work and puppetry skills on a brand new immersive show in London. Having joined Precarious Theatre after the success of our debut production, Failure Studies, Fran's love of devising and collaboration has made her a valuable addition to the
team.
DAVID ALLEN in the role of AUGUSTINE
Actor
David has been acting and producing professional theatre since graduating from Brunel University in 2010. He has years of experience working in the UK fringe circuit, including productions with 16th Wall Productions, a company he co-founded, which focused on new writing and interactive theatre. David has also performed at venues such as the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool, The Dancehouse in Manchester and at Blackpool's famous North Pier. He joined Precarious Theatre after our debut production, Failure Studies, and has embraced the opportunity to develop his creative voice with a freedom, he believes, is rare in the industry.
CAROLYN MCCALLION in the roles of THE POPE and AMICE
Actor
Carolyn is an actor and creative living in London. She trained at ALRA North on the Postgraduate course in Acting. Represented by Opaque Artists, she has been involved in various theatre and film productions and has performed at The Lowry in Manchester and Barons Court Theatre. She is also excited to have just been cast in a feature film scheduled to shoot this year. After recently being involved in the Women's Soliloquy Festival of New Writing with Londinium Theatre, she won the Certificate of Excellence for the Soliloquy Form. She is excited to be in her first production with Precarious Theatre and has loved being able to collaborate with the team.
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BENJAMIN SUMRIE in the roles of COMPUTANS and THE KING
Actor
Theatre is Benjamin’s great love; he’s excited to work on a clever comedy with Precarious Theatre with such a lovely group of talented people! Credits include The Addams Family: The Musical! (Paradise @ St. Augustine), 20 Minutes of Action (Pleasance Courtyard) both at The Edinburgh Fringe, Four Play (Mountview), You Won’t Help Me (The Other Palace), This Side of The House (The Space Triplex, Edinburgh Fringe), various short film work and working with The National Youth Theatre.