small hours

On Demand (IF 2022)

Performance, Film

Why do we need sleep? What happens when we go without? small hours probes the mysteries of the human circadian rhythm, the daily pattern of wakefulness and sleep, and how it can be either disrupted or adjusted. Written by Ava Wong Davis. Co-produced by IF Oxford and Oxford Playhouse with scientific advice from the University of Oxford Sleep & Circadian Neuroscience Institute. Performed by Mandala Theatre Company. Directed by Yasmin Sidhwa. Film by Ben Johnston.

small hours (feature film: 58 minutes)

The Stage “…compelling concept, and director Yasmin Sidhwa does a good job of capturing that liminal, late-night-early-morning atmosphere of existential anxiety, interspersing the action with imaginatively lit movement sequences underscored by Duotone’s moody music. Davies’ writing captures those emotions effectively, too. “You feel like you’ve crawled out of your body,” says Aisha, “and you can’t get back in.”

Exeunt Magazine: “small hours is clever and well-constructed by Ava Wong Davies, … The characters have lives and personalities that are complex and ambiguous enough to be interesting in themselves, and they can be weird in a nicely specific way… Ben Johnston’s video edit often places a square of blank black space around the filmed action and video conversations, like there’s something hidden beyond the screens, a life outside the night. …it’s not exactly the awkward Zoom energy we all know and hate, but a kind of odder, less identifiable, disconnection.”

small hours

Written by Ava Wong Davies

Directed by Yasmin Sidhwa

Performed by Mandala Theatre Company

Filmed by the cast

Edited and additional filming by Ben Johnston

Music by Duotone

Produced by Alex Lui, Dane Comerford and Laura Elliot

 

Co-comissioned by IF Oxford and Oxford Playhouse with scientific advice from the University of Oxford Sleep & Circadian Neuroscience Institute

Cast (Alphabetical Order of Surname):

Nush………………………….Anusha Abbas

Aisha…………………………..Akasha Daley

Solomon Salah……………..Nelvin Kiratu

Luis………………………………..Luis Ribeiro

 

Supported by

 

Presented  by

       

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