Watford is bidding to be an alternative West End with an autumn of premieres — at bargain-basement prices.
The Watford Palace Theatre’s artistic director Brigid Larmour has commissioned three new plays which the keenest stage fans can catch all in one day for £27.50. “I’m pretty proud of that as a bargain,” she said.
She stressed that for many people it was as easy to visit Watford — where she claimed a third of the population travel in and out daily — as it was to get to many venues in the capital. There are fast trains from Clapham and it takes 17 minutes from Euston. “It is very easy. Watford Junction is a hub.” The new works all examine the digital revolution and the possibilities of new technology. Perfect Match by Gary Owen asks whether a new style of dating agency which scans the online persona of everyone in the world will make it possible to find the perfect partner. Virgin by EV Crowe, whose plays Kin and Hero were at the Royal Court, explores the conflict between privacy and public life when broadband comes to a rural community.
And Override by Stacey Gregg is about a young pregnant woman in a world where technology can erase imperfections and disabilities. “The three writers have written plays that are really funny as well as thoughtful,” she said, adding that the “ambitious” programme was her response to the risk of “wall-to-wall conservatism” as arts cuts bite.
“Some of our colleagues are being forced into quite defensive programming but we’ve decided to be very bold and also make the plays as cheap as possible. All seats in the evening are £15. It might mean that some people turn up for the first time.”
The autumn season, which includes work first seen at other venues, begins on September 19.
