Hello, we are the Mush and Me Team and this is our Accelerator page.
What Are We Raising Money For?
We are looking to raise £5,000 towards transfering Mush and Me to the Adelaide Fringe, The Bush and JW3 Centre after an award winning run at the Edinburgh Fringe. We already have £15,000 in costs committed by Holden Street Theatres in Australia to fund the project's Australia costs, but we still need to raise funds for the project costs in the UK.
What’s Mush and Me?
Mush and Me is a new play by Karla Crome about a Jewish girl and a Muslim guy who are reluctantly falling in love. United by a mutual love of hummus, the pair remain stubbornly divided by faith and family ties. Fractious first flirtations turn to fiery young romance, but when Gabby faces a family crisis, her relationship with Mush is put to the test.
The Inspiration
Mush and Me was inspired by Daniella Isaacs Great Aunty Nancy who is 102-years old. When she was our age she fell in love with a non-Jewish man. He proposed to her, but she declined on account of her family and community’s disapproval. She has been single ever since. Daniella’s conversation with her got us thinking, what is the modern day equivalent? From there the idea of 'Mush and Me' took seed.
Why Stage Mush and Me?
Islam and Judaism are often the victims of sensationalism and demonization at the hands of our media and our government. As a result, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic stances are still widely held. Mush and Me seeks to delve beneath pernicious stereotypes, with a view to presenting two nuanced, complex and compelling characters of faith. Through Gabby and Mush, our audiences are invited to share in some of the beauty and the joy that each of their religions offer.
Moreover, our characters’ story is ultimately one of peaceful co-existence in a world which can feel fraught with conflict. Religious and cultural tolerance is central to the play’s message. With clashes around the globe masquerading as religious feuds, we are intent on highlighting the qualities which unite these major world religions, rather than divide them – not least, charity, compassion and an incurable love of hummus!
Alongside our performances at JW3, we will be running a series of workshops which explore what it means to be in an interfaith relationship. These sessions will challenge preconceived notions about ‘marrying out’, while celebrating cross-cultural unions more broadly. It is our hope that both the play and the accompanying workshops will prompt audiences to reflect on - and perhaps readjust - their own ideas about religious co-existence.
Who We Are
We are all young women in our early twenties and embarking on long-term careers in theatre, film and television. Writer Karla Crome has previously penned two plays for National Youth Theatre: If Chloe Can and Our Days of Rage. She is best known for her work as an actress as a series regular in Misfits, Prisoners’ Wives & Birger Larson’s Murder. Director Rosy Banham has trained as an assistant director at the Royal Court Theatre, Bristol Old Vic Theatre & Oxford Playhouse. Performer Daniella Isaacs has acted in television (Holby City, Night and Day) and theatre (Soho Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse) since she was very young. Producer Francesca Clark works as producer for HighTide Festival Theatre with recent work including Bottleneck by Luke Barnes (Soho Theatre, UK tour) and Incognito by Nick Payne (The Bush).
The Story so Far
In March 2014, Mush and Me won the sought-after IdeasTap Underbelly Award, which gave the play a four-week run at one of the best venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show played to full houses and received fantastic reviews from audiences and critics alike:
A pristine piece of theatre ★★★★★ (Whats On Stage)
Delightfully naturalistic... Highly recommended. ★★★★ (The Telegraph)
One of the most street-smart love stories to define multi-cultural Britain. ★★★★ (The Herald)
As fascinating as it is heart-wrenching... Told with warmth, intelligence and impressive sensitivity. ★★★★ (Fest)
Moving... Wonderful... Packs a punch. ★★★★ (The Stage)
The chemistry is palpable... the butterflies are infectious. ★★★★★ (Broadway Baby)
Delightful comedy... The actors catalyse smouldering chemistry ★★★★ (Metro)
So what’s next...
The success of the Edinburgh run has led to a whole host of follow-up tour dates for the show, including:
The Bush, London, UK
We were selected to feature as part of RADAR Festival 2014 at the Bush Theatre in West London. Now in its third year, the festival is programmed by the Bush’s core artistic team and it showcases the most exciting emerging artists and the most culturally relevant work around. We are enormously excited about performing at this top new writing venue in November 2014.
JW3, London, UK
We are also delighted to be performing at JW3 in London in February 2015. We will be creating a series of educational workshops around our performances to explore the cultural issues raised in Mush and Me.
Adelaide Festival, Australia
Finally, during our last week in Edinburgh, the show was announced as the winner of the Holden Street Theatres Award. This award is given annually to one outstanding company at the Edinburgh Fringe, offering a transfer to the second largest arts festival in the world - the Adelaide Fringe. In February 2015, ‘Mush and Me’ will run for five weeks as the headline show at the Holden Street Theatres - one of the top venues at the Adelaide Fringe.
Why stage 'Mush and Me'
Mush and Gabby’s is a modern love story for multicultural Britain. It asks whether interfaith relationships are liberating or limiting? Does integration mark a sign of betrayal or a sign of progress? In the current political climate, at a time when conflict in the Middle East, faith schools and immigration are making headlines, 'Mush and Me' explores the political through a deeply personal lens.
What we need
Holden Street Theatres are covering all of our cost in Australia, valued at £15,000 (included in which are flights, accommodation, venue hire, marketing and technical support). In additional we need to raise money to cover all of our UK costs. These will include rehearsal space, insurance, props and costumes and much more.
All contributions will make a real difference to the production and allow us to fulfil our dream of taking Gabby and Mush’s story to an international audience.
Budget
We’ve made our budget as cost effective as we can, whilst ensuring the artistic quality of the show is the best it can be. We also want to make sure everyone is paid fairly for their time. £5,000 represents just under half of our expenditure; with the remaining portion coming from expected box office income and additional routes from funding bodies. In additional to our expenditure we also have £15,000 in committed costs from Holden Street Theatres and marketing and venue costs covered by The Bush and JW3.
Ultimately, your contribution of a total of £5,000 will be distributed as follows:
Re-rehearsal costs - £700
Costumes - £250
Props - £200
Transport of set - £400
Lighting Hires - £500
Insurance - £500
Overheads (printing, postage and other office costs) - £200
Total creative team fees - £2,250
Other fees covered by ticket sales and additional income include actors fees, marketing costs and licenses.
Timeframe
10th November – re-rehearsals for The Bush
17th – 19th November – RADAR 2014, The Bush
December – rebuilding of set for Australia
3rd January – photo call with Jaz Deol and Daniella Isaccs for Adelaide Fringe
19th January – Rehearsals with Jaz Deol as Mush for performances at JW3 and Adelaide
2nd – 3rd February– performances, JW3, London
6th February – actors fly to Australia
13th February – 1st performance at the Adelaide Fringe
15th March – last performance
We are hopeful for a future life beyond this once the show is back from Australia.
Thank you for reading our Accelerator page and we hope you’ll join us on the next part of the show’s incredible journey.
Karla, Rosy, Daniella and Francesca
