Restriction is the Mother of Invention

Around 325 BC, in his ‘Republic’ Plato wrote “our need will be the real creator”. Two thousand years later our ‘needs’ are continuously morphing and evolving which leads one to conclude that they will never find satiety.

During Lockdown many ‘creatives’ were forced to either neglect their work altogether, mourning the closure of theatres and public gatherings as they sat watching endless new series on Netflix, or they developed new skills, became technological wizards and ‘invented’ new art forms which could be viewed online from the safety of one’s covid-free environment.

Beverly Andrews’s play ‘Sophia’ is a powerful example of the possibilities of a new form born during this period. It is not quite a film and not quite a stage play but rather a play which has been specifically written to be filmed in a theatre and viewed on a screen. With a limited budget, funded by the Arts Council UK, this piece shows what it is possible to portray from a theatre space, via film, reminiscent of but very different to Lars Von Trier’s ‘Dogville’ with Nicole Kidman.

The piece tells the important and fascinating story of Sophia Duleep Singh, an Indian princess who was both a prominent suffragette in the UK and god-daughter to Queen Victoria, in an engaging and impressively innovative way.

Cleverly directed by Abigail Pickard Price, inspiringly choreographed by Lily Howkins, with haunting music by composer Gwen Ferguson.