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THE ORACLE OF THE TAP ROOMS

WRITTEN BY VANESSA OAKES

We present most humbly FOR YOUR UTMOST PLEASURE AND DELECTATION

THE ORACLE OF THE TAPROOMS which is presented as a free pop up performance on the streets on Nuneaton.

Director Mark Evans of Coventry University: There is inherent theatre in the man who berates you on the street corner. This intriguing and fascinating performance piece blends together our curiosity with the famous and the poor, the talented and the ne’er-do-well. It is a wonderful piece of writing – funny, engaging and at the same time asking difficult questions about fame, celebrity, ownership and place.

The public are invited to come along RAIN OR SHINE and MEET THE INFAMOUS WELL EDUCATED LOCAL LAYABOUT MR. JOSEPH HENRY LIGGINS as he tells us his extraordinary story.

After being asked to leave Cambridge, Joseph Liggins (1801–1872) struggled for years to make a living before being wrongly identified as the author of ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’ and ‘Adam Bede’.

In 2010 while playwright Vanessa Oakes was working with local teenagers who were photographing the George Eliot statue, a homeless gentleman who was bedding down for the night in Debenhams’ doorway called over with a warning, don’t you go taking the p*** out of my George Eliot or she’ll come back and haunt you!, which inspired her to write this short play.

15 MINUTE PERFORMANCES THROUGHOUT FRI 20th & SAT 21st JAN 2012

11am Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery

12noon George Eliot Memorial Gardens (obelisk)

1pm George Eliot Hotel (archway)

2pm St. Nicholas Community Centre

3pm Griff House, Coventry Road CV10 7PJ

Press Enquiries call 07974984374 or email m.evans@coventry.ac.uk

   ENDS

This project is funded by Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Arts Council England and is supported by Coventry University School of Art & Design

These performances are part of Vanessa Oakes’ residency at the George Eliot Collection. For more information visit www.desperatelyseekinggeorge.wordpress.com