A Progress @ The Yard Theatre, Hackney Wick Until 1 September

From this week the Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick welcomes the Beggarsbelief Theatre Company for a run of their new show, ‘A Progress’ which, according to creator Carl Heap, is a ‘seriously playful take on John Bunyan’s classic, ‘A Pilgrim’s Progress’.

Featuring vocal accompaniment from members of the London Youth Gospel Choir (LYGC) the story follows the path of a petty criminal who goes on a journey of self-discovery. Beggarsbelief promise that ‘A Progress’ will be filled with rather more song, music, laughter and physical humour than the serious and rather turgid original. What they’re going to do with the ‘Slough of Despond’ I don’t know, but I think I can imagine – gird your loins if you’re a resident of Berkshire and planning to come to the show!

Previous shows by the Beggarsbelief Theatre Company have included takes on the 1966 World Cup Final and classic tales such as Ben Hur and Jason And The Argonauts, so I have no doubt that they’ll manage to chew up and spit out this morality tale about faith and belief without any difficulty. Here’s a video from Carl Heap with some hints for the audience about what they should expect from ‘A Progress’.

Beggars Belief – “A Progress” from Ivan Bellaroba on Vimeo.

Previous shows by the Beggarsbelief Theatre Company have included takes on the 1966 World Cup Final and classic tales such as Ben Hur and Jason And The Argonauts, so I have no doubt that they’ll manage to chew up and spit out this morality tale about faith and belief. Here’s a video of Carl Heap with some hints to the audience about what they should expect from ‘A Progress’.

‘A Progress’ will be playing at The Yard until 1 September, with shows starting at 8pm and Sunday matinees at 4pm. Tickets are a ridiculously cheap £9 – I’m sure it will make for an interesting evening. Expect a review on the Londoneer early next week!