THE BLACK SHEEP IN ASSOCIATION WITH OUTLAW THEATRE
PRESENT
JOCKS AWAY
A SEASON OF EDINBURGH PREVIEW SHOWS
WITHOUT THE TRAVEL EXPENSE
Every August the world descends on Edinburgh in the whirl of unbounded
energy, unbounded talent and unbounded alcohol that is the Festival. Countless
hundreds of shows vie for attention, offering a unique blend of world-class
talent and young upstarts with strange ideas, rubbing cheek by jowl in a
three-week frenzy of live art. Visiting as an audience member becomes a
military campaign, organizing accommodation, travel and finally, what to
see.
Now there is an alternative. The Black Sheep present JOCKS AWAY a ten
night, twenty show extravaganza at the Broadway Theatre, Catford, where audience
goers can witness the best of Edinburgh comedy without the inconvenient
eight-hour journey, the gaggle of students thrusting flyers in your face, and
the inexplicable inability to get a decent curry.
Featuring stars such as Daniel Kitson, Hal Cruttenden and Simon Munnery along
side lesser known acts such as the Black Sheep and Jay Sodagar, and relatively
unknown acts such as ZooFly and Wayward Council, JOCKS AWAY presents an
opportunity for comedy lovers to enjoy the rich diversity that is British Comedy
today and discover the stars of today and tomorrow.
Ciaran Murtagh, who founded the Black Sheep with Andrew Jones, explains: "The
Jocks Away season brings you 20 shows over 10 nights, all bound for this year's
Edinburgh Festival. With a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketch shows, musicals
and theatre shows, there's something here for everyone. Some of these acts are
performers at the top of their game; some of them you'll never have heard of
before."
He continues: "That's where the true Edinburgh buzz lies - not just in seeing
the stars come out to shine, but also in discovering a show for yourself just
before it goes supernova. As an incentive to experiment, you can see both shows
on any one night for just £10 - so if there's a show you like the sound of, why
not take a chance on the other one the same night?"
Andrew Jones adds: " We wanted to establish a community spirit for a short
time before we all go to our respective venues and battle for audiences.
Some of the companies going to Edinburgh have enormous budgets to spend on
marketing, others have virtually nothing. The irony is that a marketing
budget doesn't necessarily define the quality of the show. Why should
those with equally good shows, but smaller budgets, suffer? We have taken
the best across the board and given them all equal billing."
He continues: "Whether you see just one show, or all twenty, we hope that you
enjoy being part of the Jocks Away festival."
