Research: Frantic Assembly PMD4

As English Literature students at Swansea University, Artistic Directors and co-founders Scott Graham and Steven Hoggartt had no drama department and only held limited theatre productions three-to-four times annually. It was because of this that they had very little knowledge of the broad opportunities theatre had to offer, until they took part in a production directed by Volcano Theatre. The performance was a life changing opportunity that the pair instantly knew what they wanted to do with their lives.

Since founding Frantic Assembly in 1994, the company of performed 16 full-scale productions, and many shorter pieces during artistic residencies in schools and local communities, collaborating in over 30 countries worldwide. 

Artistic Director: Scott Graham

Exectuive Producer: Despina Tstasas

Associate Director/ Artistic Director: Neil Bettles

General Manager: Fiona Gregory

Administrator: Fiona Bradely

Look back in Anger                        1994

A highly stylised, physical theatre rendition of the 1950’s classic “Angry Young Man”, transforming the kitchen sink drama into an emotional arena with only a cluster of ironing boards for armour.

Klub                                        1995

Created in collaboration with DJ Andy Cleeton, the violent study of the commercialisation of clubbing centres around the drug related death of Leah Betts. Structured to mimic a DJ set, the performance explores themes of identity, reality and belonging amongst mid-nineties club culture. The performance marked the first project working alongside Adventures in Motion Pictures’ Stephen Kirkham, and was awarded “Best Directed Show” at Cairo International Festival, in 1998.

Flesh                                      1996

This was a highly provocative performance, addressing the audience through rich poetic text and “limb threatening” choreography created by Christine Devaney. Using the “on your bike” work ethic as a stimulus, Frantic Assembly interviewed rent boys, strippers and lap dancers to create a performance centring around selling the body for profit and the obsession with mortality.

Zero                                       1997

The final instalment of the Generation Trilogy (along with “Klub” and “Flesh”) depicts the story behind a photograph taken at a New Year’s Eve party. It portrays the most spontaneous time of indulgence, confession and reflection before the clock strikes and a new Millennia begins.

Sell Out                     1998

An argument spurs from honest amongst friends; a simple whisper spiralling into an out of control force, with consequences that effect everyone involved. Sell Out toured internationally, winning the “Best Of West End” Award at Time Out Live in 1998.

Hymns                                   1999

At a funeral of a friend, small talk and good natured teasing soon becomes a hunt for weaknesses, until one of four once close friends finally snaps.

Underworld                         2000

This was the first Frantic performance in which the Artistic Directors did not perform. The piece reinvents the idea of a ghost story, combining bruising realism and physicality, interweaving timescales and cinematic soundscape.

Tiny Dynamite                                 2001

This piece portrays an impossible love story centring on the lives of 3 characters who learn that sometimes lightning can strike twice. Joining forces with Paines Plough, the performance won “Best Fringe Production” at the Manchester Evening News Awards and “Best Theatre Show” from City Life Magazine.

Heavenly                              2002

Two brothers and a friend find themselves in heaven following a drunken New Year’s Eve quest along a rugged coastal path in search of love. However as the performance goes on, the men realise the room is trying to warn the trio that one of them should not be there.

Peep Show                           2002

“Peep Show” was inspired by Michel Gondrey’s music video for Massive Attack, which showed the lives of people living in flats and how their lives can interconnect.

Written in close collaboration with Isabel Wright, the production investigates life in a tower block as two friends, four lovers, and one loner, and exposes glimpses of their urban lives, provoking the questioning of whether we can trust what we see through a window, or hear through a wall.

Rabbit                                    2003

Frantic Assembly tackled the dysfunctional family by following the life of Madeline, who plans to drop out of law school and become a rap artist, however her father has his own bombshell to drop, and time is running out.

On Blindness                        2004

Using sign language and audio description, “On Blindness” was originally a project involving disabled directors and performers, exploring the possibilities of theatrical language. Whilst a comedy, the piece does focus on serious ideas such as the perception of desire, charting the journeys of four characters over a weekend.

Dirty Wonderland              2005

Inspired by the work of photographer Nan Goldin, “Dirty Wonderland” depicts a guided tour of the ballrooms and bedrooms of a Brighton hotel after a boy loses his girlfriend and his search takes him through the rotten underbelly of a once glamourous seafront.

Pool (No Water)                 2006

After a famous artist has an accident after jumping into an empty pool, she recovers under the protection of her friends, yet they soon turn bitter and her suffering becomes her next work of art.

Stockholm                            2007

Frantic won the Wolff Whiting Award in 2008 with Bryony Lavery and Laura Hopkins and were nominated for Best Touring Production at the TMA Theatre Awards the same year, for their delivery of an extraordinary perspective surrounding the nature of modern love.

Othello                                  2008

 Performed with the Theatre Royal Plymouth in collaboration with Royal and Derngate Northampton, Frantic took on Shakespeare’s most brutal tragedy with themes of parano  ia, jealously, sex and murder.

 When it comes down to the company's artistic process, the most defining of features is that the initial ideas come from them, regardless of who they collaborate with on the project, as generally speaking, guests come in much later on in the creative process. An idea can take years before it becomes even  close to reaching the stage, not always in development, but instead waiting for the right social climate or artistic opportunity to come along, in order for the performance to reach its full potential and be fully appreciated. Accompaniment plays the part of a major influence in the creative progress. It is viewed as an integral indicator as to how the dynamics and emotions should be conveyed within the performance. Rehearsals are short, as to maintain focus and interest, as well as to abide by the financial constrictions that allocate for a five-to-six week rehearsal period. Significant emphasis is placed upon the text, before then deriving movement at a later point.