Scrounger
by Athena Stevens
by Athena Stevens
Scrounger is a powerful new play exploring the struggles of a successful online personality whose life is turned upside down when her wheelchair is destroyed by an airline, highlighting the challenges faced by vulnerable individuals in seeking justice.
About The Play
About The Play
★★★★ Four Stars, Time Out
★★★★ Four Stars, London Living Large
★★★★ Four Stars, Close-Up Culture
★★★★ Four Stars, Reviewsgate
★★★★ Four Stars, The Spy in the Stalls
★★★★ Four Stars, The Upcoming
★★★★ Four Stars, A Younger Theatre
★★★★ Four Stars, London Pub Theatres
★★★★ Four Stars, Breaking the Forth Wall
★★★★ Four Stars, The Londonist
The Stage – Top Five Theatre Shows
Time Out – Show of the Week
London Pub Theatres Standing Ovation Nomination
WINNER – OffWestEnd Award for Supporting Performance In A Play – Leigh Quinn
WINNER – OffWestEnd Award for New Play
OffWestEnd Award Nomination for Lead Performance in a Play – Athena Stevens
OffWestEnd Award Nomination for Sound Design – Julian Starr
OffWestEnd Award Nomination for Director – Lily McLeish
OffWestEnd Award Nomination for Lighting Design – Anthony Doran
The first production of the Finborough Theatre’s 40th anniversary year, the world premiere of Finborough Theatre Playwright in Residence and Olivier Award nominee Athena Stevens’s new play.
On the streets of Elephant and Castle, everyone likes to make speculations about Scrounger. She needs help, she must not be aware of the complexities of the world, she is sent from the demons to torture her mum… at least according to her Nigerian Uber driver.
Scrounger doesn’t care. A successful online personality, she’s got more power from her bedroom than anyone on the Southwark estates could dream of. She’s educated, she’s ballsy, and with a huge network of online allies, Scrounger is a woman who knows how to make change happen.
That is, until an airline destroys her wheelchair.
Inspired by real events and a lawsuit initiated by Stevens herself, Scrounger drives towards the realities of how Britain is failing its most vulnerable and the extreme cost paid by those seeking justice.
Originally seen as part of Vibrant 2019 – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, Scrounger now receives its world premiere at the Finborough Theatre.
BSL performance 28 January
The performance on Tuesday 28 January will be BSL interpreted by Anna Kitson who will stand in a visible position and interpret the spoken and heard elements of the play.
Relaxed performance 26 January
The matinee on Sunday 26 January will be a relaxed performance, designed to welcome audience members who will benefit from a less formal theatregoing experience. This might include people with learning disabilities, movement disorders, those with young babies, or people with Tourettes. There will be a more laid-back approach to noises or movement coming from the audience, and audience members can come and go as they please throughout the performance. To this end, the house lights will remain on, at a low level, throughout, and music and sound effects will be quieter than usual. Please note that these shows are for anyone. You may wish to attend a relaxed performance, either as an access requirement or because you would prefer a more informal and inclusive experience of watching the play.
Wheelchair Accessible Post Show Discussion 15 January
Join us after the performance of Scrounger on Wednesday 15 January for a post show discussion in the Finborough Arms pub. The event is free to attend to ticket holders of that night’s performance and people with access needs that preclude them from seeing the show. Producer Sarah Lawrie will lead a post show talk back with Scrounger playwright Athena Stevens and her friend Dr Hannah Barham-Brown, a junior doctor, BMA Council member, and gender and disability campaigner, named on the Shaw Trust’s 2018 and 2019 ‘Power List’ of of the Most 100 Most Influential Disabled People in the UK. Hannah and Athena will discuss why Scrounger is being presented in a wheelchair inaccessible venue, and answer questions.
Post Show Discussion 22nd January
Join us after the performance on Wednesday 22nd January for a post show discussion. The event is free to ticket holders for that evening’s performance of the play. Producer Sarah Lawrie will lead a conversation with Scrounger playwright Athena Stevens, the Chair of campaigning organisation 38 Degrees Srabani Sen OBE and the Personal Finance Editor of The Mail on Sunday Jeff Prestridge. Athena, Srabani and Jeff will talk about the play in the context of consumer rights and ‘taking on the system’, and answer audience questions.
Post Show Discussion 29th January
Join us after the performance on Wednesday 29th January for a post show discussion. The event is free to ticket holders for that evening’s performance of the play. Producer Sarah Lawrie will lead a post show talk back with Scrounger director Lily McLeish, actress and former Vice President of Equity’s Deaf and Disabled Members Committee Cindy-Jane Armbruster, award-winning barrister and disability discrimination expert John Horan and West End theatre director Simon Evans, who recently directed Athena in Peter Nichols’ A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. Lily, Cindy, John and Simon will talk about the play in the wider context of representing disability on stage, and answer audience questions.
More Detail
Cast
Crew
Director
Lily McLeish
Producer
Sarah Lawrie Presented by Aegis Productions in association Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre.
Design
Anna Reid
Lighting
Anthony Doran
Sound
Julian Starr
Associate Producver
Julia Blomberg
Dialect Coach
Briar Knowles
Supported by:
Arts Council England
Supported by:
Arts Council England