The Acts (2026)

The Acts (Sept 2026)

Thursday 3rd & Friday 4th September

Bristol Tobacco Factory Theatres

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CRIPtic Arts returns with a genre-defying showcase of new writing from some of the UK’s boldest emerging theatremakers, directed by Jamie Hale.

Fran Bushe blazes onto the stage with HOT COLD, a riotous, and unflinchingly honest dive into the chaos of perimenopause, where heat, humour, and vulnerability collide; Hannah Finn & Morgan Barbour summon The Double Draw a dazzling fusion of acrobatics and archery set beneath the watchful gaze of the goddess Artemis; Jordan Charles’s Ride the Wind weaves Yoruba mythology, puppetry and West African dance to enchant in this original Afro-fantasy musical; and Kat Bond satires the diagnosis show with The Making of The Eye Show, a show that spirals through every thought ever had about eyes, blending clowning, stand-up, and absurdity into a gleefully chaotic spectacle.

The Acts is a collision of performance, where myth meets mischief, honesty meets absurdity, and nothing is what you expect. Urgent, inventive, and unapologetically original, it’s an invitation to witness disabled artists not in the neat boxes we’re expected to be in, but as we choose to be.

The Acts comes to the Bristol Tobacco Factory Theatres for two nights on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th September.

ACT 1 – The Making of the Eye Show – Kat Bond

Everything anyone’s ever thought about eyes, visual impairment and able anxiety. A bold, funny and awkward satire of the diagnosis show, in reaction to Kat’s own impulse post diagnosis of a degenerative eye condition to make a pity party piece. Featuring clowning, stand up and storytelling.

ACT 2 – HOT COLD – Fran Bushe

Grace has a lot on her plate: Her husband is keeping a sex diary, her mother keeps flashing the nurses … and Grace is pretty sure she is turning into a giant lizard. A funny and raw exploration of perimenopause, being part of the sandwich generation and not recognising your own body.

ACT 3 – The Double Draw – Hannah Finn & Morgan Barbour / Duo Artemis

Two rival sister huntresses, one craving control, one craving freedom, compete beneath the goddess Artemis’ watch. A circus show blending archery, duo acrobatics, physical theatre, contemporary dance and contortion.

ACT 4 – Ride the Wind – Jordan Charles

When an ostracised, disabled boy is granted the power of flight by a Storm Goddess, will he use it in vengeance or heroism? Weaving Yoruba mythology, puppetry and West African dance to induce a state of enchantment, this original Afro-fantasy musical reaches across the vastness of history and through the artificial veil of colonial disenfranchisement.

Fran Bushe

Writer & Performer: HOT COLD

Hannah Finn & Morgan Barbour / Duo Artemis

Writers & Performers: The Double Draw

Jordan Charles

Writer & Performer: Ride the Wind

Kat Bond

Writer & Performer: The Making of the Eye Show

Sherrie Eugine Hart

BSL Performance Interpreter

Kobi Essah Ayensuo

Performer: Ride the Wind

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