The Gods of Pick 'n' Mix
★★★★ - "Gorgeously staged. A celebration with a very bittersweet edge... Haunts you." - Exeunt
Performed by Joe Boylan and Soraya Jane Nabipour. Directed by Gwilym Lawrence. Devised by the company.
You’ve mowed the lawn for weeks, washed the pots, scrimped and saved. You catch the bus to town with a pocket full of coins. You head to Woolworths.
The blast of the heater hits you. Crossing the wooden floor, you survey your kingdom of wonders: every kind of pop, every sweet, every CD single, the lightbulb for the upstairs loo that Mum says don’t forget. Lego and Airfix and best of all, that thing you saw on the advert.
Here, you are the God of pick ‘n’ mix.
Here, you can buy your dreams.
The Gods of Pick ‘n’ Mix is a new piece of theatre taking place in the basement of the old Woolworths on the Moor in Sheffield. Offering you the chance to head behind the scenes of the much-loved store, the piece explores the unique place Woolworths still holds in many people’s hearts and the brutality of its sudden disappearance both for customers and staff. Navigating loss, aspiration and nostalgia, The Gods of Pick ‘n’ Mix asks: what can we really know about a thing, or a person, once they’re gone?
In making the show, Sad Siren Theatre gave pick ‘n’ mix to the people of Sheffield in exchange for their stories, memories and recollections of the old store.
★★★★ - "Gorgeously staged. A celebration with a very bittersweet edge... Haunts you." - Exeunt
Performed by Joe Boylan and Soraya Jane Nabipour. Directed by Gwilym Lawrence. Devised by the company.
You’ve mowed the lawn for weeks, washed the pots, scrimped and saved. You catch the bus to town with a pocket full of coins. You head to Woolworths.
The blast of the heater hits you. Crossing the wooden floor, you survey your kingdom of wonders: every kind of pop, every sweet, every CD single, the lightbulb for the upstairs loo that Mum says don’t forget. Lego and Airfix and best of all, that thing you saw on the advert.
Here, you are the God of pick ‘n’ mix.
Here, you can buy your dreams.
The Gods of Pick ‘n’ Mix is a new piece of theatre taking place in the basement of the old Woolworths on the Moor in Sheffield. Offering you the chance to head behind the scenes of the much-loved store, the piece explores the unique place Woolworths still holds in many people’s hearts and the brutality of its sudden disappearance both for customers and staff. Navigating loss, aspiration and nostalgia, The Gods of Pick ‘n’ Mix asks: what can we really know about a thing, or a person, once they’re gone?
In making the show, Sad Siren Theatre gave pick ‘n’ mix to the people of Sheffield in exchange for their stories, memories and recollections of the old store.
ALL PHOTOGRAPS BY LAUREN STONE
Audience Feedback
“Amazing is a word bandied around too flippantly these days but I really did think it was amazing, I was completely drawn into the narrative.”
“Unlike anything I’ve seen before! Thought provoking, sad and yet somehow life affirming.”
“Brilliant! Heartfelt, sad, funny, evocative. Remembered things I'd forgotten. Loved it.”
“Full of nostalgia, humour & sensitivity.”
“Sad, funny, thoughtful, atmospheric, uplifting and different. So, pretty much everything you could ask for in a theatre show. Me and my friends all felt like we'd been visited by the ghost of Woolworths. Not only that, but that the ghost sat down with me and we’d had a good chat over a cup of tea. Amazing.”
FUNDED BY (IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER) – ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND | DEBBIE COHEN | CLAUDIA MASSEY | ASHMORE VISUALS | JOANNA WALTERS (WELSH DRAGON) | JANE NABIPOUR | CHARLIE M | ERIN LAFFORD | ADAM FROST | LISA MCNULTY | LINDA MUMFORD | VICTORIA ALLISON | ADAM DONALDSON | R PATERSON | KIRSTIE STONE | LYDIA | TOM KENT | SIMON | LYDIA | RHODES GARRISON | LAURA COLLETT | NAY WALTON | HANNAH | TOM | CHLOE GRAHAME | OLIVER DAVIS | SUE CUMMING | TOM HUGHES | CAROLINE & ANDY MCINTYRE | BATHSHEBA SASKIA PIEPE | ELEANOR ADAMS | J.D. STOKELY | DIANNE | PETER ATKINSON
Audience Feedback
“Amazing is a word bandied around too flippantly these days but I really did think it was amazing, I was completely drawn into the narrative.”
“Unlike anything I’ve seen before! Thought provoking, sad and yet somehow life affirming.”
“Brilliant! Heartfelt, sad, funny, evocative. Remembered things I'd forgotten. Loved it.”
“Full of nostalgia, humour & sensitivity.”
“Sad, funny, thoughtful, atmospheric, uplifting and different. So, pretty much everything you could ask for in a theatre show. Me and my friends all felt like we'd been visited by the ghost of Woolworths. Not only that, but that the ghost sat down with me and we’d had a good chat over a cup of tea. Amazing.”
FUNDED BY (IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER) – ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND | DEBBIE COHEN | CLAUDIA MASSEY | ASHMORE VISUALS | JOANNA WALTERS (WELSH DRAGON) | JANE NABIPOUR | CHARLIE M | ERIN LAFFORD | ADAM FROST | LISA MCNULTY | LINDA MUMFORD | VICTORIA ALLISON | ADAM DONALDSON | R PATERSON | KIRSTIE STONE | LYDIA | TOM KENT | SIMON | LYDIA | RHODES GARRISON | LAURA COLLETT | NAY WALTON | HANNAH | TOM | CHLOE GRAHAME | OLIVER DAVIS | SUE CUMMING | TOM HUGHES | CAROLINE & ANDY MCINTYRE | BATHSHEBA SASKIA PIEPE | ELEANOR ADAMS | J.D. STOKELY | DIANNE | PETER ATKINSON
