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Sheep Town at The Mart Theatre Skipton in 2007

Sheep Town Theatre Company is delighted to announce that as of January 2007 we will be the new resident theatre company at Skipton’s Mart Theatre. This will involve five shows during 2007 and regular workshops for both adults and children.

The Diversification
of Veg Boy

"When you're told youre going to see a modern fairytale about two brothers on a failing farm which is doomed until one of them develops supernatural powers, you might be expecting a whacky, off-beat comedy. Instead, the extreme emotional and stylistic realism of this piece reminds me of Peter Gills York Realist (also set in Yorkshire, and also featuring more theatrically staged meals than an evening at Gordon Ramseys eponymous gaff). The story develops well, the scenes are nicely crafted, and the acting is of a high standard, particularly by the moving Kenan Ali. Probably best to eat beforehand, though."
Caroline May UK Theatre Network 26/07/06

The story

The Diversification of Veg Boy is written by Thomas Aldersley and is a modern fairytale about an unlikely Superhero and the exploitation for financial gain of his power. The story is inspired by and is an allegory for the plight of farmers in the UK. The last decade has been hard for farmers in the UK with subsidy cuts, Foot and Mouth and Mad Cow disease having a big impact on their businesses. Also Farmers in the UK are being increasingly exploited by large supermarket firms, with the cost of the produce in the supermarket going down and the cost to grow the produce going up, an unsustainable relationship. This coupled with Government pressure to diversify, in other words; do something other than just farming, has lead to hundreds of farms closing forever.

The Superpower concept, although unlikely, is an analogy for the ridiculous concept of diversification. Farmers are being expected to produce miracles and turn a struggling industry in to a successful one with a few Government buzz words and flashy initiatives. Some farmers are struggling to diversify their businesses, not through lack of effort but because of lack of experience running a diverse business and lack of possibilities. The results being that in an attempt to diversify farmers invariably can go bankrupt.

The play is a black comedy which explores these issues, with its target audience being non regular theatre goers between the ages of 15 and 115. The play can be taken at face value, as a black comedy about a rural Yorkshire Superhero and serve purely as entertainment. Or, as we believe, the play can serve as an important piece of social commentary that highlights the plight of a minority community in this country, one whose story is rarely heard.

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