Sing along, it's a Shit Life Crisis

Award-winning Hull-based theatre company Silent Uproar Productions isn't exactly known for its upbeat subjects - two of its productions have been A Super Happy Story About Feeling Super Sad and Dead Girls Rising. Now it adds a third, Shit Life Crisis: "a sing-along karaoke play about survival and the impediments to living" which will tour venues across the north from tomorrow (Tuesday).

Written by Olivia Hannah, with a soundtrack of queer pop bangers from Chappell Roan to Icona Pop and more, the play is a dark but hilarious exploration of survival in the face of illness, grief and friendship, and why the barriers to living are not all lifted with an “all clear” from your doctor.

The show opens at Junction Goole on May 20 before touring to Hull’s Polar Bear Music Club (May 21-23 & 29-31), The Dukes Lancaster (May 27-28 ), Theatre by the Lake in Keswick ( June 4), and the Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle (June 5-7).

Directed by Silent Uproar artistic director Alex Mitchel, Shit Life Crisis follows Grace, who has smashed cancer with the support of her "ride-or-die" Abbie, but victory has begun to feel like a bad joke. Though she has tried to climb out of a pit of fear anxiety, she is still gripped by fear.

Despite its subject, the play has humour - and music, as the pair throw a party to friendship and survival, and invites audiences to belt along together to the soundtrack of life, with lyrics projected on to the set and a karaoke after-party to end the night.

Writer Olivia Hannah said: “This play has been percolating for a long time, mainly because it feels so important to get it right. It’s not just about the story itself, but how it’s told. Making it a karaoke show feels like the perfect evolution for it.”

*A local support service will be present at each performance, if audience members wish to speak to someone about the themes of illness and grief. Silent Uproar invites local cancer support and survivor groups to join them.

More info and tickets here