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  • Ladies sit under the hairdryers
  • Susan with her record player
  • Susan and Dennis watch the World Cup
  • Susan is forced to sign adoption papers
The Best Thing
#thebestthing

About the show

A swinging sixties story of unconditional love from the UK’s leading full mask theatre company

It’s 1966. The record player’s on, her hair’s bobbed and eye-lashes curled: for seventeen year old Susan, life is an adventure waiting to begin. But what happens next turns everything upside down, and its repercussions will last for decades to come,

Step into the wordless world of Vamos Theatre for this bitter-sweet story of mistaken morals and broken hearts, 45s and beehives, where sexual revolution proves a hard and rocky path to tread.

This production is accessible to hearing and deaf audiences alike.

Funders: Arts Council England, Sir Barry Jackson Trust, Worcestershire County Council, Worcester Arts Partnership.
Made in association with: London International Mime Festival

Production details

LATEST CAST

Aron De Casmaker: Young Bill/Old Bill/Expectant mum/Hairdressing client/Typing teacher
Hannah Kimpton: Lisa/Expectant mum/Hairdressing client/Typing student
Louise Mellor: Susan/Lisa at 10
Marco Nanetti: Boyfriend Dennis/Nurse/Waitress/Hairdresser/Lisa’s adopted mother/Typing student

Previous cast members: Richard J. Fletcher, Marissa Gunter, Sarah Hawkins, Angela Laverick

PRODUCTION TEAM

Writer/Director: Rachael Savage
Composer/Sound Editor: Janie Armour
Set/Costume Designer: Carl Davies
Mask/Puppet Maker: Russell Dean
Associate Director: Alan Riley
Choreographer: Rachael Alexander
Lighting Designer: Chris Barham
Script Consultant: Janie Armour
Projection Imagery/Print Design: alienpen
Set Builder: Gavin Lewery
Costume Supervisor/Maker: Hannah Marshall
Wig Dresser: Alison Barlow
Photography: Graeme Braidwood

OTHER INFO

RUNNING TIME
80 minutes plus interval

FUNDERS
Arts Council England, 
Worcestershire County Council
Sir Barry Jackson Trust

SUITABILITY
Over 12 years

Read the Guardian article that inspired the making of The Best Thing...

Click here to read 'Forced Adoption'  by Yvonne Robert (external site)

Reviews

This touching piece by mask theatre company Vamos takes the long view in its investigation of the unhappy plight of unmarried teenage mothers in the 1960s. The mask work is terrific... the storytelling is always wonderfully economical, too, with the swinging – and not so swinging – aspects of the 1960s revealed through action, music and fashion…We may have heard this story before, but Vamos make it seem fresh and necessary all over again.

Click here to read the full review Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

This is yet another stunning show from Vamos. For some years I’ve been describing them as the leading mask/mime theatre company in the country. Now I find myself having to call them one of the leading theatre companies in the country – period.

Chris Eldon Lee, BBC Radio Shropshire

If you’ve never seen full-mask theatre, there could be no better introduction than Vamos – their ability to explore profound themes with the lightest of touches is magical...the irresistible mix of humour and heartbreak makes them a must-see.

Click here to read the full review Phillipa May, Hereford Times

A heartfelt and tender piece, that also acts as a gentle reminder of one of the more shameful chapters in modern British history.

Tim Bano, The Stage

This bittersweet tale of the permissive society, social stigma and a love-child lost is brilliantly brought to life by four performers and many more masks.

Click here to read the full review Michael Gray, The Reviews Hub

Trailer

 Highly articulate without a word spoken