Angels Descend on Paris is a play by radical gay playwright Noel Grieg. First performed at The Albany, the play was inspired by Noel’s fear and revulsion at the sight of neo-Nazis on the streets of London.
Lewisham was at the centre of the fight against fascism in the 1970s when the residents took to the streets to confront the National Front in what became known as the Battle of Lewisham. The Albany, at its original site on Creek Road, was burnt down in an arson attack attributed to fascists, possibly because of its association with diverse and inclusive, sometimes radical, creative output.
The play received positive reviews but was never published, leading to its reputation as a ‘lost’ play. In collaboration with Unfinished Histories, we will be presenting a special reading of the play based on Noel’s original manuscript.
This will be a live reading and will be hosted in the We Are Lewisham space in Unit 17, Lewisham Shopping Centre as part of the Where To, Now the Sequins Have Gone exhibition, which documents and celebrates Lewisham's lost gay pubs.
If you would like to be one of the readers please contact Paul at stories@avantgardening.info
We are looking for people interested in reading one of the six characters in the play:
Charles lower middle class French born in 1899 so that he is 34 at the start of the play and 41 by the end
Rosa working class French born 1903 so that at the start of the place she is 31 and is 38 by the end
Alice lower middle class French born in 1906 she is 22 at the start of the play and is 35 by the end
Marta working-class German Jewish born in 1908 she is 26 at the start of the play and is 33 by the end
Lenny working class German born in 1911 he is 23 at the start of the play and is 30 by the end
Emily working class American Pennsylvania born in 1914 she is 20 when the play starts and is 27 by the end.