theatre maker, director, writer
© Chris Payne
★★★★
"Funny, important & moving...all at once a fond rallying cry for the importance of the NHS, a rebuttal to the damaging culture of shame and silence surrounding the kind of illnesses you can't bring up at the dinner table, and some brilliant character comedy from Richardson, a talented performer with real verve... a show with as much heart as guts, as much about being well as being ill. It's about the privilege of having a body that does what we want it to - one that can be used, unthinkingly, to live"
THE STAGE
★★★★★
"Honest, articulate, candid... a fantastic sense of humour... interactive and inspired methods of staging"
BROADWAY BABY
★★★★
"refreshing and amusing frankness", "inspired" and "very impressive"
NORTH WEST END REVIEW
★★★★
"The Conker Group navigate the trickiest subject matter with ease"
TO DO LIST
★★★★
MANCHESTER THEATRE AWARDS
★★★★
LONDON CITY NIGHTS
★★★★
"Tight, witty & compelling. This is how to do theatre"
AUDIENCE MEMBER, TWITTER
"It may seem a contradiction to describe a solo performance as a dialogue but Gutted is precisely that: an invitation to talk... it is to be applauded for promoting this particular conversation in a life-affirming way"
THE LANCET (MEDICAL JOURNAL)
Gutted is a bold journey of frank confessions, colourful characters and too much brown sauce. It premiered to sell-out audiences at HOME Manchester in 2016 as part of their first birthday celebrations, enjoyed an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2017, and has toured twice - to UK hospitals and theatres in 2016 and 2018 and internationally.
A shameless tale of love, laughter and lavatories, it is based on solo performer Liz Richardson's real life experiences as a young woman living with ulcerative colitis (similar to Crohn's Disease). It was created by Liz Richardson and Tara Robinson.
Performer/Co-creator: Liz Richardson
Director/Co-creator: Tara Robinson
Video Design: Jim Dawson
Sound Design: Karen Lauke
Lighting Design: Sarah McColgan
Stage Manager: Joanna Morley / Sophie Tetlow / Abi Smith
Production Manager: Hannah Blamire
Producer & Tour Booker: Tara Robinson (2018)
Producers: Jake Orr & Leo Burtin, Making Room (2017)
PR from Chloe Nelkin Consulting
Supported by The Wellcome Trust People's Award, IA: The Ileostomy & Internal Pouch Support Group and Arts Council England. Co-produced by The Conker Group and HOME.
PAST DATES
19-21 May 2016 - HOME Manchester
8 June 2016 - Stoma Clinic, Victoria Hotel, Oldham
25 June 2016 - Oxford Playhouse (Off Beat Festival)
2 July 2016 - St James's Hospital, Leeds
8 Nov 2016 - Leeds NIHR Conference
9 Nov 2016 - Newcastle: Qu. Eliz. Hospital Gateshead
10 Nov 2016 - Preston: Chorley & South Ribble Hospital
11 Nov 2016 - Liverpool: Royal Liverpool Hospital
12 Nov 2016 - City Hospital, Nottingham
14 Nov 2016 - Coventry: City College
15 Nov 2016 - Oxford: John Radcliffe Hospital
16 Nov 2016 - Harrow: St Mark's Hospital
18 Nov 2016 - Norwich: Holiday Inn (kindly supplied)
19 Nov 2016 - Peterborough: Regional College
18 Feb 2017 - Camden People's Theatre, London
(Presented as part of The Sick of The Fringe)
19-22 July 2017 - HOME Manchester
2-13 Aug 2017 - Pleasance, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
14 Aug 2017 - Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
15 Aug 2017 - Glasgow Royal Infirmary
6th Oct 2017 - European Ostomy Association Annual
Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark
4 June 2018 - British Society of Gastroenterology Annual Conference, Liverpool
25 Oct 2018 - Lighthouse, Poole
26 Oct 2018 - Bristol Royal Infirmary
27 Oct 2018 - Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital
30 Oct 2018 - Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
31 Oct 2018 - Theatre Clwyd | Yr Wyddgrug, Mold
1 Nov 2018 - York Theatre Royal
3 Nov 2018 - Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven
6 Nov 2018 - Kent & Canterbury Hospital
7 Nov 2018 - Maidstone Hospital
9 Nov 2018 - Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax
10 Nov 2018 - Theatre Deli, Sheffield
TOURING HOSPITALS
The show toured to patient groups, healthcare professionals and carers up and down the UK. Supported by the Wellcome Trust, we were committed to disseminating our findings for other artists wishing to do the same. I made a doc. It's free. Click on it below to have a read.