A Canonbury-based theatre group has been recognised for its online theatre work with a award from awards body The Offies.
Degenerate Fox, which operates out of The Rosemary Branch Theatre, was forced to close during the first lockdown but the players soon found a new way to connect with their audiences: via online performances, which earned them an OnComm commendation last month recognising their “outstanding online presentation”.
Their current play, The Dirty Thirty II: Electric Pay-Per-View, consists of thirty separate two-minute ‘plays’ that are written and performed by the cast. Audience participation is encouraged, and they can interact with the players and influence which ones are performed via the chat box.
Managing Director Laura Killeen said that Degenerate Fox was “delighted” with the commendation, which recognises productions that have excelled in the online space.
“It’s been the greatest revelation for me, that there’s actually space for us to grow in the online realm,” she said of the company’s online production, adding that “a lot of creative doors are opening for us, because we’re performing and creating in a new medium, and experimenting… it’s really beautiful.”
Degenerate Fox, which was co-founded by comedian and actress Desiree Burch in 2016, counts itself as the first ‘neo-futurist’ company in Europe, and the only neo-futurist group currently performing in the UK.
Neo-futurism stresses the importance of interactive performances and theatre, describing itself as “a fusion of sport, poetry and living-newspaper”. It results in performances that draw directly on the lived experiences of its players, and that are constantly updated to reflect changing world events.
Their Offies nod comes ahead of the awards body’s ceremony next spring. Offies Director Geoffrey Brown noted that the assessors viewing The Dirty Thirty II “appreciated the sheer energy and clever content, which left the audience with something to think about.”
“We are now looking at selecting finalists from this group, across a range of categories, with winners being announced at the (virtual) Offies awards ceremony early next year,” he added.
