★★★★ ‘Superb! Like Love Actually if it were written by Lynch’ The Upcoming
★★★★ ‘Imaginative and frisky, a real delight. Roundelay will have taught us something precious about age.’ Pocketsizeblog
★★★★ ‘Engaging, insightful and scandalous! Sensationally done. Sexiest scene ever witnessed on stage.’ JackTheLadMag
‘Big top atmosphere on Southwark Playhouse’s main stage!’ The Stage
‘Insightful and challenging!’Whatsonstage
‘A memorable production. An intuitive look at the complexities of the human psyche’ The Reviews Hub

Sex at 70?
Falling in love at 65?
Coming out at 62?

Never, ever give up on the game of love…You know what they say, love makes the world go round. And sex of course, when you can get it.

Roundelay, a fantabulous conglomeration of circus, dance and music. We may not have lions in this little circus of ours, but we have tigers….How’s your inner tiger tonight? Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself for close encounters with the third age!

Following on from the sell-out success of Who Do We Think We Are? at Southwark Playhouse in 2014, Visible, a new company for older performers presents Roundelay, inspired by the scandalous classic play La Ronde/Reigen.

Friday 24th February 2017
Artist Talks | post-show evening discussions with Roundelay artists (30 mins)
Late Valentines: lovers sharing personal stories about love

A unique opportunity for discerning valentines who are extending their celebrations this year to Roundelay. Hosted by the dynamic Ringmistress Clare Perkins, this hot-seating will invite lovers in the audience to share their stories of ‘youthful and mature love…’ from the stage.

Tuesday 28th February 2017
Provocations | post-show matinee panel discussions and audience exchange (45 mins)
The diversity of sex and relationships across the ages

Many loves? Shifting sexualities? Intergenerational relationships?

This panel discussion will bring together a diverse team of experts to comment on and discuss how Roundelay engages with diversity, sex and relationships across the ages.

Featuring Dr David Lee, Research Fellow at Manchester University who has been widely acknowledged for his recent research on the diversity of late-life sexualities; Dr Meg-John Barker who is a writer, therapist and activist-academic writing on sex, gender, relationships and counselling and whose books include the popular Rewriting the Rules: and, Jane Lees, Chair of the Sex Education Forum, trainer of sex and relationship education (SRE) and prominent consultant to SRE policy change at local and national level, this panel will be chaired by Visible’s director of outreach, Claire French.

Thursday 2nd March 2017
Artist Talks | post-show evening discussions with Roundelay artists. (30 mins)
From Reigen to Roundelay: a conversation between Mike Alfreds and Sonja Linden

Arthur Schnitzler’s Reigen (1897) has enjoyed multiple cinematic and theatrical translations and adaptions, from his own La Ronde in Vienna (1920) to David Hare’s The Blue Room (1998) and Jo DiPietro’s Fucking Men (2009) in New York.

This conversation between director Mike Alfreds, who in his 50-year career has translated and directed three productions of La Ronde, and writer of Roundelay Sonja Linden, will shed light on personal motivations which drew them both to Schnitzler’s play, as well as challenges and illuminations along the way.

Saturday 4th March 2017
Artist Talks | post-show evening discussions with Roundelay artists. (30 min)
Anna Ledwich and Diane Alison-Mitchell on the ambition of Roundelay

A discussion between Director Anna Ledwich and Movement Director Diane Alison-Mitchell on their creative process in leading the ensemble through this fierce and physical new play by Sonja Linden.

Ledwich’s recent accolades include the mid-2016 Hampstead main stage production Labyrinth by Beth Steel described as ‘racily exciting work’ (Billington, The Guardian), while Alison-Mitchell’s extensive experience includes Othello and Julius Caesar at the RSC.

Saturday 11th March 2017
Provocations | post-show matinee panel discussion and audience exchange, 3.30pm (45 mins)
Writing the end of Roundelay

An invitation into the writer’s process: writer Sonja Linden and actress Clare Perkins, Roundelay’s Ringmistress, will discuss the nature of their close collaboration in writing the epilogue for Roundelay.

Tuesday 14th March 2017
Provocations | post-show matinee panel discussion and audience exchange (45 mins)
Age Diversity Matters: Why is addressing age diversity a concern for all British actors?

With older age effaced in our theatres and on our screens, Visible think it vital that we openly debate ways we can work together to secure the futures of our professional actors, while representing the diversity of the British population (1 in 3 of which are now over 60 years old). This session crucially aims to bring to the fore the necessity of ‘age’ in ‘diversity in theatre’ discussions and build steps toward longer and more meaningful careers in British theatre.

Chaired by Age of No Retirement Co-founder Jonathan Collie, this discussion will feature a panel including actor Annie Firbank and Chair of North & East London Branch of Equity Shenagh Govan and Mariko Primarolo, writer/ facilitator whose work within the Southwark Playhouse Elders Company aims to promote diversity in theatre.

Thursday 16th March 2017
Artist Talks | post-show evening discussions with Roundelay artists. (30 mins)
Sonja Linden’s Roundelay

An interview with Sonja Linden by her daughter and Co-Director of Hackney Showroom, Nina Lyndon, unveiling the extent to which Roundelay and her former work have been inspired by her personal narrative.

Roundelay is part of a Linden’s vast portfolio of plays, including a rich writing history with asylum seekers and refugees as part of iceandfire theatre which she founded in 2003.