Pressure
Cooker
WE PUT OUR TRUST IN WHOSE HANDS?
ABOUT
the show
The kettle boils, the lights come up, and we find ourselves watching four sixth year med students treating a patient. As the play develops, we realise they may not be quite as sober as they should be. And, as we find out more about how they treat their own bodies, we wonder how capable they are of treating the body in front of them. Under the heat, will they uncover what's wrong with the patient, and will they discover the lies amongst themselves?
want to know more?
Our play is called Pressure Cooker. The full length play was rehearsed to be put on at the Winston Theatre, Bristol (the University of Bristol's largest theatre). Now cut down and running at 50 minutes, the play is moving on up to edinburgh! pressure cooker is new play by jessie millson, a thriller about responsibilities and pressures that are placed on young students today. Coming up to Edinburgh from Bristol, we think students and adults alike will find the discussion of peer pressure in young relationships so exciting, and the dichotomy between how these medicine students treat the bodies they handle, and how they handle their own bodies.
ABOUT OUR WRITER
Jessie millson is an emerging, queer writer who has written and directed five plays this year in Bristol that were all very well received. Last year they began their journey with Pressure Cooker, researching medical technique and practice fully to ensure accuracy and respect. It was a six month process that ended in their winning a slot in the biggest theatre on the university of bristol campus.
Sadly, some questions about the play's content arose and rather than working with Jessie, the student writing society chose to terminate the performances just days before opening. They believed no production of the play was allowed to take place in Bristol with the threat of press and legal consequences.
Whilst the cast were heartbroken, the revised team have been working diligently to bring the show back to life and we think Edinburgh fringe is the perfect platform. The entire team feels strongly about the importance of the show's core values and messages surrounding trust, truth, and tequila.
london previews
The white bear
We're very happy to announce that tickets are now on sale for our London preview shows at the white bear, kennington, london.
there are limited spaces for our run from the 22 - 24 june so make sure to book now!
'Pressure Cooker is a play which scrutinises the relationship between body and self, and how this impacts your relationships with the people around you.'
'The bolshy nature of the show is proven by the simple fact of its production at the University of Bristol’s Winston Theatre being blocked last year. But, as Jessie Millson, writer and director, ponders, “if the play has been cancelled it must have been good enough to spark a reaction, and it must have said something truthful."'
'“I knew that I wanted to make the show happen, but I took into consideration that Bristol might not be the place to do that, so I contacted Fringe venues then found a production team who are incredible and have been working really hard since November”.'
'“I ended up following medicine students because I have so much respect for them, and the culture allowed me to show an extreme version of power mistreatment – they are people that many institutions hold in such a high prestige that they have to fit strict expectations, but university is a place where it is very difficult to match these expectations… medicine students are not an isolated entity but they are expected to act like one”'.
Charlotte Kyle, Epigram
bristol performance movement
We are BPM, a new performance company dedicated to showcasing arts that really say something, from voices who society don't listen to enough. After selling out 11/13 Fringe shows we cannot wait for our next plays and events! Follow us on socials to find out more!
PRoduction TEAM
WRITER / DIRECTOR
JESSIE MILLSON
Assistant Director
Alice FEnton
Producer
GRACE SHROPSHIRE
ASSISTANT PRODUCER
EVIE RUTTER
COSTUME AND PROP DESIGNER
ELSIE KING
STAGE MANAGER
AMELIA TUPMAN
MARKETING DIRECTOR
BECCY SMART
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
LUCY ASH
Stage Technician (Ldn)
issy davy
SOUND DESIGN AND VOICE COACH
OLLIE BINNIE
MARKETING ASSISTANT
BEA HUTCHINSON