kringe history

I came up with the name ’The Kringe Theatre Company.’ in 2003, along with many other ideas, as a way of interacting with the local mentally ill, or my mates as they’re better known. My arch rival them stole the name off me and started up a production of ’Waiting For Godot’. The director attacked the lead role and broke their arm. He ended up in a medium secure mental hospital and the group disbanded. A few weeks later, Vladimir and Estragon were visiting me and they said they were prepared to carry on with the play regardless. I seized the moment and offered my services to direct them even though I had zero experience of the theatre. After three months of hard work we performed the play, first on the road in the local hospital and day centres, and finally to sell out crowds at a local theatre, with the place packed with psychiatrists and social workers abound.

The play was heralded as a great success and we were treated like demi-gods by the health services. They marvelled at how I managed to motivate a motley crew of manic depressives and schizophrenics, who were permanently high on drink and drugs to work on a project so hard and for so long. Easy, I spent all the box office receipts on crack, and it was administered on a daily basis by our chief medical officer, who is affectionately known as crack head Karl.

Tragically, after the play Vladimir hung themselves for real and it was left to Estragon to discover the body. Within the world of mental illness we loose many kindred spirits to the other side; it’s like playing Russian roulette with a gun that only has four chambers, quite scary when it’s your turn to play.

Life though, is for the living and the show must go on, so we decided our next play would be fun one to do. We opted for Joe Orton’s classic farce ‘What The Butler Saw’ and we couldn’t have chose better. Associates said “It’s too difficult, you’ll never pull it off”, but we did. It may of taken five months of hard labour and a near fatal heroin overdose on the final night, but we finished the show to rapturous applause. I’ve taken some time out from the Kringe but I’m back with a vengeance, so watch this space. Like all bi-polar sufferers I’ve got big plans for the Kringe. Plans that is smarter than the average bear.