Lust for adventure spurs Wanderlust play heading for Old Library Theatre, Mansfield

Hunting in forgotten corners of the country they made it their mission to bring back the most exciting tale.

Kristy Guest, from Beeston, hitchhiked her way around Nottinghamshire on mobile libraries; Hannah Stone, from Chesterfield, hijacked passers by in Norfolk. They both collected stories of epic journeys, risk taking and adventure.

Ria Ashcroft, from Ilkeston, was invited into nursing homes to chat with the inhabitants and help them create stories, which led her to unravel her own family story of a hereditary disease.

Returning with a variety of stories, some about life changing moments, others about funny surprises, and even one about getting lost in the jungle, the three set about making a theatre show.

Wanderlust, which will be staged at The Old Library Theatre, Mansfield, on May 7, weaves those tales together using humour, verbatim and live music to take the audience on an uplifting journey.

The Gramophones, an all-female theatre company based in Nottingham, was set up by Hannah Stone in 2009.

Hannah has performed in new work as part of Mansfield Palace Theatre’s Write Track programme and worked for educational theatre companies such as Samanya, Blunderbus and Lingue Senza Frontiere,, touring the UK, Italy and performing in Kuala Lumpur.

Kristy Guest trained as an actor at Clarendon College in Nottingham. She went on to work with Pintsize Theatre company as a performer. She has also performed in Clowns, Jokes and Girls as blokes at Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Ria Ashcroft is a physical theatre performer, a theatre maker and an aerialist. She performed as ‘Rapunzel’ at Nottingham Playhouse and was the aerialist in Winter Walker’s ‘Come to the Circus” at Deda Dance in Derby.

The Gramophones devise witty, honest, interactive theatre, placing the audience at the centre of their performances.

Tickets for Wanderlust at The Old Library Theatre, Mansfield, cost £10. Contact 01623 633133 or www.mansfield.gov.uk/palacetheatre