BEING BRAVE (2026)

lion & unicorn theatre (june 2026)
old joint stock birmingham (sept 2026)
directed by david brady

“eight PROFORGRAMS FROM THE MOMENTS BEFORE”

BEING BRAVE

Across eight intimate new pieces, Being Brave finds ordinary people caught in the tiny, impossible moments before a decision: to jump, to stay, to speak, to come home, to keep going, to let someone in.

All These Things That I’ve Done Performed by Bradley Connor At 4am, Ryan walks the hospital corridors with a drip stand, a failing heart and a head full of all the life he still wants to live. A fierce, funny and aching piece about mortality, fear, rage, joy and the decision to feel everything before it is too late.

Ribs Performed by Barbara D’Alterio & Luke Woodcock A badly injured son returns to his mother’s kitchen in the middle of the night after two years away. As old wounds reopen and danger waits at the front door, mother and son are forced to ask whether coming home is the same thing as being forgiven.

Twenty Per Cent Performed by Nicole Phillip A quiet, poetic reflection on wanting just a little more: more time, more space, more kindness, more chances to say the thing properly. A tender piece about longing, love and the small extra percentage that might change everything.

Before Feel Performed by Kitty Evans On a delayed train platform, Alex counts the minutes, the steps, the notifications and the quiet disappointments of modern life. But somewhere between commuter rage and existential panic, a different kind of decision begins to form: maybe today is the day not to get on the train.

Brave Performed by Oscar Brudenall Jones Euan is twenty-three, terrified of heights and standing at the top of a ten-metre diving board he absolutely should not be on. A sharp, funny and painful piece about childhood fear, fathers, anxiety and the terrifying possibility of jumping anyway.

Ebb & Flo Performed by Haydn Watts & Megan Coslett (June 2026) and Sam Warren & Megan Stander (Jul / Sept 2026). On a beach in Thailand, a brother stands ankle-deep in the sea, unable to leave the place where everything changed. His sister has come to bring him back, or at least stand beside him for long enough to remind him that grief does not have to be carried alone.

Lost Boy Performed by Nance Turner (June 2026) Barbara D’Alterio (July 2026) & Demelza O’Sullivan (Sept 2026). A senior Army officer prepares to receive the body of a young soldier with no confirmed next of kin. What begins as procedure becomes something far more human: a final act of care for a life that deserves to be named, known and brought home.

Funny, painful and full of heart, this is a collection about fear, family, grief, love, duty, survival and the quiet courage it takes to move one small step forward.

From Proforca Theatre Company, the team behind FLASHBANG, At Last and Lately - Being Brave raises money for the Lion & Unicorn Theatre and Myton Hospice.

CONTENT ADVISORY

Contains strong language & adult themes, discussions of death, bereavement, violence & parental abuse.

ABOUT PROFORCA THEATRE COMPANY

Proforca Theatre Company is the managing company in residence at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Kentish Town. Feel More [2023] and Lately following the critically acclaimed "Feel" (2018-19 Lion & Unicorn Theatre & Tour) and the award nominated "At Last" (2019) and "AAAAA [FiveA] (2020) - (Lion & Unicorn & Albany Theatre Coventry) and “Flashbang” (2022).