Watch The Kindness of Strangers live at 7:30pm on 1 December, here:
In 1997, whilst studying for his English A-Level, Tim read Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and first encountered the play’s tragic protagonist, Blanche DuBois: a woman, dangerously mismatched to her surroundings, who’s eventual undoing is encapsulated in the line, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”.
A year later, in 1998, after intensive treatment for malignant tumours in his leg, lungs and liver, Tim also turned to the benevolence of someone he didn’t know when he received bone marrow from an anonymous donor.
Partly a reflection on how to thank the most significant person Tim has never met, but also an exploration of how we deal with another’s generosity, The Kindness of Strangers is an immersive multi-media performance that explores the relationship between performer and audience and weaves Tim’s autobiography with A Streetcar Named Desire until, eventually, the kindness of strangers is again called on to complete the work.
The Bluecoat has supported the development of this performance.
Original development: Arts Council England, The Bluecoat, Giving in to Gift.
Further development: DaDaFest
Written and Performed by Tim Jeeves
Designed by Mamoru Iriguchi
Dramaturg and Access Direction by Michael Achtman
This event will also be livestreamed.
Live Showtimes: 7:30pm
Those using Audio Description will need to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of The Kindness of Strangers for an introduction to the event and the AD equipment.
Please note: We can unfortunately no longer offer Open Captions for this event.