proposal
By Kiki Kendrick co-written with James Rose
20 years after their hit single, 80s girl band 'Chix' reunite for a rendezvous with their biggest fan.
One hit wonders, Chix spent three years on the road, performing 'Give it to me, Give it to me, Yeah Yeah Yeah' in small, then even smaller scale clubs and pubs up and down the country.
20 years on, they meet again in a small dingy pub just outside Manchester. Once heaving with customers, the pub is now a sad empty relic of the 80s - a bit like our characters; SHELAGH, RED and NUALA.
The girls catch up on each others lives, pick over the bones of their time together, their 'almost' record deal, the men in their life, jealousy, sex, Karen (the fourth member of the band, who went solo) and their bitter split.
As the girls down their favourite tipples of the time; Stella, Bacardi and coke, Malibu and pineapple, a wheelchair bound stranger arrives, who at first, the ballsy sleazy no-hopers mistake for a pervert. MALCOLM, president of the Chix fan club, persuades them to perform their one and only hit for ol times sake. Suddenly Chix are transported back to their big hair, hey-day and yearn for the celebrity that they nearly had, so MALCOLM convinces them to reinvent themselves and write another song.
During the course of the evening, passions and tempers rise as we discover just who MALCOLM really is, if the 40-something Chix can be re-dressed as MUTTON and the real reason they split, the same reason they haven't seen each other for 20 years; the chemistry of the band is not quite right.
The music business is currently full of comebacks, so it's a great time for Chix to stage theirs. But MUTTON takes a dig at the 'revival movement' and 'fake celebrities' – which is not about talent, old-fashioned nostalgia, guts or staying power, but desperation and a shortage of cash!
MUTTON is a comedy poking fun at pop bands, but it also has a poignant message, about how we look at but don't see disabled people.
It also celebrates women of a certain age, a story of them refusing to lie down and roll over. At 20 all they need a killer dress and a flash of flesh... at 40 it's a bit tougher – even with a number 17 hit behind them – because, now they're cynical, uncompromising and pissed off.
But mature women have a lot to give - and these Chix wanna 'Give it to you, Give it to you, Yeah, Yeah Yeah!'
KIKI KENDRICK: writer
Kiki was a creative in advertising, in London and New York. She became a consultant for the Body Shop after her outspoken views in her 'OBSESSION FOR WOMEN' tour caught their attention. With Host Universal, she created, wrote and produced the Body Shop's FULL VOICE magazine, inspiring women all over the world to 'Love Your Body' - which she wrote into her first play BABOOSHKA with Julie Balloo (sell out show at the festival and NZ, and being made into a TV series for the BBC). Kiki helped launch the 5065 Lift in Edinburgh and then produced and acted in the shows that went onto perform at Soho Theatre - which is how Liberated Theatre was born. She has worked extensively with the award winning Hull Truck Theatre Co. Lip*Service was a sell out 4 star show at the Gilded Balloon. TV credits: The Office, Fat Friends, Cold Feet, 2 Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Holby City, The Bearded Ladies, Funland. Film: 9 Lives of Tomas Katz, Do I Love You, Phobias. http://www.kikikendrick.com
JAMES ROSE: co-writer
James has been writing for fun and profit since 1991. Selling everything from hamburgers to incontinence pads, has kept him busy, but not busy enough to stop him writing various plays, books and sketches for his own amusement. 'Mutton' is the first project he's written for the amusement of the public. There will be more to follow - whether the public likes it or not. James.Rose@hostuniversal.com
WAEN SHEPHERD: composer
Better known as his alter ego GARY LE STRANGE, Waen has written and performed 3 solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, Polaroid Suitcase (PERRIER AWARD for BEST NEWCOMER 2003), Face Academy and Beef Scarecrow. As a composer, Waen has three solo albums and has provided musical interludes for Radio 2's Out to Lunch and The Day the Music Died, along with incidental scores for Origen's Wake (C4) and Golf War (E4). Acting credits include: Golf War, Comedy Cuts, World of Wrestling and BBC2's Hyperdrive. He was in 'BRITAIN'S TOP 50 COMEDIANS' in the Times last year, and The Rough Guide's 'BRITAIN'S TOP 50 CULT COMEDY ICONS'. He currently lives in London with his wife Katy and his computer 'Black Gerald'. waen.shepherd@ntlworld.com
