Disco Pigs at Alphabetti
“A furious, funny and violent dash through a friendship that may be too close to survive.”
Alphabetti Theatre will be premiering Enda Walsh’s outstanding theatre debut, Disco Pigs, February 20th until March 9th in the North East this Spring.
The Irish cult-classic will be led by Award-Winning Artistic Director, Ali Pritchard, who promises a hectic, joyful and furious rendition of the two-hander with, of course, a banging playlist (think Fatboy Slim, the Cranberries and a Brimful of Asha).
Disco Pigs tells the story of two teenagers, Pig and Runt, inseparable since birth, with an appetite for drunkenness, recklessness, adventure and destruction. As the pair reach 17 years old, a sexual awakening threatens to break apart their private little corner of the world.
Performing as Runt will be Amy McAllister, a formidable actor of both stage and screen. McAllister grew up in Tallaght, a working-class housing project on the outskirts of Dublin. She cites Enda Walsh as being her favourite playwright and her recital of Bedbound (2000) is what gained her a place to study at Guildhall. Since then, McAllister has gone on to land roles in shows like Call the Midwife (2012), A Discovery of Witches (2018) and Breeders (2020).
Her theatre career spans from Soho Theatre to the Royal Court, and Newcastle’s very own Live Theatre. McAllister’s performance in Scorch (2016) gained them particular recognition as an “utterly mesmerising” performer (The Guardian, 2016). Outside of acting, McAllister is a talented poet, winning The Great Northern Slam: Champion of Champions 2022.
Joining McAllister as Pig will be Sunderland’s Ben Gettins, one of the North East’s most exciting young artists. In 2022, Gettins wowed audiences and critics alike with his “utterly winning performance” (The Stage, 2022) in Sugar Baby by Alan Harris (Directed by Natasha Haws). He then went on to win the Peter Lathan Prize for his debut play, Wearmouth, at Customs House, which was regarded as, “powerful, poignant, funny – and absolutely brutal,” (Sunderland Echo, 2023).
As one of the region’s most accessible theatres, Alphabetti will be offering the first week of Disco Pigs tickets as ‘Pay What You Feel’ price. This is a tradition at Alphabetti, believing great art should be for everyone, not just those that can afford it. After this, tickets are priced at £15 full price, £7 concession and a limited amount of ‘no questions asked’ tickets at £3. You can find all this information and more at alphabettitheatre.co.uk/discopigs.
Praise for previous productions of Disco Pigs:
“20 years on, Enda Walsh’s play about two disaffected teenagers has lost none of its kinetic energy, nor the power to simultaneously shock and move… the dialogue has a hypnotic and poetic quality”
Time Out (2017)