Following a sold out run at Brixton House, Debris, the debut play by writer and director Eleanor Cowlin, comes to Theatre Peckham this May for three nights only.
Running from 11th to 13th May as a part of Peckham Fringe’s 40th anniversary, this limited engagement follows a strong audience reception and critical response of 4-star reviews. With just three performances scheduled, audiences are encouraged to book early.
This new staging brings with it a refreshed creative approach. Cowlin has revisited the text, sharpening and developing the writing, alongside the introduction of new cast members. The production is co-directed by Lev Govorovski, an emerging director whose recent work includes the Riverside Studio hit Ron, marking an exciting new collaboration between two up and coming theatre makers.
Debris centres on exes Tom and Kaia, who reunite for the first time since their breakup due to the success of Kaia’s play based on their relationship. As memories collide, their confrontation spirals into a surreal rewriting of Kaia’s script by Tom in real-time on stage. The result is a layered play-within-a-play, where two conflicting accounts of the same relationship unfold side by side, leaving the audience to consider where the truth might lie.
Balancing humour with emotional insight, Debris subverts the rom-com structure to examine the instability of memory, the nature of perspective and the ethics of using personal experience as creative material. Rather than offering easy conclusions, it allows space for contradiction, asking whether opposing versions of a shared past can both hold weight.
Eleanor Cowlin, a South London writer and recent King’s College London graduate, marks herself as an emerging talent to watch. Debris is her first original play and demonstrates a confident, formally inventive approach to storytelling. She works in close collaboration with producer Nora Azmani, a Rose Bruford trained actor and Soho Writers’ Lab alumna. Together they founded Cordolium Productions along with actor Elise Oliviéa, a female led company focused on intimate, character driven work that explores themes of loss, connection and emotional change.
Writer and Director Eleanor Cowlin said:
‘‘I’m so thrilled to be doing the show again. It was such a joy last year and has been so wonderful collaborating with Lev directing this time around. It’s a hard play to describe as it fluctuates so much tonally, but I will say audiences can expect to have their perspectives be challenged, surprised and moved… along with much laughter along the way.’’
Their previous run of Debris connected strongly with audiences, sparking discussion around relationships, authorship and the boundaries between life and art. This new staging at Theatre Peckham offers another opportunity to experience a piece that is both sharply observed and theatrically playful.
With its limited run and growing word of mouth, Debris is set to be one of the standout small scale productions of the season.
