Performer Name: Volcano Theatre Company
Show Name: Silent Night Raging Eve
Show Description
Silent Night Raging Eve is a mature and complex dark seasonal comedy exploring the gendered pressures of youth and beauty, the terrifying expectations of the festive season, and the casual cruelty of families. Framed as a party to which the audience is invited, it’s a funny, poignant, rageful show with two original songs and with inspirations ranging from Sunset Boulevard to Kylie Minogue. The piece contains light audience participation (members of the audience are addressed by the performer, offered mince pies, asked to pull Christmas crackers etc.) and is aimed at a seasonal audience (guidance 14+) including small party groups. It resonates especially with women. It is usually performed without an interval, but we can include one. Silent Night Raging Eve is an original work by Joanna Simpkins, an actor and writer from a working-class background in Hull, Yorkshire, who trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and whose work encompasses contemporary plays, classic drama and physical theatre. She has worked with Punchdrunk, Volcano, Theatre 503, Derby Theatre and Theatre by the Lake. The show began as a small-scale commission with Volcano in 2025 and was subsequently developed under the company’s auspices in collaboration with director Paul Davies, whose other work includes Hamletmachine, The Populars, Seagulls, Black Stuff, A Clockwork Orange, Confessions of a Dark Room, Alice in Wonderland, Macbeth – Director’s Cut and L.O.V.E..
