Ask Me Anything
Created & Presented by The Paper Birds
Co-Produced with Live Theatre
Music by Rosie Doonan
A loud, live, love song, to not having it all figured out.
We asked young people, living in today’s world of mobile phones and google, to write to us and ask us anything. Nothing was off limits. We received over 100 letters from across the UK. This show is our reply.
Inspired by the magazine problem pages we read growing up in the 90s and 00s, in Ask Me Anything The Paper Birds become the agony aunts. The show explores what young people think, want and worry about today. It’s about what different generations can learn from each other.
Ask Me Anything is a new immersive show from multi-award winners The Paper Birds, whose previous shows include Mobile, Thirsty and In a Thousand Pieces.
Set in our teenage bedrooms, it features original live music from celebrated singer-songwriter Rosie Doonan and The Paper Birds’ unique brand of mischief and mayhem.
This is a show for teenagers, parents, grandparents, and everyone in between, who, like us, are still figuring it all out.
So, take off your shoes, pull up a cushion, and come on in.
Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'razor-sharp show' The Guardian
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'Big-hearted show buoyed by beautiful music that asks what it means to be a young person today' The Stage
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'Imaginative engaging theatre' The Reviews Hub
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'an often humorous, but also hard-hitting and thought provoking show with a clear message' North West End
'A superb example of verbatim theatre.' North East Theatre Guide
Audience Reaction
Production images
Cast & Creative Team
Georgie Coles, Performer
Georgie is a performer and Creative Learning Associate for The Paper Birds. For the company, she has performed in Mobile, and revivals of In a Thousand Pieces and Thirsty at schools and universities across the UK. As Creative Learning Associate she facilitates workshops and leads projects across the country providing accessible, engaging and unique theatre workshops for students, young people and theatre makers.
Rosie Doonan, Performer and Musician
Rosie has written and composed the music for Ask Me Anything.
She is a musician, singer and songwriter nominated for the Horizon Award at BBC Folk awards 2006. Rosie has released 3 studio albums and 8 singles into the national UK chart. She has toured with Peter Gabriel and his New Blood Orchestra, dueting on iconic 'Don’t Give Up' in stadiums and arenas across the world.
Recently she has toured with Birdy (award-winning international female solo artist), appearing on Later with Jools Holland (BBC), and Channel 4's Sunday Brunch.
With Tim Kellett (of Simply Red and Olive), Rosie co-wrote the music for a new musical about female munitions workers in Sheffield during WW2 produced by Tara Finney Productions. Rosie's band CryBabyCry appeared on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading & Leeds Festival 2015, and in February 2017, Rosie appeared on stage at The Brit Awards playing piano accompaniment for Chris Martin's (Coldplay) tribute to George Michael.
She has also recorded an EP Gimme That Swing under the name of her alter-ego, the boogie-woogie singer Cissie Redgwick. Gimme That Swing was released on YouTube in 2013 and has received over 5 million hits.
Kylie Perry, Performer
Kylie is a performer, devisor and facilitator. She co-founded The Paper Birds in 2003 and heads up the company’s Creative Learning programme. As Co-Director of The Paper Birds, Kylie has devised and performed in all of the company’s productions including Fringe First award-winning show In a Thousand Pieces and Mobile an immersive and intimate theatrical experience set within a caravan. Kylie has led creative learning projects across the UK and internationally bringing The Paper Birds unique way of working to thousands of students, young people and theatre makers. Kylie is also a guest lecturer at Northampton University and the University of Chichester as Associate Director for undergraduate devised theatre productions.
Jemma McDonnell, Director
Jemma is a director and co-founder of The Paper Birds. She has co-written and devised all of The Paper Birds’ productions to date and has won 5 awards with the company including a Fringe First. For The Paper Birds, she has directed 13 productions and performed and toured in 8 of these shows. Jemma has run projects throughout the UK with venues including Roundhouse, Live Theatre, National Theatre and BAC. As a Guest Director she has run masterclasses at East 15, Rose Bruford, York University, Leeds University and The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
