A show born out of a desire to collaboratively explore difficult topics through the actor-audience relationship. A topic that affects our community which would be explored through audience interactive theatre in the style of Theatre of the Oppressed. A show of provocation, liberation, and reevaluation. ‘Chocolate Bars and Work Scars’ was created based on the shared awareness of the negative impact of suffering for your art, stemming from professional and colloquial conversations around what it means to be an artist at drama school, walking into an industry which glorifies over-exertion.

Using immersive techniques, based on a fictionalised rendition of stories that have been echoed through the walls of Rose Bruford College’s student community, a meta-show was curated for the Theatre Studio, with all the components of a cast and crew, to scrutinise the normalised fashion in which unsustainable work ethics operate, and how that ultimately contributes to burnout culture and a long term breakdown of personal and professional functionality, despite offering its short term rewards.

Due to COVID related barriers, this show was unable to go ahead in the Theatre Studio on the 23rd and 24th March for it’s 3 shows, however took on a new form in an online showcase capacity; ‘Chocolate Bars and Work Scars; A Post Mortem’, debuting at 7pm on March 24th, recorded for future sharings.