PAST SHOWS - SOUP - written & performed by Micahel Mears


	Written and performed by Michael Mears Directed by Sonia Fraser Premiered: Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh 1995 WINNER: The Scotsman Fringe First 1995 Nominated: The Stage, Best Actor 1995 Toured UK - 2000 "Seldom have I seen the subject of homelessness treated with such insight and compassion" (The Scotsman) By the time the laundromat's spin cycle is over, architect Tim Fox's life has been threatened by a thug and saved by a homeless raconteur. As he tries to repay the debt with soup and sympathy, he finds himself drawn further and further into the friendships and tragedies that lurk in the cardboard community under the railway viaduct, until a council order to 'move on' arrives... In this Scotsman Fringe First Winning show, Michael Mears who a nomination for The Stage Best Actor 1995 plays Displaced Don to Cantankerous Irish Bag-Lady, Glue-sniffing Runaway to Unemployed Alcoholic Brickie. Soup portrays a way of life that is often hidden and generally ignored, with sensitivity, passion, and zeal, filling the stage with their stories. Funny, moving, challenging, Mears creates a captivating world realised with transcendent power...

FRINGE FIRST WINNER 1995 "Kill to get a ticket!" (The Scotsman) "A master of the one-man show." (The List) "In playing every part, Mears celebrates the art of acting and the multi-facetedness of the human personality and finally suggests that dereliction isa just a crisis away from any one of us." (The Independent) "Powerfully evocative, filled with humour and dignity... Mears takes you right there, but you dare not look away. With his lightning-quick changes and the face of an El Greco he shows us a part of life that there but for the grace of God..." (Time Out) "This challenging, marvellously funny evening, which epitomises the thrilling shock of the new tht makes the Fringe consistently irresistible... It's the real minestrone." (Today) NOMINATED: THE STAGE, BEST ACTOR 1995 "Mears' performance is quite simply stunning, each character neatly and compassionately drawn. The play is a moving, warm and intensely rich experience." (The Stage)