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“I WORKED WITH ATOMIC RHUBARB ON SOME FORMATIVE WORKS DURING THEIR TIME AT UNIVERSITY CENTRE WESTON AND HAVE SINCE FOLLOWED THEIR CAREER WITH INTERST. BUILDING ON THEIR EARLY SUCCESSES, INCLUDING WELL-RECEIVED PERFORMANCES AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE AND ACROSS THE UK, THEY HAVE DISPLAYED A CONSISTENCY OF AMBITIOUS, ORIGINAL AND HIGH-QUALITY WORK THAT SPEAKS TO CONTEMPORARY CONCERNS WITH HUMOUR AND VERVE."

HELLO!!

from Atomic Rhubarb

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We are Clare, Coral, and Joe and we are Atomic Rhubarb. Or you can call us the barbs, as we’re all friends here!​

 

​We are a theatre company based in Weston-super-Mare and we make theatre. We have toured shows around the South West as well as London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

TOBI POSTER-SU
CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, WATTLE AND DAUB / LECTURER, BATH SPA UNIVERSITY

Currently Touring

currently touring

period drama

is a show about periods and everything that comes with them. It explores the menstrual cycle and the biological female anatomy. A show for young people to learn about periods in an “entertaining and memorable way”!

We are currently touring PERIOD DRAMA around secondary schools in the South West of England, educating young people on menstruation!

Click here!

People

People

Who We Are

“ATOMIC RHUBARB ARE AN EXCITING AND DYNAMIC YOUNG COMPANY. ITS THREE COMPANY MEMBERS ALL DISPLAYED TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL WHEN I WORKED WITH THEM IN THE FINAL YEAR AT UNIVERSITY CENTRE WESTON.

SINCE THEIR GRADUATION, IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE AND REWARDING EXPERIENCE TO WITNESS THEIR ARTISTIC GROWTH, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A COMPANY. "

MARK HELYAR

CO-DIRECTOR OF THEATRE, TAKE ART
LECTURER AT UNIVERSITY CENTRE WESTON
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CLARE FINLAN

Co-Founder

Clare is an actor, theatre-maker and drag artist. Clare is drawn to the absurd and the silly. Theatre is the place where you can witness impossible things for real. With a good light and some make-up you can be transformed. Clare’s favourite transformation has been using drag performance to create the  persona of the Queer Monster, to explore the idea of gender expression from the eyes of a child. Clare loves experimenting with new characters and has done so at GLOW Festival and From the Mud cabaret.

JOE BROOKS

Co-Founder

Joe is an Actor, theatre-maker, stand-up from Weston-super-Mare. He enjoys exploring the boundless imagination of theatre and the strange things you can do on and off stage. Regularly performing in cabarets, clowning or covering his face in mousse, Joe is a fan of the weird and wild! Also co-founder of devising theatre companies Me Monster and Bonnet Dog. 

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CORAL ADLAM

Co-Founder

Coral is an actor, theatre-maker and director. She has a passion for Theatre for Young Audiences, having written two TYA shows whilst training (the second inspired Atomic Rhubarb’s PERIOD DRAMA). Coral and Atomic Rhubarb are passionate about giving children and young people access to theatre no matter their backgrounds. Away from Atomic Rhubarb Coral teaches Performing Arts to children aged 3-13. 

history

BRIEF HISTORY

We are Atomic Rhubarb,

a theatre company based in Weston-super-Mare. 

We met during our Performing Arts degree at University Centre Weston.

Atomic Rhubarb was born in our final year, where we created our own theatre companies and devised our own work. 

atom
i
c
 
rhubarb

BARBS IN THE WILD!!

period drama

period drama

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PERIOD DRAMA is a show about periods and everything that comes with them. It explores the menstrual cycle and the biological female anatomy. A show for young people to learn about periods in an “entertaining and memorable way”!​

Do you want to feel comfortable talking about periods?

Do you want some myths busted?

Do you want to see the interpretative dance of an egg during the menstrual cycle?

Age Guidance - 9+
Run Time - approx 45 minutes 

This is a show for anybody and every…body. Through comedy, movement music and more we want to remove the stigma surrounding periods and give young people a clearer idea of what goes on down there!

The show goes beyond the biological, exploring the mental and emotional effects of periods, as well as building on the knowledge learned from years 5 & 6. PERIOD DRAMA also explores the stigmas surrounding periods, encouraging audiences to feel confident talking about periods and other taboo subjects. 

​

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. This has allowed us to create the show as well as embark on our 2024 tour to South West England secondary schools. 

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PERIOD DRAMA TEAM:

​

Devised and performed by Coral Adlam,

Joe Brooks, Clare Finlan

​

Producer:        Jess Hicks

Designer:        Sarah Dicks

Dramaturg:    Adam Fuller

Composer:     Jordan Cottle

Photos:            Adam Leppard

Video:               Farhath Siddiqui 

"PERIOD DRAMA is Horrible Histories meets periods, but minus the horrible!"

Jack Stringer

“Bringing Period Education to Life!”

Year 7 Teacher Beth
If you would PERIOD DRAMA to come to your school

please contact us here

period resources

Period Resources 
explore and keep asking questions

Free Periods -
Freedom 4 Girls -
Fumble -
Grace Period Project -
Irise International -
Plan International UK -
School of Sexuality Education -
Sexpression UK -
Tough Cookies Education -

CHARITIES / ORGANISATIONS:

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brands

50 Things You Need to Know About Periods -
It’s About Bloody Time: Period -
Period. -
Red Moon Gang: An Inclusive Guide to Periods -
Vagina: A Re-education -
Period Power -
My Period -
Sex Ed: An Inclusive Teenage Guide to Sex and Relationships -
The Autism-Friendly Guide to Periods -
The Wonder Down Under -
Hormone Diaries -

Claire Baker
Emma Barnett
Natalie Byrne
Tara Costello
Lynn Enright
Maisie Hill
Milli Hill
School of Sexuality Education
Robyn Steward
Ellen Stokken and Nina Brochmann
Hannah Witton

books

Want more resources?!

sign up here

past shows

past shows

Created by
Coral Adlam, Joe Brooks, Clare Finlan & Cydney Sylvester 
Devised in 2017

Our first show! 

The story of Sam & Jasper, two musicians who find themselves in the strange village of Little Happens. They come across the folktale of Timor the Witch who drowned herself because of a cursed Plum Tree.

As mad as our company name suggests, it's a mad, crazy show where we were able to find our style. A fun little runaround and it's very slick if we do say so ourselves!

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The Drowned Witch and the Plum Tree 

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Created by
Coral Adlam, Joe Brooks, Clare Finlan & Cydney Sylvester 
Devised in 2018 and performed at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe

Barbara is pregnant. The problem is she doesn't know who the father is OR how she even got pregnant!? For 40 minutes Barbara tries to find her Baby Daddy. Her only company is 3 smutty theorists, who have the weirdest theories about her mysterious conception of the baby.

Oh and a jacket potato! Another ridiculous show and an experiment in minimalism.

Looking for Baby Daddy

Queer monster

DEVISED by
Clare Finlan and Joe Brooks

Queer Monster is a drag character created by Clare. She created Queer Monster as her 2nd year solo performance. In 2018/19 Clare and Joe reworked the show, touring it across the country. A green baby born on stage before your very eyes. You see her in her first seconds of life as she stands up, walks, talks, dances, and lip-syncs. She's loud, proud, funny, rude, abrasive and kind.

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the seaside show

DEVISED by
Clare Finlan and Joe Brooks

The Seaside Show was made with the support and funding of Big Worle​. The show follows Rocky & Sandy as they work for Mother Earth and maintain the coasts, or as humans call it "The Seaside". Suddenly Rocky and Sandy have to work with the Humans to get the seaside to look the best it can for Mother’s inspection but they are quickly distracted by the wonders of the seaside.

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