The 82 (2000-2001) was devised, directed and written by six young people from the Dartmoor area. It features a bus which travels between Moretonhampstead and Tavistock on a desolate stretch of road. Five people are on the bus one particular day, all with their own very different reasons. However due to circumstances, all five are required to work together to survive. But who is this mystery stranger?…
The 82 was the bus which travels the desolate stretch of road between Moretonhampstead and Yelverton. A mystery thriller using mixed media, developed in workshops, and devised, directed and acted by six young people from the Dartmoor area, The 82 is a study of suggestibility and power in an environment where people are stripped of their support systems, and of their stereotypes. The advent of a stranger brings a disparate group closer together, but not quite close enough to communicate essential secrets without further sacrifice. This was the first time MED Theatre had used video in a performance, enabling us to mix live scenes with clips of indoor workshops, outdoor performances, and actual location shots, to suggest more of the process of creating a drama in a Dartmoor context.
The play was originally performed outdoors at Greenawell farm near Moretonhampstead in the summer of 2000. It was then programmed as part of a double bill along with Monkey Rock 2 under the umbrella heading of ‘Survival’, for March 2001. The Foot and Mouth epidemic, however, forced the postponement of both plays to the summer.