o-region
o-region is a theatre and film production company which specialises in producing small / mid - scale theatre and micro budget films.
We are passionate about new writing and telling contemporary, human stories which are often rooted in Cornwall.
Simon was a founder member of o-region in 2002 and since 2005 has been the Artistic Director of the company and instrumental in all of the companies output.
HIRETH (2018)
In association with Palores Productions
Photo by Steve Tanner
Director / Dramaturg / Co-producer
Written by Edward Rowe to mark the centenary of the end of the 1st World War, HIRETH told the story of the Cornish miners who were enlisted to dig tunnels towards the enemy lines underneath No Mans Land in the first World War One. With music written by Seth Lakeman a live band, a cast of professional actors working alongside a 40 strong community chorus, this epic piece of theatre took place in transformed Grade 2 listed building ( St Just’s Miners Chapel Chapel) in November 2018.
Over ten performances HIRETH played to over 3000 people and had a profound effect on audiences and the local community.
photo by Steve tanner
Fup (2016/18)
based on the cult novel by Jim Dodge.
in CO-PRODUCTION with Kneehigh
(MId-scale touring)
Director / Adaptor / Writer
One hundred year old Grandaddy Jake and his enormous Grandson Tiny live life on the fringes, drinking whiskey, building fences and boasting of immortality. But then Fup arrives – an ass kicking, web footed, feathery son of a gun. See, Fup is a duck. A very big duck. A very big duck indeed… And she is going to change their world forever. FUP is a big hearted, uproarious modern fable about family, love and nature set in a weird and wild Cornwall not so different fro this one. Featuring live, foot stomping music, quacking puppetry and Kneehigh’s infamous eccentricity and charm, FUP is a story like no other.
This Production played at The Kneehigh Asylum in 2016 /2018 and then toured to Nottingham Playhouse, Liverpool Everyman, Warwick Arts Centre and the Nuffield Southampton.
““With live music, big, earthy performances and heart – melting puppetry, this comedy has a joyous, celebratory fizz and a piercing melancholy” ”
Stay Brave Brian Gravy (2014)
by Carl Grose (Small Scale / Schools Touring)
(Director / Producer)
It’s Brian Gravy’s birthday… and all he wants this year is for Mum and Dad to stop fighting. Oh, and maybe a pair of sensible shoes. Join Brian and a host of his imaginary friends in this stylised comic fantasy, an original children’s show which explores the separation of parents as experienced through the eyes of a child.
This show toured schools, studio spaces and rural venues through Cornwall and Dorset 2014
One Darke Night (2011/ 12)
by Nick Darke (Small Scale Touring)
Director / Producer / Script Collator
A show celebrating the life and work of Cornwall’s most renowned playwright, the late Nick Darke. Fusing extracts from some of Nick’s lesser-known works such as Never Say Rabbit in a Boat and The Oven Glove Murders with firm audience favorites such as The King of Prussia and Hell’s Mouth, this wildly imaginative show explores the creative process of the writer and creates an exciting new showcase for Nick’s astonishing body of work.
Featuring exclusive extracts from Nick’s private journals and correspondence, alongside a series of specially-commissioned films by Brett Harvey.
The show toured widely to studio theatres and Rural venues across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Kent
Superstition Mountain (2009/10)
by Carl Grose (Small scale touring - southwest / national)
Director / Producer
The Gunwallow brothers are in trouble. Slim’s scrapyard has gone belly-up. Dwayne owes money to some bad people. Mark’s in love with dodgy Tina from down the pub. And their dad’s just popped his clogs and left them on the brink of bankruptcy. But there’s one last glimmer of hope… a legendary gold mine lost somewhere in the depths of the Arizona desert. Only trouble is, no one who’s ever found Superstition Mountain has lived to tell the tale…
Blending the spirit of a Hollywood blockbuster with epic music, innovative film and powerful performances from three real Cornish brothers, Superstition Mountain is a dark comedy adventure exploring the intimate bonds and savage divides of brotherly love. Three brothers… One last chance… No hope in hell…
The show toured extensively across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset as well as Bristol Old Vic Studio, The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Warwick Arts Centre and The Lowry, Salford.
““charismatic storytelling that stirs the imagination… As family myths dissolve under scrutiny, the results are both funny and tender…””
Laughing Gas (2005/6)
by Nick Darke (Small Scale Touring - southwest / London)
Director / Producer
Humphry Davy – pre-eminent scientist, pilchard addict and Penzance boy – requests the pleasure of your attendance at his legendary lecture at London’s Royal Institute, where he will demonstrate the effects of his latest and greatest discovery – nitrous oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas… Humphry has a formula to solve – one that will change science forever! But Revolution spreads through the city! The Royalist mob lynch those who bad-mouth their King! His elocution lesson looms! The trout in his pocket has to be cooked! And the audience is arriving soon… The clock is ticking, and time is running out…
This breakneck new comedy charts the rise of one of Cornwall’s most famous native sons, from his lowly beginnings as a chemist’s assistant to one of the most brilliant minds of the 19th century. A hurtling, hallucinogenic, hilarious show.
The show toured extensively throughout Cornwall and the Southwest as well as a run at Battersea Arts Centre.
““Galvanic, gloriously anarchic and great fun” ”