A young performer in a white shirt lies on the dark stage floor, knees bent, holding a Rubik’s Cube above them between two vertical blue light tubes.

Omnibus Theatre2022

The Kind Refuser

The Production

Thumbs Down’s youth-company production at Omnibus Theatre adapted Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener into a post-lockdown school setting, performed by an intergenerational cast. The piece explored student disengagement and the pressures on young people returning to the classroom after lockdown.

26 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Dominic Hedges
Set & Costume Design: Constance Villemot
Commissioned by: Thumbs Down
Photography: Steve Gregson

In a classroom-like stage setting, an older performer leans over a desk holding up a Rubik’s Cube while three seated young performers write under bright spotlights.

A wide view of the black-box stage shows spaced classroom desks, seated performers, empty audience chairs, and two glowing blue tube lights framing the space.

A curly-haired young performer in a white shirt sits at a desk with a Rubik’s Cube, staring ahead with empty blue chairs behind them.

A curly-haired performer in a white shirt stands center stage pointing toward a kneeling performer while several others sit around them on the floor.

Under red and blue lighting, a curly-haired young performer in a white shirt extends a Rubik’s Cube forward with an intense stare.

A lone performer sits behind a wooden table with a laptop and water bottle, centered between two vertical blue light tubes and classroom desks.

One young performer in a green blazer grips a seated performer’s arm while another in a white shirt moves toward them in a tense classroom scene.

An older performer in a white shirt sits at a desk using a laptop, washed in blue light from two vertical tube lights with papers and a water bottle nearby.

Two boys in school uniform sit at a classroom table under warm stage light, both absorbed in their smartphones.

On a dark stage framed by blue vertical light tubes, an adult reaches an arm toward a boy in a suit standing across a desk and two chairs.

A curly-haired boy in a white school shirt sits at a desk, concentrating on a Rubik's Cube beside a closed laptop.

A girl in a green school blazer looks up warily as another student, seen from behind, stretches an arm wide in the foreground.

In a classroom-style theatre setup, a girl in sunglasses stands at the centre while four students crouch around her legs under a tight spotlight.

A boy in a white school shirt reaches across a desk to take or hand over a Rubik's Cube to an older man seated opposite.

A boy in a white shirt and green striped tie stands thoughtfully with one hand at his chin, lit against school display boards.

A boy in a school uniform and padded jacket speaks animatedly with his hands at his chest while other students and seated adults surround him.

An adult woman leans on a desk and looks intently at a boy seated with his back to the viewer in a close, tense exchange.

A performer in sunglasses sits alone at a wooden desk, drinking from a bottle between two glowing blue light tubes on a dark stage.

A woman leans forward over a chair frame, speaking intently to a seated boy in school uniform as others watch closely in warm, low theatre lighting.

A boy in a white school shirt and striped tie sits on the stage floor, looking upward amid classroom chairs, tables and cool blue light.

Three young performers in school uniform move energetically on a dark stage, with one pointing outward while another covers their face.

A lone figure lies curled under a green blazer at the centre of a dark stage, surrounded by chairs, tables and vertical blue light tubes.

A woman kneels facing a boy in school uniform, holding his hands as he looks back seriously under intimate blue stage lighting.

Performers in school uniforms raise their arms during a curtain call while the surrounding audience applauds in a small black-box theatre.

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