Period Drama

Olga Kaleta brings Period Drama to the Auditorium at Exeter Phoenix on Tuesday 17 November, 7.30pm. It's a one-night-only show, and it's the final stop of its UK tour, so this is the last chance to catch it in the country.

Period Drama is a surreal, episodic dark comedy about mental health, identity and self-recovery. It mixes autobiographical storytelling with circus, physical theatre and bold physicality, and it's built around Kaleta's own experience of chronic anxiety and her life as a neurodivergent person with fluctuating mental health. She filters recovery through a feminist lens, drawing on slasher films, the menstrual cycle and the existential dilemmas of insects. The show was a Circus City commission for their Respond Programme, made with support from Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales and the National Lottery. Kaleta, who recently earned a Master of Arts in Dramatherapy, carries the performance herself.

One of the most distinct things about the show is the integrated BSL. Sherrie Eugene-Hart, an award-winning broadcaster, is on stage throughout, and her signing isn't just an accessibility provision — it's an equitable language of artistic expression alongside the spoken word, and her presence is essential to the performance's structure. The show is directed by Laura Murphy and Nicole A'Court-Stuart and produced by Thea Woodrow.

It forms part of Exeter Phoenix's Spooky Season, and the age guidance is 16+. Tickets are Pay What You Can from £8 to £16, with students and under 25s paying £6, all subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. It starts at 7.30pm on Tuesday 17 November in the Auditorium.