During the spring of 2014 Jack Stigner and Ulysses Black came together to create a new engaging FoulPlay Production. 

Taking inspiration from the Roald Dahl book The Fantastic Mr Fox, FoulPlay Productions sought to create an immersive spectacle based around an urban foxhunt.
   The idea was to create a large outdoor show for which the general public would be the principle chance-audience, while the participants would become the principle protagonists with the FoulPlayers themselves serving to provide the facilitators in the guise if critical key characters. In reflex, for the participants, who rapidly overcome their self-consciousness, the general public then become as much part of the background scenery, as they are invading and enriching such for the public. 

As with all FoulPlay Productions, an ostensibly simple structure is complicated by innumerable additional pendant elements that serve to weave narrative and character driven elements back into the show, giving rise to a depth and richness so appreciated by our audience over the years.
   In part the aim is to create a show that operates on many levels, and that ensnares its audience by using circles within circles, so we find the entire game is also encapsulated by three smaller table-top versions of the game which serve as both a means of generating earnings within the game, and also as an information point with the general public who are also able to interact with various show elements.

The show features The Butcher & The Bookie main base, from which Jack Stigner and Ulysses Black coordinate and run the show, three separate farmer bases, staffed by whisper-bearded representatives of the Cabbage Club, which serve as game-stations for public and participants alike while also furnishing the foxes with the prizes they so eagerly seek, a team of exacting, highly trained Umpires. In addition to this other characters emerge within the show: the poacher, whose own tasks keep the wheels of the game thoroughly greased, Mamma Vixen, Little Red Ridinghood, and of course, the scourge of the forest, the Big Bad Wolf.
   Each of these characters have been developed to allow the organisers the chance to modify the dynamics of the game in response to the needs of the participants offering added difficulty, reprieve or unexpected plot twists that radically shift how the participants chose to interact with the show.
   Supporting the world of the FoulPlay Fantastic Foxhunt, are vast swathes of custom props including fox tops and tails, bespoke furniture, cash, muzzles and mitts, swag bags, cider bottles, all of which serve to feed the attention persistently back into the show, where possible leaving no stone un-turned.

   Into this already heady mix we through a hefty handful of other theatrical devices, to enchant and enrich the game. But we can't tell you everything can we? 

After a very busy summer of foxhunting and human baiting, the show has appeared as an urban arts festival show, a big green-field festival show and private hire party. At present (Aug 2014) the show exists as both a 45minute game and a 4hr rolling entry family game, although we are constantly working on developing different formats for different circumstances. We have a large and mixed pool of trained performers who are principally drawn from collective resources of FoulPlayers and London Leisure Pirates. The show currently operates on a skeleton crew of between 10-12 cast and caters for around 30-40 participants at once

If you are interested in booking this show for your festival or private function please contact us at info@foulplayproductions.co.uk 
and mention this website,

2015:
Shambala Festival  - Woodland Area

2014:
Shambala Festival  - Woodland Area
Brighton Festival Fringe - Pavilion Gardens
Hackney - London Fields
 

On behalf of FoulPlay Productions, Ulysses Black and Jack Stigner would like to commend the following individuals for their sterling work, commitment, and knowledge that the show always goes on. 
     Foulplayers (in alphabetical order) for this production, at various events include:

Abby Forknall (Farmer)
Annie Brooks (Farmer) - www.anniebrooks.co.uk & www.colossalcrumbs.co.uk
Eden (Fox Snooze reporter) - www.beniceparty.co.uk & www.londonleisurepirates.com
Eleri Samantha Shone (Umpire)
Isobel Adomakoh-Young (Farmer)
Jack Stigner (Bookie / Tailor) - www.jackstigner.co.uk & www.foulplayproductions.co.uk
Joe Mulcrone (Poacher)
Julian C. Giddings (Umpire)
Kristen Atherton (Umpire / Farmer)
Lily Findlay (Farmer)
Louisa Karacochi (Umpire)
Melanie May (Farmer) - www.grubandbooze.com
Michael Evans (Poacher) - www.citizenscitizens.com 
Richard Hughes (Umpire) - www.wearegoose.co.uk
Rodrigo Bortolin Kerr (Umpire) - www.flyingswordfish.co.uk
Sarah Xenith Delmonte (Farmer)
Saskia Mullins (Umpire) - www.ironbitchwardrobe.co.uk
Timothy Goose Kennington (Farmer)  - www.wearegoose.co.uk 
Tyler Wetherall (Little Red Ridinghood)
Ulysses Black (Butcher / Big Bad Wolf)

All words and images on www.ulyssesblack.com copyright 2014.