Mr Sole Abode is a world-renowned architect, a master chef and an outlandish inventor and he lives in a fridge under a bridge.
Unable to function under the strains of contemporary urban living, Sole leaves behind the everyday world to inhabit his own unique reality. Infused with physical lyricism and touching humour, Mr Sole Abode is a poetic tale, which explores sanity and madness, inviting you to see the world through the eyes of an outsider.
Leo Kay first created Mr Sole Abode in 2007 in collaboration with renowned Performance maker/director Benji Ried. In 2015 Leo redeveloped the show with direction by storyteller/clown Stuart Bowden, with a new magical live score by multi-instrumentalist Daniel Marcus Clark and set design by Faulty Optic.
Sole was inspired by Azuro, the protagonist in Ben Okri’s award-winning novel; The Famished Road; a Nigerian spirit child from the animistic Yoruba culture, Azuro lives between the material world and the spirit world. Whilst loveable and charismatic, Sole’s but strangely logical perspective on the world invites audiences to question the social and political structures we live under, which promote vast inequality and environmental devastation.
"Those of us who lingered in the world, seduced by the enunciation of wonderful events, went through life with beautiful and fated eyes, carrying within us the music of a lovely and tragic mythology. Our mouths utter obscure prophecies. Our minds are invaded by images of the future. We are the strange ones, with half of our beings always in the spirit world."
The Famished Road, Ben Okri
Recomissioned and presented by house and supported by Arts Council England.
The origional 2007 production opened at The Lyric Theatre Hamersmith and toured nationally. It was supported by Weekend Arts College, Contact Theatre and Arts Council England.
Conceived, performed and written by
Leo Kay
Dramaturg/Direction
Stuart Bowden
Musical Composition and Performance
Daniel Marcus Clark
Set Design
Gavin Glover (Faulty Optic)
Musical Instrument Design and Build
Daniel Marcus Clark and Justin Fletcher
Lighting Design
Cis O'Boyle
Origionally Directed and co-written by
Benji Reid (Breaking Cycles)
Origional Sound Design
Dan Steele
Origional Lighting Design
Mark Distin
"After watching this you leave the theatre with more questions than answers, examining yourself and the society in which you live; something that more theatre should be doing."
