Never Said I Was a Genius
Conceived and Directed by John Kurzynowski
Created and Produced by Not Quite Theatre co.
Premiering 8 & 9 October 2026 at Central Film School as part of The Lambeth Fringe
Purchase tickets here
Is there such a thing as an artistic genius? Or is genius merely a myth that perpetuates privilege and enables monstrous acts to occur? And how does an artist’s biography shape that myth and reframe the work of an artistic genius?
Not Quite Theatre co. presents a new theatrical meditation that poses these questions and takes aim at the oft debated concept of the artistic genius. Our ensemble awkwardly unpacks the relationship between the genius and the monster; examining how the horrific acts of the artistic genius have been culturally justified by the systems that have elevated them, including the fandoms that place the artistic genius on increasingly inaccessible pedestals.
Join us as a gaggle of artistic geniuses compete to make the very play you're watching. A play somehow set both here and now in this very theatre AND in a glamorous but decaying villa on the Italian Riviera circa 1963.
Performers: Lauren Lucy Cook, Emily Foxton, Harry French, Haydn Watts, Ross Wayne, Kim Whatmore
Sound Design: Alex Ansdell & John Kurzynowski
Assistant Director: Ellie McCoy
R&D Workshop Photos: Emily Foxton
Never Said I Was a Genius received several R&D workshops with additional creative contributions made by the following artists: Valentin Burwell, Dean Elliott, Jack Gogarty, Harrison Hartley, Tom Neo, Libby Symons, Giulio Tamburrini
Not Quite Theatre co. presents a new theatrical meditation that poses these questions and takes aim at the oft debated concept of the artistic genius. Our ensemble awkwardly unpacks the relationship between the genius and the monster; examining how the horrific acts of the artistic genius have been culturally justified by the systems that have elevated them, including the fandoms that place the artistic genius on increasingly inaccessible pedestals.
Join us as a gaggle of artistic geniuses compete to make the very play you're watching. A play somehow set both here and now in this very theatre AND in a glamorous but decaying villa on the Italian Riviera circa 1963.
Performers: Lauren Lucy Cook, Emily Foxton, Harry French, Haydn Watts, Ross Wayne, Kim Whatmore
Sound Design: Alex Ansdell & John Kurzynowski
Assistant Director: Ellie McCoy
R&D Workshop Photos: Emily Foxton
Never Said I Was a Genius received several R&D workshops with additional creative contributions made by the following artists: Valentin Burwell, Dean Elliott, Jack Gogarty, Harrison Hartley, Tom Neo, Libby Symons, Giulio Tamburrini