Spittin' Distance follows four contestants as they take part in the 150th Great Pit Spit - a professional cherry pit spitting competition, sanctioned by the International Spitting Federation, in the home of seed based athletics - Sans Serif.
Clint Youngbuck, a simple country boy with innate spittin' abilities, is discovered in the swamps of Tahoma by hard nosed sports agent Mary-Ann Sheen and whisked off to the Great Pit Spit where he faces tough competition from reigning champion K'Nipp (a Scotsman with a violent sense of competition), Gestetna (an English rose who dons a beard to enter the male only contest), and two hundred year old legend Hyram Winkler. The indomitable Mayor Glick watches over the proceedings, and with the arrival of the International Press she is determined to give them a story worthy of the front page - even if that does mean dredging up Sans Serif's unsavoury past.
Spittin' Distance was commissioned in 2004 by the Stephen Joseph Theatre and played there in March of 2005 as part of the Micro-Musicals Season. The show had a cast of six, a band of three and a running time of 1hour 20. The show was directed by Laurie Sansom, & the musical director was Andrew Panton.
The show was seen at the SJT by Clive Paget from the National Theatre Studio who then offered Grant and Toby an attachment at the studio to develop and expand the piece. Now the show is full length with a cast of twenty and a new demo has just been recorded.
To keep these files small I
have heavily edited these recordings.
“The pick of the bunch has to be Toby Davies and Grant Olding’s hilariously hokey western spoof Spittin’ Distance, it hits the bull’s-eye every time”
The Guardian. (four star review)
“Comparable to Monty Pythons finer moments”
The Stage.
“A little gem packed with witty dialogue and catchy songs. Guaranteed to lift the spirits and warm the heart, this is quite simply top quality entertainment – what more could you ask”
Evening News
Gestetna - Caroline Sheen, Hyram - Craig Pinder. members of the press and ensemble - 2nd year students from Arts Ed