Sufra at STUFFED by Ugly Bucket Theatre

Sufra were very glad to be invited onto the panel at a performance of STUFFED by Ugly Bucket Theatre at the New Diorama. It's a brilliant show about the everyday life of charity workers and problems faced by food bank beneficiaries.

Through physical comedy, real testimonies from volunteers, and an appropriate amount of rage, the audience is brought on a journey through systemic failures and impossible choices, fighting fires with more fire.

Whilst delving into "the bad stuff" (aka food poverty) during the show, the troupe make sure to make time for "the good stuff" too - each ticket to the show included a free community pre-show meal and a post-show panel exploring the power of collective action.

By engaging panellists from over 12 community organisations across London, the conversations were able to cover a broad set of topics – from the logistics of securing food at a food bank to exploring how the average person can support their neighbours:

Q: How much food is wasted by supermarkets in the UK?
A: Just 7% of surplus food from the UK retail sector is redistributed, with 100,000 tonnes of food generated by UK supermarkets being wasted instead of redistributed each year.

Q: What can we do to support food banks?
A: Find out where your local food bank or community centre is, and support centres that may be at risk of closure. Donate your time, money, or food - you can even make an online donation of food if you can't drop food off during working hours.

Q: What has changed in the sector since STUFFED was first performed in 2022?
A: In the wake of the cost-of-living crisis, more organisations are integrating other poverty-prevention methods in addition to food aid. Food banks are beginning to offer free childcare, half-term activities, advice services and immigration support. Many are exploring cash-first approaches such as offering vouchers or buying necessary household items.

It’s incredibly refreshing to see the changes that local theatre is making to the sector as a whole. Not only is the subject matter of theatre becoming more accessible and relatable, but the show format itself. Affordable pricing aside, each show was captioned and the performers used sign language on stage. The audience were encouraged to bring along food donations, which were used as props during the show, before being distributed to local food banks and community organisations.

The audience weren’t just enlightened, but also engaged, getting to speak with organisations during the meal and receiving a leaflet with further action that can be taken to prevent food poverty. The leaflet included details of campaigns to support, such as the Right to Food campaign – the team took down notes from the panels each night so they could make a large evidence submission towards the campaign.

Ugly Bucket have been performing STUFFED since 2022, which sheds light onto how this issue has persevered over the past few years.

Keep an eye out for their 2027 performances here: uglybuckettheatre.co.uk

And make sure to support your local theatre!

Photo credit: Ugly Bucket Theatre