The Last Self Tape Unleashed at The Cockpit

This November, Ailun (Ellen) Zhou’s debut solo show The Last Self Tapehits The Cockpit, with a  powerful message to all actors and performers. This thrilling new solo show is an in-depth look  at what it means to be an actor in our chronically online, modern-day world, and how creatives  can feel on the hunt for a connection in an industry that can sometimes feel entirely  disconnected if not directly through Wi-Fi.

Set in London the home of hopeful actors, The Last Self Tapedismantles the post-covid shifts in  the industry that have called for in-person auditions to be scrapped, causing a feeling of  disconnect between actors and seemingly anonymous audition panels. Beneath this surface, it  tells the story of Chloe, a woman who once dreamed of becoming a scientist but whose life was  reshaped by family upheaval, isolation, and a long journey through art, ambition, and survival.

As a ArtsEd & LAMDA graduate, Ailun Zhou draws on her own experiences as a performer to  deliver a raw and compelling exploration of the unravelling of confidence, self-belief, and  purpose. Through Chloe’s story, the play examines how an artist navigates the pressures and hierarchies of training, expectation, and power and the difficult, sometimes controversial choices she makes in her search for authenticity and connection.

Co-written and directed by Robert Price and produced by Jie (Jessie) Xu, The Last Self Tapeis a  reality check for anyone working in the arts. Isolated in a flat with only a script, a tripod, and the  pressure to deliver the perfect take, an actor strives for authenticity, bold choices, and the  subtlety that casting directors so often demand. As Chloe records, she begins to retrace her life,  frame by frame, peeling back layers of illusion and fear in search of the courage to continue.

This now-routine process for many performers is examined with striking honesty in The Last Self  Tape, which ventures beyond the surface to confront a deeper, often unspoken fear.

Writer and performer Ailun Zhou comments, The Last Self-Tape is one of the most familiar parts of  an actor’s life. In today’s industry it has become the norm: we no longer need to face people or  navigate complex relationships; often we can do everything alone. But sometimes, facing yourself is  the hardest task of all. I wanted to explore how a simple self-tape could unravel into fragility,  depression, and the search for redemption. The staging is deliberately minimal: a woman, a camera,  a room, so nothing stands between the audience and the act of witnessing. In an age and a city filled  with sorrow and loss, the play asks: how do we hold on to who we really are, and where do we find  hope to move forward? 

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