THEATREWORLD

Frank McGuinness’s visceral play, The Match Box, had its world première at the Liverpool Playhouse in June 2012. The Everyman and Playhouse are proud to announce that it will transfer to London for a month-long run at the Tricycle Theatre from 2 May to 1 June. Bafta-nominated actor and director Lia Williams directs Leanne Best as Sal, a role which earned her a nomination for Best Performance in a play at last year’s Theatre Awards UK.

Making its debut in the intimate Liverpool Playhouse Studio last year, The Match Box, played to packed audiences who were enthralled by Leanne Best’s astonishing performance, with the run extended twice due to popular demand.

Gemma Bodinetz, Artistic Director of the Everyman and Playhouse, said: “The Playhouse studio was re-opened to provide an intimate environment for world class theatre. We are thrilled that this coruscating world premiere by one of the world’s greatest writers will now find a new audience in London. Directed by one of our most lauded and respected actresses, performed by one of Liverpool’s most astonishing performers and we are proud to be presenting this production at the Tricycle Theatre.”

The Match Box is a passionate story of love and hate, after a family tragedy has far reaching consequences for everyone involved. This intense drama shines the spotlight on Sal as she looks back at the circumstances that have led her to leave England for the small island of Valentia on the coast of County Kerry.

Frank McGuinness is one of Ireland’s foremost playwrights and poets. The Match Box follows Greta Garbo Came to Donegal which appeared at the Tricycle Theatre in 2010 gainng critical acclaim. His body of work includes The Factory Girls, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Dolly West's Kitchen and Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. He has also adapted many classic texts including A Doll’s Housefor which he was nominated for a Tony Award and Oedipus at the National Theatre in 2008.

Lia Williams’s formidable stage career includes Tony and Olivier nominations for her performance in Skylight and she is currently appearing inOld Times at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Lia has also received a Bafta nomination for her performance in the BBC’s May 33. She has directed several short films including The Stronger, written by Frank McGuinness, which was nominated for a Bafta for Best Short Film. The Match Boxmarks her stage directorial debut.

In 2012 Leanne Best was the only female nominated in the Best Performance in a Play category at the Theatre Awards UK for her role as Sal in The Match Box, she also made her National Theatre debut in Frank McGuinness’s Damned By Despair. The Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts (LIPA) graduate has established herself as one of the Everyman and Playhouse’s most prominent actresses in productions such as Unprotected and The May Queen (Liverpool Everyman); A Streetcar Named Desire, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Our Country’s Good (Liverpool Playhouse). Leanne’s television credits include Good Cop and Moving On for the BBC and she is currently appearing in the American première of Backbeat at the Ahmanson theatre in Los Angeles.

The Match Box is designed by Colin Richmond, a former Linbury Biennial Prize Finalist who previously worked for the Everyman and Playhouse on The May Queen and When We Are Married. His other design credits include The Three Musketeers & the Princess of Spain (ETT/ Traverse) and Futureproof (Dundee Rep/Traverse). Lighting designer Charlie Lucas’s credits include In Blood: The Bacchae (Arcola Theatre) and Von Ribbentrop's Watch (Oxford Playhouse). The sound design and composition is by Giles Perring.

The Match Box follows in the footsteps of a number of other Everyman and Playhouse productions to play on London stages in recent years.The Swallowing Dark by Lizzie Nunnery, which re-launched the Playhouse Studio in 2011, transferred to Theatre 503 and Graham Linehan’s adaptation of The Ladykillers and Ghost Stories by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson were both nominated for Olivier Awards following successful West End runs having had their first performances at the Liverpool Playhouse. King Lear with Pete Postlethwaite played at the Young Vic having been one of the standout productions of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year, while The Caretaker with Jonathan Pryce transferred to Trafalgar Studios in 2010 and last year completed an international tour including a month-long residency at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.

Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse present the London première of

THE MATCH BOX

By Frank McGuinness

Directed by Lia Williams

Lighting Design by Charlie Lucas

Sound Design and Composition Giles Perring

Performed by Leanne Best

Age recommendation: 15+ contains strong language

Dates: From Thurs 2 May to Sat 1 June

Venue: Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR

Time: Evenings at 7.30pm (Mon – Sat)

Matinée: at 3pm on Weds 22 & 29 May

at 2pm Sat 11, 18 & 25 May

Tickets: Allocated Unallocated

Mon 7.30pm, Midweek Mats at 2pm £20 £14

Tues - Thurs 7.30pm, Sat Mats at 3pm £26 £20

Fri & Sat 7.30pm £28 £22

*The majority of the theatre auditorium is unallocated seating. Customers who would prefer allocated seating are advised to book early as availability is limited. Concessions and discounts available.

Box Office: 020 7328 1000

Online Booking (24-hour): www.tricycle.co.uk

MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY

53 Southwark Street

SE1 1TE

BOX OFFICE: 020 7378 1713

JONATHAN HYDE AND DAVID BAMBER JOIN THE CAST OF

Graham Greene’s

adapted for the stage by Giles Havergal

MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Thursday 2nd May – Saturday 29th June

Tickets will be on sale from 9am on Wednesday 20^th March for the Menier Chocolate Factory’s forthcoming production of Travels with My Aunt from 2^nd May to 29^th June, for a strictly limited 8 week season. Adapted for the stage by Giles Havergal and directed by Christopher Luscombe the cast features Iain Mitchell, Gregory Gudgeon, Jonathan Hyde and David Bamber.

Four actors play a host of characters in this anarchic comedy adapted from the novel by Graham Greene which tells the story of retired bank manager Henry Pulling, and his globetrotting adventures with his Aunt Augusta. From Brighton to Istanbul to Paraguay, the unlikely pair journey together discovering colourful characters and the possibilities that life conjures up in the most unusual of places.

Jonathan Hyde’s theatre credits include Jumpers, Sleep With Me, The Duchess of Malfi (National), King Lear, The Seagull, Romeo & Juliet (RSC), The Kings Speech (UK Tour & West End), Peter Pan (Kensington Gardens, O2, San Francisco & Orange County), Les Liasion Dangereuses (Ambassadors) and Antigone (Old Vic). On television he has been seen in Foyles War, Spooks and The Queen while his film credits include Tailor of Panama, The Mummy, Titanic, Anaconda, Jumanji and Richie Rich.

David Bamber’s theatre credits include Sweet Smell of Success (Arcola); Betty Blue Eyes (Novello), Absurd Person Singular (Garrick), Otherwise Engaged (Criterion); The Merchant of Venice (National), Real Inspector Hound / Black Comedy (West End Warehouse Production) and My Night With Reg (Royal Court). On television he has been seen in The Paradise, The Hollow Crown, Borgias and Psychoville. Film includes, Miss Potter, The Railway Children, Neville’s Island, My Night with Reg and High Hopes.

Featuring designs by Colin Falconer; lighting by Oliver Fenwick; sound by Gregory Clarke.

Tickets are now on sale.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Dates: Thursday 2nd May – Saturday 29th June (Previews 2nd – 7th May)

Press Night: Wednesday 8th May at 8pm

Tickets: Tickets go on sale to general public Wednesday 20th March

Previews: £25 / Meal Deal £33 - A meal deal ticket includes a 2-course meal from the pre-theatre menu in the Menier Restaurant plus theatre ticket.

Book before 2nd May - valid all performances: Standard reserved tickets £29.50 / Meal Deals £37.50 / Premium Seats £35.00/ Concessions & Groups 8+ £27.50

Book from 2nd May – 29th June - valid all performances: Standard reserved tickets £31.00 / Meal Deals £39.00 / Premium Seats £35.00/ Concessions & Groups 8+ £27.50

Performances: Tuesday - Saturday evenings, 8pm; Saturday & Sunday matinees, 3.30pm

Box Office: 020 7378 1713 (£2 transaction fee per booking)

Website: www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1 transaction fee per booking)

Address: 53 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU

Restaurant: 020 7234 9610

Transport: London Bridge Tube, Borough High Street exit/ RV1 and 381 buses. On street parking after 6.30pm and all day Saturday & Sunday

Show Website: www.menierchocolatefactory.com

The Menier Chocolate Factory

presents the European premiere of

THE COLOR PURPLE

directed and designed by acclaimed

Tony Award-winning director John Doyle

5 July – 14September

Press Night: Monday, 15 July at 8.00pm

Tickets now on sale to Menier Chocolate Factory priority bookers for the European premiere of the landmark musical The Color Purple. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am on Tuesday 7^th May.

An unforgettable story of enduring love and triumph over adversity, The Color Purple is a landmark musical from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker.

This stirring family chronicle follows the inspirational Celie, as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love and life. With a fresh, joyous score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, this European premiere is directed by John Doyle (Road Show at the Menier Chocolate Factory), adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award winner Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Grammy award winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

Alice Walker is an internationally celebrated author, poet and activist whose books include seven novels, four collections of short stories, four children’s books, and volumes of essays and poetry. With The Color Purple, Walker became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the National Book Award.

A scene from the Broadway production

Walker’s work has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and her books have sold more than fifteen million copies. Walker’s awards and fellowships include a Guggenheim Fellowship and an induction in the California Hall of Fame. In 2010 she presented the key note address at The 11th Annual Steve Biko Lecture at the University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, and was awarded the Lennon/Ono Peace Grant in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Walker donated this latter award to an orphanage for the children of AIDS victims in East Africa.)

There will be a world exclusive premiere of ‘Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth’ a feature documentary film by Pratibha Parmar, about the life and art of Alice Walker on Sunday 10March at 6.30pm as part of WOW- Women of the World Festival - at Southbank Centre.

The Color Purple is being produced by special arrangement with Scott Sanders and Roy Furman.

Tickets go on sale to Chocolate Factory priority bookers from midday on Monday 22 April, and to the general public at 9am on Wednesday 1 May.

Casting will be announced shortly.

For further information contact Anna Arthur/Andrew Greer at Arthur Leone PR

Tel: 020 7836 7660 or Andrew@arthurleone.com

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Dates: 5 July – 14 September 2013
Press Night: Monday, 15 July 8.00pm

Box Office: 020 7378 1713; £2 transaction fee per booking
Website: www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1 transaction fee per bkg)
Address: 53 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU
Restaurant: 020 7234 9610
Transport: London Bridge Tube, Borough High Street exit / RV1 and 381 buses

ALMEIDA THEATRE

Almeida Street

London N1 1TA

BOX OFFICE: (020) 7359 4404

A L M E I D A F E S T I V A L 2 0 1 3

AND

WILL KEEN, JACK LOWDEN AND LESLEY MANVILLE IN

G H O S T S

ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY RICHARD EYRE

RUPERT GOOLD DIRECTS WORLD PREMIERE OF

A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O

BY BRET EASTON ELLIS

A L M E I D A F E S T I V A L 2 0 1 3

From 9 July - 9 August 2013, the Almeida Festival returns with a packed programme of fresh collaborations, award-winning artists and brand new shows. The most ambitious and extensive Almeida Festival to date, the line-up features ground-breaking artists presenting shows at different stages of progression, commissioned, co-commissioned, developed and supported by the Almeida.

Tim Crouch & a smith open the Festival with a brand new Almeida commission, followed by new work from , Bryony Kimmings Made in China, Dirty Protest, The Young Friends of the Almeida with a new play by Roz Wyllie, Clean Break, presenting a new play by Alice Birch alongside Rebecca Prichard’s acclaimed Dream Pill, and Dante or Die with a site-specific dance theatre piece at an Islington hotel. GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN and Room 2 Manoeuvre present their acclaimed shows whilst Lost Dog (with playwright Lucy Kirkwood), The Debate Society and Belarus Free Theatre develop new work.

RICHARD EYRE DIRECTS HIS ADAPTATION OF HENRIK IBSEN’S

G H O S T S

As previously announced, Richard Eyre returns to the Almeida Theatre to adapt and direct Ibsen’s Ghosts. With a cast led by Lesley Manville as Helene Alving, Ghosts will run from 26 September – 23 November 2013, with Press Night on 3 October. Designs are by Tim Hatley with lighting by Peter Mumford and sound John Leonard.

The cast includes Lesley Manville as Helene Alving, Jack Lowden (Oswald Alving) and Will Keen (Pastor Manders). Further casting will be announced shortly.

Helene Alving has spent her life suspended in an emotional void after the death of her cruel but outwardly charming husband. She is determined to escape the ghosts of her past by telling her son, Oswald, the truth about his father. But on his return from his life as a painter in France, Oswald reveals how he has already inherited the legacy of his father’s dissolute life.

Will Keen returns to the Almeida where he has previously been seen in Waste, Tom and Viv and Five Gold Rings. His other theatre credits includeQuartermaine’s Terms at Wyndhams Theatre, Hysteria for Theatre Royal Bath, Huis Clos at the Trafalgar Studios, the title role in Macbeth for Cheek by Jowl at the Barbican, Kiss of the Spiderwoman for the Donmar Warehouse, The Rubenstein Kiss for Hampstead Theatre, The Coast of Utopia for the National Theatre and Pericles for the Lyric Hammersmith. On television his credits include Silk, Garrow’s Law, Titanic, Foyles War, Elizabeth I, The Impressionists, Into the Void, Murphy’s Law, Monsignor Renard and Martin Chuzzlewit. His film his credits are Love and Other Disasters and Nine Lives of Thomas Katz on film.

Jack Lowden was most recently on stage playing Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire which after opening at Hampstead Theatre, transferred to the West End. His previous roles include Cammy in the Laurence Olivier award-winning Black Watch for the National Theatre of Scotland which was also seen at the Barbican and on tour worldwide. On television his credits include Mrs Biggs, Blue Haven and Being Victor and the forthcoming The Tunnel. His film credit is uwantme2killhim?

Multi award-wining theatre, film and television actor Lesley Manville will make her Almeida debut in Ghosts. She was last on stage at the National Theatre in Grief where she has previously been seen in Her Naked Skin, Pillars of the Community, The Alchemist and His Dark Materials. At the Old Vic her credits include Six Degrees of Separation and All About My Mother. Her work for the Royal Court includes Top Girls, Serious Money, The Pope’s Wedding and Three Sisters and for the Royal Shakespeare Company she has been seen in The Wives Excuse, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and As You Like It. Manville’s film work with regular collaborator Mike Leigh includes Another Year, All or Nothing, Topsy-Turvy, Secrets and Lies and High Hopes. Her other film credits include The Christmas Candle, Molly Moon, Maleficent, Romeo and Juliet, Spike Island and A Christmas Carol. On television her credits include An Adventure in Space and Time, The Man Who Would Be Bond, Mayday, Cranford, North & South, Bodily Harm, Other Peoples' Children, Promoted To Glory, The Cazalets, David Copperfield, Painted Lady, The Bite, Holding On, Tears Before Bedtime, A Statement of Affairs, Top Girls, Grown-Ups and The Firm.

Richard Eyre’s multi award-winning production of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler opened at the Almeida in 2005. The Almeida has also presented Ibsen’sRosmersholm, directed by Anthony Page and Travis Preston’s production of The Master Builder. Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea, directed by Trevor Nunn, was the first production programmed by Michael Attenborough when he took over as the Almeida’s Artistic Director.

Richard Eyre’s Almeida production of The Dark Earth and the Light Sky completed its sell out run in January this year. Previously for the Almeida he has directed David Hare’s The Judas Kiss - his first production after leaving The National Theatre where he was Director from 1988 - 1997 - The Novice and Hedda Gabler. His more recent work as a director for the stage includes the award-winning production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible on Broadway, the world premieres of Nicholas Wright’s Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter both for the National Theatre, Noel Coward’s Private Lives on Broadway and the musical Mary Poppins. Most recently he has directed Quartermaine’s Terms at the Wyndham’s Theatre and his production of The Pajama Game for Chichester Festival Theatre beings previews next week. For television his credits include Changing Stages - a BBC Series on the history of theatre in the 20^th century which he co-wrote with Nicholas Wright and presented, and the BAFTA award-winning Tumbledown. Eyre recently directed the critically-acclaimed Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 for the BBC’s 2012 Shakespeare Season. His film credits include Iris, Stage Beauty, Notes on a Scandal and The Other Man.

RUPERT GOOLD DIRECTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF BRET EASTON ELLIS’

A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O

IN AN ALMEIDA CO PRODUCTION WITH HEADLONG IN ASSOCIATION WITH DAVID JOHNSON, JESSE SINGER FOR ACT 4 ENTERTAINMENT

Rupert Goold, the Almeida’s Artistic Director Designate, directs the World Premiere of American Psycho, a musical thriller with book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik, based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis.

American Psycho will run from 3 December 2013 with press night on 12 December. The production will now run to 25 January 2014, which includes additional performances to the previously announced schedule. Set design is by Es Devlin with choreography by Lynne Page, lighting by Jon Clark, sound by Paul Arditti and musical direction from David Shrubsole. American Psycho is an Almeida co-production with Headlong in association with David Johnson and Jesse Singer for Act 4 Entertainment.

Living the high life in 1980s Manhattan, Patrick Bateman has it all – looks, money, style and status. He and his entourage buy the most expensive designer clothes, eat at the most exclusive restaurants and party at the hottest clubs. But privately, Patrick indulges in another kind of transgression. And people - including those closest to him - keep disappearing.

Rupert Goold’s association with the Almeida Theatre Company began in 2008 when he directed Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Goold’s Headlong Theatre Company are also co-producing with the Almeida in May to present the World Premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s Chimerica, directed by Lyndsey Turner. Goold has been Artistic Director of Headlong since 2005. He was Associate Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company (2009-2012). Previously he was Artistic Director of Northampton Theatres (2002–2005). Goold has twice been the recipient of the Laurence Olivier, Critics’ Circle and Evening Standard awards for Best Director.

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

The Almeida Theatre is grateful to its Principal Partner Aspen whose three year sponsorship started in July 2011, building on the long-term relationship between the two companies. Aspen’s support of the Almeida Theatre ensures continued bold programming and artistic endeavour. Aspen wasestablished in 2002 and is a leading global insurance and reinsurance company. www.aspen.co

The Almeida Theatre is supported by Arts Council England.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Access

Ghosts

Audio Described performance by VocalEyes 16 November 2013 at 2.30pm, Touch Tour at 12.45pm

Captioned performance 28 October at 7.30pm and 6 November at 2.30pm 2013

American Psycho

Audio Described performance by VocalEyes 11 January 2014 at 2.30pm, Touch Tour at 12.45pm

Captioned performance 10 January at 7.30pm and 18 January 2.30pm 2014

Address Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, Islington, London, N1 1TA

Cafe-Bar The Almeida Cafe-Bar is open from 11.30am -11.00pm, Monday to Saturday

Box Office Phone 020 7359 4404 (10am – 7.30pm), on line www.almeida.co.uk

In person 10am – 7.30pm, Monday – Saturday

Ghosts

preview prices £8 - £26, concessions available

after press night price £8 - £32, concessions available

American Psycho

preview prices £8 - £26, concessions available

after press night price £10 - £45, concessions available

day seats (2 per person) will go on sale at 11am on day of performance, in person from

Box Office for all performances post press nights

Islington First (if you live or work in Islington) £20, check box office for dates

Under 30s £16 for Monday performances

Regular performances are Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm, Saturday matinees at 2.30pm,

Press Nights at 7pm

Priority Booking opens on 23 April 2013 for Ghosts and American Psycho and the Almeida Festival with public booking opening on 7 May 2013

Website www.almeida.co.uk

ALMEIDA QUICK REFERENCE

20 May – 6 July 2013

CHIMERICA

Lucy Kirkwood

Director Lyndsey Turner

Press Night 28 May

9 July - 9 August

ALMEIDA FESTIVAL

Press Night 11 July

26 September - 23 November 2013

GHOSTS

Ibsen/Richard Eyre

Director Richard Eyre

Press Night 3 October

3 December 2013 – 25 January 2014

AMERICAN PSYCHO

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa/Duncan Sheik/Bret Easton Ellis

Director Rupert Goold

Press Night 12 December

THE KING’S HEAD THEATRE

115 Upper Street

Islington

N1 1QN

BOX OFFICE: 020 7478 0160

Thornton Wilder’s

Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece,

OUR TOWN,

is to get its official

75th anniversary production

at the King’s Head Theatre

Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, Our Town, is to get its official 75th anniversary UK production - its first major London revival in a generation - at the King’s Head Theatre from Wednesday 26 June - Saturday 20 July.

Press night is Friday 28 JUNE at 7.15pm

Our Town, is Wilder’s best known and loved play. Set in the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners, it recounts the story of an average town's citizens through their everyday lives. And in a move that was truly groundbreaking when the play premiered, it is performed without a set and the actors mime their actions without the use of any props, conjuring up a complete world through just a handful of chairs and ladders. Another stage first was to use the character of the Stage Manager as an actual narrator, breaking the Fourth Wall to address the audience directly.

Winning the 1938 Pulitzer Prize, this seminal American play has been performed somewhere in the United States every day since. Wilder himself played the Stage Manager on Broadway and over the years this pivotal role has been played by actors as diverse as Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra (in a 1955 musical adaptation of the play), Hal Holbrook, Paul Newman, Helen Hunt, Michael McKean and Michael Shannon.

This new London production is being directed by Off-West End Award nominee Tim Sullivan and follows his acclaimed double-bill of two classic Thornton Wilder one-acts, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden and The Long Christmas Dinner at the King’s Head Theatre last December. He directed an earlier version of Our Town in 2012. That led to an offer to re-stage it at the King’s Head Theatre in 2013 and the endorsement of the Thornton Wilder estate, who have chosen this new production to be a part of its 75th anniversary celebration alongside high-profile American regional theatres including Ford's Theatre in Washington, the Huntington Theatre in Boston, and the Actor's Theatre of Louisville.

Our Town features a cast assembled from 10 different countries. The streets of tiny Grover’s Corners will stretch globally to underscore the true universality of Our Town. The cast features Giovanni Bienne, Sam Child, Stewart Clegg, Simon Dobson, Ben Z. Fuiava, Cristina Haraba, Siu-see Hung, Dylan Lincoln, Princess McDonnough, Tamarin McGinley, Alex Nasmyth, Andres Ortiz, Zoë Swenson-Graham, Rita Walters.

Directed by Tim Sullivan, Designed by Neil Gordon

It is produced by Savio(u)r Theatre Company in association with the King’s Head Theatre.

Listings information

Our Town

King’s Head Theatre

115 Upper Street

London N1 1QN

Wednesday 26 June -

Saturday 20 July

(Tuesday to Saturday evening,

Sunday matinees)

Previews: 26 & 27 June

Press night: Friday

28 June at 7.15pm

Tickets £10.00 - £25.00

Tuesday - Saturday at 7.15pm

Sunday at 3.00pm

extra matinee Saturday 20 July at 2.00pm

www.kingsheadtheatre.co.uk

Box office: 020 7478 0160

SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE

Shipwright Yard

Tower Bridge

BOX OFFICE: 020 7407 0234

www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

Danielle Tarento in association with Southwark Playhouse presents

TITANIC

Music and Lyrics by MAURY YESTON

Book by PETER STONE

Presented by arrangement with Tams-Witmark Music Library Inc. New York

Director: Thom Southerland

Musical Staging Cressida Carre

Musical Director Mark Aspinall

Set/Costume Designer DaviD Woodhead

Lighting Designer Howard Hudson

Sound Designer Andrew Johnson

Producer and Casting Director Danielle Tarento

“The greatest American Musical to have been written in 15 years”

Sheridan Morley, The Spectator

The creative team behind the acclaimed Southwark Playhouse musicals, Parade, Mack & Mabel and Victor/Victoria, are returning to the venue to present the European premiere of a new chamber version of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Titanic.

Directed by Thom Southerland and produced by Danielle Tarento, it will run for a

6-week season at Southwark Playhouse, from Friday 26 July - Saturday 31 August.

Press night is Wedneday 31 July at 8.00pm.

In the final hour of 14th April 1912 the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and “the unsinkable ship” slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century. 1517 men, women and children lost their lives.

Based on actual characters aboard the greatest ship in the world, Maury Yeston (Nine, Grand Hotel, Phantom) and Peter Stone's stunning musical focuses on their hopes and aspirations. Unaware of the fate that awaits them, the Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the newly-enfranchised Second Class dream of achieving the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and the millionaire Barons of the First Class dream of their hegemony lasting forever.

Winner of 5 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.

Cast to be announced.

Director Thom Southerland was longlisted Best Newcomer in the 2011 Evening Standard Awards for Parade. He was named Best Director at the 2011 The Offies - Off West End Theatre Awards - for Me and Juliet at the Finborough. He directed Victor/Victoria, Mack & Mabel and Parade (Southwark Playhouse); Daisy Pulls It Off, Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam! (Upstairs At The Gatehouse); the European premiere of I Sing!, Divorce Me, Darling!, Annie Get Your Gun, The Pajama Game and sold-out all-male adaptations of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore and The Mikado (Union); Noël and Gertie (Cockpit); the European premiere of The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Landor); and the European premiere of State Fair (Finbourough & transfer to Trafalgar Studios).

Titanic is produced by Danielle Tarento (winner Best Producer at the 2012 Offies). She also produced Victor/Victoria, Mack & Mabel, Parade and Company at Southwark Playhouse; Taboo (Brixton Clubhouse); The Pitchfork Disney (Arcola); Burlesque, Drowning on Dry Land (Jermyn Street); Noël and Gertie (Cockpit). She is co-founder of the Menier Chocolate Factory and co-produced all in-house shows 2004- 2006, including Sunday In The Park With George, which received a West End transfer and 5 Olivier awards.

LISTINGS INFO

Titanic

Southwark Playhouse

77-85 Newington Causeway

London

SE1 6BD

Box Office: 020 7407 0234

www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

Nearest Tubes: Elephant and Castle

and Borough

Friday 26 July - Saturday 31 August

Monday - Saturday at 8.00pm

Saturday matinee at 3.30pm

Press night: Wednesday 31 July at 8.00pm

Tickets: £22.00, concessions £18.00

Previews (26 - 30 July) all seats £10

PARK THEATRE

Clifton Terrace,

Finsbury Park,

London, N4 3JP

BOOKING INFORMATION

By phone: 020 7870 6876

Online: www.parktheatre.co.uk

CHARITY WAKEFIELD, HONEYSUCKLE WEEKS AND

ALEC NEWMAN LEAD THE COMPANY IN

THE UK PREMIÈRE OF MELANIE MARNICH’S THESE SHINING LIVES –

THE INAUGURAL PRODUCTION AT THE NEWLY BUILT PARK THEATRE

Park Theatre presents

These Shining Lives

by Melanie Marnich

in Park200

8 May – 9 June

Press night: 15 May at 7.30pm

Directed by: Loveday Ingram; Designed by: Tim Shortall

Lighting Design by: Rob Casey; Sound Design by: Theo Holloway; Projection Design by: Vic Craven

Artistic Director of Park Theatre Jez Bond today announces the cast for the UK première of Melanie Marnich’s These Shining Lives – the inaugural production in the opening season at the Park Theatre, a purpose built brand new state-of-the-art theatre in North London. Loveday Ingram directs Melanie Bond (Frances), David Calvitto (Mr Reed), Nathalie Carrington (Pearl), Alec Newman (Tom), Charity Wakefield (Catherine) and Honeysuckle Weeks (Charlotte) in Marnich’s extraordinarily moving play.

Designed by David Hughes’ Architects, the theatre throws open its doors for the first time on 8 May. A two auditorium venue, this ambitious new build incorporates a 200 seat theatre (Park200), and a smaller flexible 90 seat space (Park90). This is complemented by The Morris Space for education and rehearsal purposes, and a large café-bar and gallery which will open throughout the day.

Artistic Director Jez Bond said today, “Our journey to the opening of Park Theatre began in 2009, when we discovered a vacant office building just by Finsbury Park tube station. This area is one of the most culturally engaged parts of the capital, and yet, until now, not served by its own professional theatre. Our aim with this new state-of-the-art two auditoria venue is to bring great theatre to the doorsteps of our local community, and also to attract an audience from across London, with a venue just 15 minutes from the centre of town.

“This could never have been achieved without the support, vision and generosity of many people – David Hughes’ Architects who realised our dreams for us, the theatre industry who have wholeheartedly embraced us, the invaluable support of the local community and of Islington Council.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to open our first season with Melanie Marnich’s extraordinary play These Shining Lives. Loveday Ingram has assembled an amazingly talented cast with Charity Wakefield, Honeysuckle Weeks and Alec Newman leading the company – the perfect cast to christen our new venue.”

Chicago, the Roaring ‘20s.

Catherine is overjoyed to begin her first ever job – working with a sparkling group of women at the Radium Dial Company. Independent, happy, fulfilled, but as she masters her craft she finds herself swept up on a much more dangerous adventure. Written with heart-breaking lyricism, the tale unfolds amidst the most tender of love stories, as Catherine finds herself an unlikely pioneer of employees’ rights in the workplace. A powerful play about love, friendship, and determination.

Shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn and the Weissberger Awards, the original production of These Shining Lives received critical acclaim for its US première at Baltimore Center Stage in 2008.

Melanie Marnich’s writing has been produced and developed at the Royal Court, New York’s Public Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, Portland Center Stage and Denver Center for the Arts. Her plays include Quake, Blur, Tallgrass Gothic, Calling All, Beautiful Again, The Sparrow Project and A Sleeping Country. She currently writes for Low Winter Sun, the new television series from AMC.

Charity Wakefield plays Catherine. Her theatre credits include The Cherry Orchard (National Theatre), Othello (Shakespeare’s Globe), Sugared Grapefruit (Old Vic), No Naughty Bits

(Hampstead Theatre) and The Circle (Chichester Festival Theatre). For television, her credits include Leaving, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, State of Play, Any Human Heart, Mockingbird Lane and Legally Mad; and for film, The Raven, Past Present and Future Imperfect, and The Beachcombers.

Honeysuckle Weeks plays Charlotte. Weeks’ theatre credits include Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, Twelfth Night and Love’s Labours’ Lost (Chichester Festival Theatre), A Daughter's A Daughter (Trafalgar Studios) and Absurd Person Singular (national tour). She is perhaps best known for her role as series regular in ITV’s long running series Foyle’s War. Other television work includes Lorna Doone, Close Relations, The Wild House and A Dark Adapted Eye. For film, her credits include The Wicker Tree, Red Mercury, My Brother Tom and Seventy Seven.

Alex Newman plays Tom. His theatre work includes King Lear (Donmar Warehouse, national tour and New York), Danton’s Death (National Theatre), The Fastest Clock in the Universe (Hampstead Theatre), The Soldier’s Fortune, Andorra (Young Vic), and Plenty and Certain Young Men (Almeida Theatre). For television, his credits include Waterloo Road (series regular), Dracula, Silent Witness, Hope Springs, The Reichenbach Falls, Children Of Dune, Frankenstein, Enterprise, Dark Shadows, True Calling, Angel, Nightflight, Dune, The Rag Nymph and Blonde Bombshell; and for film, Greyhawk, A Lonely Place To Die, Blackwater, The Fifth Patient, Constellation, Four Corners Of Suburbia, Bright Young Things, and The Death Of Klinghoffer.

Loveday Ingram's extensive directorial credits include work for The RSC, Theatre Royal Bath, Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and numerous plays for Chichester Festival Theatre. Ingram directed Nora Ephron’s When Harry Met Sally and The Blue Room, both at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Her production of My One and Only (which transferred from Chichester Theatre to the Piccadilly Theatre) won the Barclays Best Musical Award.

LISTINGS Park Theatre

Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London, N4 3JP

BOOKING INFORMATION

By phone: 020 7870 6876

Online: www.parktheatre.co.uk

These Shining Lives

8 May – 9 June

Press Night: 15 May 7.30pm

Evenings: Tues – Sat 7.30pm

Matinees: Sat & Sun 3pm

Prices: £19.50

Concessions: £16.00

£12.00 tickets are available for all shows on Tuesdays for under 25s and local residents in N4

(subject to availability)

www.parktheatre.co.uk

Twitter: @ParkTheatre

Nearest Tube and mainline station: Finsbury Park*

*PLEASE NOTE – take the Wells Terrace exit

Bus routes: 4, 19, 29, 106, 153, 210, 236, 253, 259, W3, W7

Night Buses: N19, N29, N253, N279

Inaugural season at Park Theatre

Park200

These Shining Lives

8 May – 9 June

Press night: 15 May

The School for Scandal

12 June – 7 July

Press night: 13 June

Daytona

10 July – 18 August

Press night: 17 July

Thark

21 August – 22 September

Press night: 23 August

Sleeping Beauty

11 December 2013 – 19 January 2014

Park90

The Thing about Psychopaths

14 – 19 May

Yellow Face

21 May – 16 June

Press night: 23 May

Casualties

18 June – 14 July

Press night: 20 June

Skin Tight

16 July – 11 August

Press night: 18 July

BOOKING INFORMATION

By phone: 020 7870 6876

Online: www.parktheatre.co.uk

www.parktheatre.co.uk

Twitter: @ParkTheatre