Whistles and Cheers from a Standing Audience as THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE Opens in London

After a hugely successful world premiere in Adelaide in May followed by an equally acclaimed season in Canberra, Things I Know To Be True opened its UK season in London on Friday night to an engaged audience, who gave the cast a cheering and whistling standing ovation.

In a first ever international collaboration, State Theatre Company jointly commissioned and coproduced the play with UK's Frantic Assembly - who have been hailed by UK's The Times as 'the most innovative and progressive company around.' Andrew Bovell, Things I Know To Be True was recreated by its Australian and UK creative team with a British cast that premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith in London.

Things I Know To Be True represents a major landmark for State Theatre Company as the first international collaboration in the history of the Company. Following its UK premiere in London, the production will embark on a two month regional UK tour with performances scheduled in Oxford, Warwick, Liverpool, Manchester and Chichester.

State Theatre Company's Artistic Director and co-director of Things I Know To Be True, Geordie Brookman said "The co-production has fostered a deep relationship with UK's Frantic Assembly, but has also placed State Theatre Company firmly on the British theatre map. Andrew Bovell's story is a quintessentially Australian story and we have taken it to the world. I've been delighted to work with such a talented creative team and to work closely with Scott Graham and Frantic Assembly over many years in bringing this work to life."

As well as a hugely positive audience response on opening night and since on social media, the production received great acclaim from the London critics. "This is a thing of beauty" said The Telegraph in a five-star review. "Bovell offers us a portrait of family life in all its gory reality - and it is an absolute gem....Bovell's spare yet lyrical script has an ideal home in this co-production between renowned British company Frantic Assembly and the State Theatre Company of South Australia."

British Theatre Guide described the work as "a marvellously acted, heart-breaking evening that should be at or very near the top of everyone's must-see list this autumn....This Anglo-Australian collaboration is undoubtedly one of the best plays that London has had the good fortune to see in 2016.

The Guardian UK praised the staging of the work saying "South Australia's Geordie Brookman and Frantic Assembly's Scott Graham, as joint directors, transform the stage from an empty space to a suburban garden and synthesise text and movement. The hands that caress Rosie's body during her opening monologue perfectly evoke the presence of her fly-by-night lover, while the later airborne lifting of Fran Price balletically captures the suppressed erotic dreams of a working mum."

This moving play by one of Australia's greatest dramatic storytellers probes the complexities of family and resonated deeply with Adelaide and Canberra audiences, being recognised as a major new Australian work, with critical reviews reflecting excellence in text, direction, movement, design and performance.

Things I Know To Be True, which features the trademark physicality of Frantic Assembly, takes a poetic and sometimes brutally frank look at the things that both bind families together and tear them apart. Things I Know To Be True tells the story of a family and marriage through the eyes of four grown siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents' love and expectations.

Well known for previous appearances on the West End, Natalie Casey and Imogen Stubbs star in the play's UK production. They are joined by Matthew Barker, Richard Mylan, Kirsty Oswald, Ewan Stewart, all of whom have previously performed with Frantic Assembly.

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