DOCTOR WHO Writer's EASY LAUGHTER Begins 4/30 at Dirt [contained] Theatre

Dirt [contained] Theatre Company is set for the New York premiere of EASY LAUGHTER, the Sunday Times Award-winning play written by Robert Shearman, a Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy award winning author and Hugo-nominated writer for the hit BBC series Doctor Who. The dark comedy, directed by Stephen Massaro, explores an alternate reality full of not-so-natural selection, xenophobia, fundamentalism, extreme gender roles and censorship. The show opens April 30 at the Alchemical Theatre Laboratory on 104 West 14th Street in Manhattan and runs through May 10.Tickets are $15-20 and available at: easylaughter.brownpapertickets.com or on YPlan from April 15 yplanapp.com

In EASY LAUGHTER we meet the all too perfect Simpson family as they gather together to celebrate the holidays. Patsy worries over her preparations, especially as her husband's father will be joining the couple and their children this year. The play initially provokes the "easy laughter" of its title, but as Shearman explains: "as the play goes on, as the jokes become darker and darker, I want people to be wondering at which point this stops being funny for them."

A controversial satire, Dirt [contained] co-founders Tana Sirois and Maria Swisher said they were drawn to the play's "use of comedy and absurdity to examine grave and difficult themes. It pushes boundaries, often with incongruous juxtapositions that make us uncomfortable." The first major production of the show in more than 20 years, they found it "even more relevant today." Shearman, who will travel to New York for the show's premiere and participate in a talk back to follow the 5/1 performance, said: "Easy Laughter is all about really trying to put it up into our face and saying if we constantly ignore things, they just come round again and again." For more information visit: www.dirtcontained.com

EASY LAUGHTER features: Michael Broadhurst as Dennis, Nick DeMatteo as Ralph, Jay William Thomas as Toby, Tana Sirois as Judy, and Maria Swisher as Patsy.

Robert Shearman has written for television, radio and the stage. His award-winning plays include Fool to Yourself, which won the inaugural Sophie Winter Memorial Trust Award. Easy Laughter won the Sunday Times Playwriting Award. His play Coupling won the World Drama Trust Award and Binary Dreamers was given the Guinness Award for Theatre Ingenuity, in association with the Royal National Theatre. He has written radio plays for the BBC, and his interactive series The Chain Gang won two Sony Awards. He has written five short story collections, which have won the World Fantasy Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and three British Fantasy Awards. He is best known as a writer for the television series Doctor Who, reintroducing fan-favorite villains the Daleks in its BAFTA winning first series in an episode nominated for a Hugo Award.

Dirt [contained] was founded in 2011 by Maria Swisher and Tana Sirois, who met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). The pair envisioned a company that would produce socially and environmentally conscious theatre as well as the writing and devising of new works. They produced the world premiere of The Last Eden, written by Swisher, at the Kazimier in Liverpool in 2011 with the support of the Arts Council England. Dirt [contained] has also performed as a visiting company at the invitation of the Liverpool Shakespeare Festival in their collaborative production of "Come And Have A Go: Richard III" in 2011. Festival Director Max Rubin called their work " original, high quality art...they have shown remarkable acumen and dedication in creating their company."