2011 Brits Off Broadway Festival Lineup Announced

The critically acclaimed Brits Off Broadway festival, host to the UK's most innovative and provocative theater in New York City, returns this year with a line up of nine New York premieres.

Presented by 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), Brits Off Broadway launches on Tuesday, November 1 and runs through Sunday, January 1. The single ticket prices range from $25 - $65 ($17.50 - $45 for 59E59 Members). Tickets to Brits Off Broadway are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org. Single tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, October 17. For more information on Brits Off Broadway, visit www.59E59.org or www.britsoffbroadway.com.

Now in its 8th smash season, 2011 Brits Off Broadway features a thrilling line-up of New York premieres coming direct from the UK, plus one world premiere production from a new British company.

Alan Ayckbourn returns to Brits Off Broadway with the New York premiere of his 75th play, the dark farce NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH. The incomparable BBC New Comedy Award-winner Nina Conti, along with her sidekicks Granny and Monkey, makes her Brits Off Broadway premiere with TALK TO THE HAND.

Three small stories with tremendously large impact launch the Brits Off Broadway season with THREE BRITISH SOLOS, running in repertory. George Orwell's first novel BURMESE DAYS receives its world premiere stage adaptation. And an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's FARM BOY, his follow up to War Horse, comes to Brits via New Perspectives Theatre Company. Along with the US premieres of the plays THE DOOR and KISSING SID JAMES, the 2011 Brits Off Broadway festival highlights the depth and breadth of new British theater.

The 2011 Brits Off Broadway line up:

Tuesday, November 1 - Sunday, November 20
THREE BRITISH SOLOS
Three brilliant British solo shows (BUNNY, THE MADDENING RAIN and SHADOW BOXING) performed in rep kick off the 2011 Brits Off Broadway festival.

BUNNY, written by Jack Thorne, directed by Joe Murphy and featuring Rosie Wyatt
Produced by nabokov
Feisty 18-year-old Katie is thrust on a white-knuckle ride through one extraordinary evening when her boyfriend is attacked on the street. Amidst the baying for blood and the longing for love, Katie is forced to decide her future. With BUNNY, Jack Thorne, writer for the controversial BBC series "Skins," cements his reputation as a "powerful voice for Britain's youth" (The Independent).

THE MADDENING RAIN, written by Nicholas Pierpan, directed by Matthew Dunster and featuring Felix Scott
Produced by Darbourne Luff and UpstArt Theatre
Torn between Chilean lithium deals and reuniting with his first love, a broker battles his way through the tough worlds of love and finance. This electric new play is a brutally funny tale of lust and betrayal in 21st Century London.

SHADOW BOXING, written by James Gaddas, directed by Donald Pulford and featuring Jonny Collis-Scurll
Produced by Cross Cut
An emotionally intense and highly physical performance. The son of a boxer who couldn't win, Flynn becomes a successful fighter through utter dedication. But is his gruelling training merely an avoidance tactic? A crisis builds as he moves to the title fight and the drama hurtles to a shattering conclusion.

Tuesday, November 8 - Sunday, November 13
TALK TO THE HAND, written and performed by Nina Conti with Granny & Monkey
Scotland's Queen of Comedy Nina Conti along with her co-stars, the sassy Granny and the sardonic Monkey, turn Brits Off Broadway into the best place on either side of the Atlantic to watch seriously funny British comedy. Catch the BBC New Comedy Award winner in a rare US appearance!

Wednesday, November 9 - Sunday, December 4
George Orwell's BURMESE DAYS, adapted and directed by Ryan Kiggell
With Charlotte Allam, Amerjit Deu, Ryan Kiggell, Zak Shukor, Elisa Terren and Jamie Zubairi
Produced by aya theatre company
Love, friendship and morality are tested against the bitter reality of life in colonial Burma. This world premiere production, and the premiere theatrical adaptation of George Orwell's first novel, is an uncompromising look at the underbelly of the British Empire.

Tuesday, November 22 - Sunday, December 11
THE DOOR, written by Tony Earnshaw, directed by Anna Lewis
With Tom Cobley and Chris Westgate
Produced by New Ways in association with Unfit Productions UK Ltd
Two men wait in a room with only each other and a banging door for company. They talk, bicker, argue and joke. But these men are not strangers; they have history. Somebody died... but who was responsible?

Wednesday, November 30 - Sunday, January 1
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH, written and directed by Alan Ayckbourn
With Eileen Battye, Terence Booth, Phil Cheadle, Matthew Cottle, Richard Derrington, Frances Grey, Amy Loughton and Alexandra Mathie
Produced by Stephen Joseph Theatre
Things are not right on The Bluebell Hill Development. Theft, petty crime, vandalism, all the ills of modern suburban existence are on the increase. Newcomers Martin and his sister Hilda are the crime wave's latest victims and resolve to take action. After all, the law of the land, all that's right and proper and even God Himself are surely on their side. But what starts out as a well intentioned neighborhood watch scheme soon develops into something altogether more sinister.

The New York premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's 75th play is a hilarious cautionary tale of the dangers of taking the law into your own hands.

Tuesday, December 6 - Sunday, January 1
Michael Morpurgo's FARM BOY, adapted and directed by Daniel Buckroyd
Produced by New Perspectives Theatre Company
Starring John Walters and Richard Pryal
Award-winning writer Michael Morpurgo's compelling sequel to his acclaimed novel War Horse is a moving account of the changing face of the English countryside and a beautifully-crafted reminder that stories really can reach out across the generations. This magical tale of the bonds between grandfather and grandson is brought to life in this delightful show combining drama, storytelling and original music.

Tuesday, December 13 - Sunday, January 1
KISSING SID JAMES written by Robert Farquhar and directed by Jason Lawson
With Alan Drake and Charlotte McKinney
Produced by Red Lion Theatres and Cracking Up Productions
Two lonely hearts spend a saucy weekend at the seaside, searching for love beyond battered fish & chips and beer. Could it become a matter of life and death?

 

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