Bits Off Broadway Announce Festival Line-Up, Tickets on Sale 10/14

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 seven productions. Presented by 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), Brits Off Broadway launches on Tuesday, November 3 and runs through Sunday, January 3.  

The line-up includes:

November 3 - November 22
RED SEA FISH
By Matt Wilkinson, directed by Frank McCabe and Matt Wilkinson
Produced by Two Bins Theatre Company
Starring Tim Blissett, Janna Fox and Matthew Houghton

RED SEA FISH marks the welcome return of playwright Matt Wilkinson, whose play Sun is Shining sold out at the inaugural Brits Off Broadway festival in 2004.

Ray, a retired thief, sees out his days on the top floor of a tower block on the South Coast. Confined during the day by a rare skin condition, he's cared for by his son Terry. Ray Merrily fills the air with accounts of lost love, past misadventure and the daily observations of a bitter old man. When Terry invites a young runaway Karen back to the flat, she ignites long forgotten passions in Ray. RED SEA FISH is a darkly funny and ultimately tender story about loss, identity and the folly of trying to control the world.

November 10 - December 6
WOLVES AT THE WINDOW (and other tales of immorality)
By Toby Davies after Saki, directed by Thomas Hescott
Produced by Fledgling Theatre in association with the Arcola
Starring Jeremy Booth, Gus Brown, Anna Francolini and Sarah Moyle

Discover why you must never tell the truth, marvel at why being nice never pays, and understand the complex rules to getting one over your fellow man. Enter the offbeat world of Saki and his biting tales of immorality. This macabre, acid-soaked world drives a knife into upper class Edwardian life.

November 11 - December 13
MY WONDERFUL DAY
Written and directed by Alan Ayckbourn
Produced by The Stephen Joseph Theatre Company
Starring Ayesha Antoine, Terence Booth, Ruth Gibson, Paul Kemp, Petra Letang and Alexandra Mathie

Direct from its World Premiere at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, 59E59 Theaters is honored to be home to the US premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's 73rd play, MY WONDERFUL DAY.

Winnie is off school with an essay to write and finds herself in the middle of a rather unusual day. A child's eye view of adults behaving badly.

November 24 - December 13
MERRICK, THE ELEPHANT MAN
Devised and written by Mary Swan & Saul Jaffè, directed by Mary Swan
Produced by Proteus Theatre Company
Starring Saul Jaffè

Fusing burlesque, new circus and physical theater, MERRICK, THE ELEPHANT MAN is a highly physical, one-man tour-de-force version of this classic story recharged for the 21st Century. Often the most remarkable stories are the true ones, and the story of Joseph Carey Merrick is certainly that. From an object of curiosity and social revulsion to celebrity, Merrick's life and tragic destiny is as relevant today as it ever was. A moving, poetic and ultimately uplifting story of the life of Joseph Merrick.

December 9 - January 3
A BRITISH SUBJECT
Written by Nichola McAuliffe, directed by Hannah Eidinow
Produced by Pleasance Theatre Productions
Starring Tom Cotcher, Kulvinder Ghir and Nichola McAuliffe

At the age of 18, Mirza Tahir Hussain, a British Subject, arrived in Pakistan. 24 hours later a taxi driver was dead and Tahir was tried for his murder. Condemned to hang in the Criminal Court, he spent 18 years on Death Row. Don Mackay of the Daily Mirror was the only journalist to visit him in that time. A BRITISH SUBJECT is an extraordinary true-life tale of international politics and the media colliding with justice, civil liberties and, ultimately, faith.

December 15 - January 3
Simon Green: TRAVELING LIGHT
Created and performed by Simon Green, accompanied by Musical Director David Shrubsole

After the phenomenal success of last year's Coward at Christmas, the incomparable Simon Green returns to 59E59 Theaters for a sophisticated evening of cabaret, featuring classic music from both classic and contemporary British lyricists and composers.

December 16 - January 3
FASCINATING AIDA is ABSOLUTELY MIRACULOUS
Directed by Frank Thompson
Produced by Nick Brooke Ltd.
Starring Adele Anderson, Dillie Keane and Liza Pulman

The single ticket prices range from $25 - $60 ($17.50 - $42 for 59E59 members). A 7-show Brit Pass is available for $199 ($165 for 59E59 Members). Tickets to Brits Off Broadway are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. Brits Passes are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale Wednesday, October 14. For more information on Brits Off Broadway, visit www.59E59.org or www.britsoffbroadway.com.

The three-time Olivier Award nominees make a triumphant return to Brits Off Broadway direct from another record-breaking, sold-out tour of over 100 cities and towns in the United Kingdom. Having driven New York audiences wild with delight during the first-ever Brits Off Broadway in 2004, Fascinating Aida returns prepared to plumb their heights of outrageousness. Imagine "Absolutely Fabulous" meets Noel Coward as sung by the Puppini Sisters and you have some idea of what's in store. The New York Times called them "seriously zany!" The Daily Mail simply advises, "See them before you die otherwise your life will be meaningless!"

 

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