Philip Ridley's RADIANT VERMIN to Receive US Premiere as Part of Brits Off Broadway at 59E59 Theaters

59E59 Theaters will host the US premiere of RADIANT VERMIN, written by Philip Ridley and directed by David Mercatali, at the 2016 Brits Off Broadway festival. Produced by Supporting Wall, Metal Rabbit Productions, and Soho Theatre, RADIANT VERMIN begins performances on Thursday, June 2 for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 3. Press opening is Tuesday, June 7 at 7:15 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM & 8:15 PM; and Sunday at 3:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $35 ($24.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visit www.59e59.org.

Ollie and Jill want to tell you about their dream home. Some of the things they did to get it, you might find... shocking. But they want you to know they did it all for their baby. Acclaimed playwright and provocateur Philip Ridley turns his attention to one of the defining social conversations of our time: home ownership.

RADIANT VERMIN is a fast-paced, highly physical, energetic whirlwind with a killer heart, layered with Ridley's trademark vicious comedy, satire and social commentary, flecked with horror. It premiered at Bristol's Tobacco Factory Theatres and London's Soho Theatre in spring 2015, where it was called "a deeply macabre, stingingly funny modern fairy tale... clever, funny and provocative" by The Financial Times.

RADIANT VERMIN features Debra Baker (Ridley's Mercury Fur with Theatre Delicatessen and Vincent River at the Old Red Lion), Scarlett Alice Johnson (BBC's Pramface), and Sean Michael Verey (Best Solo Performance winner for Ridley's Tonight with Donny Stixx at the Edinburgh Fringe; BBC's Pramface).

The production designer is William Reynolds. The production stage manager is Sofia Montgomery.

David Mercatali (director) is a director and writer based in London, and has been Associate Director at London's Award-winning OffWestEnd venue Southwark Playhouse since autumn 2011. He has been nominated for Evening Standard and OffWestEnd Awards for his work with director Philip Ridley. David has previously directed six world premieres by Philip Ridley, including the original premiere of Radiant Vermin, Stage Acting Award-winner Tonight With Donny Stixx (Soho Theatre / Edinburgh Fringe), Fringe First Award-winner Dark Vanilla Jungle (Edinburgh Fringe / Soho Theatre & UK Tour); Tender Napalm (Southwark Playhouse, 2011 & UK tour, 2012), for which he was nominated for the Evening Standard Outstanding Newcomer and OffWestEnd Best Director Awards; family show Feathers in the Snow (Southwark Playhouse) and BNP-based drama Moonfleece (Riverside Studios / Rich Mix & national tour).

David's other recent credits include an adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun (Southwark Playhouse & national tour), world premieres of Olivier Award-winner Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Ajax (Soho Theatre), Anders Lustgarten's Black Jesus (Finborough Theatre) and Alice Birch's Little Light (Orange Tree Theatre); verbatim theatre including widely covered miscarriage-of-justice play Someone To Blame (Kings Head Theatre) and gay rights drama Sochi 2014 (Hope Theatre); and 2014 Papatango Prize winner Coolitaly by Fiona Doyle (Finborough Theatre, October-November 2014).

Philip Ridley (playwright) was born in the East End of London, where he still lives and works. He is a contemporary artist, poet, novelist, film-maker and one of the country's most celebrated living playwrights, winning Time Out, Evening Standard, Fringe First and Critics Circle awards for his plays. He is the only person to win the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer to both Film and Theatre. Plays include seminal early works The Pitchfork Disney, Ghost From A Perfect Place and Fastest Clock in the Universe, all of which have recently had major anniversary revivals in London; Mercury Fur, Piranha Heights, Leaves of Glass, Vincent River, Shivered; and most recently six acclaimed plays directed by David Mercatali including Moonfleece, Tender Napalm, Dark Vanilla Jungle, Tonight With Donny Stixx, Radiant Vermin (all with Supporting Wall and designer William Reynolds) and the family show Feathers in the Snow. Ridley has been variously described as 'a visionary' (Rolling Stone), 'probably a genius' (Time Out), 'the master of modern myth' (Guardian) and 'a major literary talent' (Independent).

To post a comment, you must register and login.