1812 Productions to Present AN EVENING WITHOUT THE BRITS

1812 Productions will present An Evening Without The Brits, the newest creation in its long-running An Evening Without... series. An Evening Without The Brits features performances by Philadelphia favorites David Howey, Leonard Haas, Daniel Fredrick, and Tony Lawton in a collection of material spanning three decades of comedy from the UK.

An Evening Without The Brits takes its cue from The Goon Show, a popular radio program that began in the early 1950s starring Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, and Peter Sellers. Renowned for its unconventional skits and surreal storytelling, The Goon Show inspired a generation of comedic performers and comedy teams including Beyond The Fringe, Fry and Laurie, and Monty Python. Most significant was the number of performers coming from university groups like the Cambridge Footlights and The Oxford Revue- Dudley Moore, Peter Cooke, Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, David Frost. Institutions with long-held reputations for elitism and adherence to English tradition were producing comedic voices that openly flew in the face of those traditions.

"The most important aspect of this project, for me, is seeing where these brilliant comic relationships started," says the show's creator and director Jennifer Childs. "I love British comedic styles and sensibilities. They're instantly recognizable and we see so many of the greats all coming on the scene one right after another. I wanted to know more about what started this comedy chain reaction. I'm excited to put An Evening Without The Brits in front of an audience so we can all take this trip together."

An Evening Without The Brits will play Monday and Tuesday, May 15th and 16th at 7pm at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, in Center City, Philadelphia. All tickets are $25 and can be purchased at 215-592-9560 or at www.1812productions.org.

1812 Productions was founded in 1997 and is the only professional theater company in the country dedicated to comedy. Their education program, 1812 Outreach, has received multiple nominations and has twice been awarded the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service. 1812 Productions is the recipient of an honorary citation from the City of Philadelphia for outstanding work and commitment to the Philadelphia arts community. In 2010 and 2016, they were among a select group of regional theatre companies to receive a National Theatre Company grant from the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards. With a focus on devised and original works, 1812 Productions' mission is to produce theatrical works of comedy and comedic works of theatre that explore and celebrate our sense of community, our history, and our humanity.

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