Burning Coal Theatre Company will present Mike Bartlett's future history play King Charles III directed by Karen O'Brien. The play will run April 12 - April 29, 2018 (April 12 - 14, 19 - 21, 26 - 28 at 7:30 PM, and April 15, 22, and 29 at 2:00 PM) at Burning Coal's Murphey School Auditorium, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh, NC 27604.
Tickets are $25.00 regular admission or $20.00 for Seniors (65+) or $15.00 for Students, Teachers, or Active Military. Student Rush tickets at curtain time, if available, are $5.00 each. The first Sunday, April 15th at 2:00 PM, is Pay What You Can Day and will feature audio description provided by Arts Access. All Thursday performances are $15.00, as are group tickets (10+) for any performance. Tickets and further information can be found at burningcoal.org or by calling (919) 834-4001.
ABOUT KING CHARLES III
Mike Bartlett's King Charles III premiered at the Almeida Theatre in London in April of 2014, directed by Rupert Goold, and featuring music by composer Jocelyn Pook, lighting by Jon Clark, sound by Paul Arditti, and design by Tom Scutt. Tim Pigott-Smith starred as the eponymous Charles, and the production also featured Margot Leicester as Camilla, Oliver Chris as Prince William, Lydia Wilson as Kate, Richard Goulding as Prince Harry, Adam James as the Prime Minister, and Nicholas Rowe as the Leader of the Opposition. Mike Bartlett's King Charles III opened to rave reception upon opening, with The New York Times calling it "flat out brilliant," "dazzlingly presumptuous ," and finally, "this splendid, high-reaching and utterly unexpected play."
King Charles III, described as a "future history play," speculatively peers into the not-so-distant future: the future in which, in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Charles, Prince of Wales has ascended to the role and royal title of King. The crown has finally come to the patiently waiting former Prince, but other forces have been waiting, too. . . waiting for a monarch whom they believe will not stand in the way of a proposed and most undemocratic law.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Mike Bartlett is an award-winning contemporary British playwright. In 2010, his play Earthquakes in London was staged at the National Theatre (also directed by Rupert Goold), which met with a glowing review from the Guardian, calling it an "epic, expansive play about climate change, corporate corruption, fathers and children." In 2012, Bartlett's play Love, Love, Love premiered at the Royal Court, and in 2015, he was awarded Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Play and Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. His other plays include Cock, Bull and the recent Albion at London's Almeida Theatre. He has written for British TV, including an episode of Doctor Who along with the current BBC hit drama Doctor Foster.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Karen O'Brien is a director based in Cincinnati, OH. Recent directing credits include Outside Mullingar at Irish American Theater/Geva Theatre (won 7 awards, including best director), Meltdown (new play) at Irish American Theater/Origin Theatre, Journey's End at Deep Dish Theater, and a collection of new plays with the One-Minute Play Festival at Know Theatre. Karen previously served as a faculty member and theatre artist at UNC-Chapel Hill and PlayMakers Repertory Company. Karen earned an M.F.A. in Directing from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre from the University of California, Irvine.
ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM
Randolph Curtis Rand of Brooklyn, NY will play the titular King Charles III in this production. The cast also includes Ben Apple, Jeff Cheek, Joey Infinito, Simon Kaplan, Reanna Kicinski, Elise Kimple, Matthew Lubin, Lilly Nelson, Brandonn Odom, Chloe Oliver, and Lucius Robinson.
Scenery design will be by Elizabeth Newton, properties are by Danielle James, lighting is by Christopher Popowich, sound design is by Juan Isler, costume design is by Bonnie Raddatz, fight choreography is by Keith Gavigan, and the stage manager is Andy Hayworth. The music director is Julie Oliver.
Burning Coal Theatre Company is one of Raleigh's intimate, professional theatres. Burning Coal is an incorporated, non-profit [501©(3)] organization. Burning Coal's mission is to produce literate, visceral, affecting theatre that is experienced, not simply seen. Burning Coal produces explosive reexaminations of overlooked classic and modern plays, as well as new plays, whose themes and issues are of immediate concern to our audience, using the best local, national, and International Artists available. We work toward a theatre of high-energy performances and minimalist production values. The emphasis is on literate works that are felt and experienced viscerally, unlike more traditional linear plays, at which audiences are most often asked to observe without participating. Race and gender non-specific casting is an integral component of our perspective, as well as an intentional viewpoint.
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