The Coal Mine Theatre to Stage Jez Butterworth's THE RIVER

The Coal Mine, Artistic Curator Ted Dykstra and Artistic Producer Diana Bentley, launch their second season of powerful and often darkly humourous adventures in drama with Jez Butterworth's THE RIVER, November 1-22, 2015. The English playwright's poetic follow-up to his international hit Jerusalem, will receive its Canadian premiere with direction by Ted Dykstra; starring David Ferry as The Man, Jane Spidell as The Woman, and Dani Kind as The Other Woman.

Set in a remote fishing cabin, THE RIVER is a taut, tense, love story about the dark influence past relationships have on the present. The Man has invited The Woman to his cabin to share his passion for night fishing, but suddenly, she is missing. What appears to be a typical tale of love and romance quickly descends into deeply disturbing and infinitely mysterious territory.

The award-winning team of THE RIVER includes director Ted Dykstra (founding member of Soulpepper, Evangeline, 2 Pianos, 4 Hands); cast members David Ferry (Blackbird, The Last Confession, Blasted), Jane Spidell (The Physicists, Good Mother, The Africa Trilogy) and Dani Kind (Laws of Motion, Diving Normal, The Crucible); and designers Steve Lucas (BULL, The Drawer Boy, BREATH[e], Ming Wong (The Wanderers, Pelleas et Melisande) and Creighton Doane (Bedroom Farce, Frost Nixon, Jitters).

Playwright Jez Butterworth, also a sought-after screenwriter, made his playwrighting debut in 1995 with Mojo, winning Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and Olivier Awards. Jerusalem, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2008 with Mark Rylance's tour-de-force performance, transferred to the West End and Broadway. THE RIVER also received its world premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in October 2012, before debuting on Broadway in 2014 starring Hugh Jackman.

The Coal Mine is an independent theatre space curated by Ted Dykstra and Diana Bentley. The 2015/16 Season consists of: THE RIVER written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Ted Dykstra (Nov 1-22, 2015); Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE directed by Graham Abbey/A Groundling Theatre Company production (Jan 26 - Feb 21, 2016); KILLER JOE written by Tracy Letts and directed by Peter Pasyk/presented in association with Surface/Underground (April 3-24, 2016); and INSTRUCTIONS (TO ANY FUTURE SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT WISHING TO ABOLISH CHRISTMAS) written by Michael Mackenzie (May 29 - June 19, 2016).