Arch 468 and Ovalhouse Present MILKMILKLEMONADE, Now thru Oct 25

Arch 468 and Ovalhouse present MilkMilkLemonade. Pull up a haybale for the UK premiere of Joshua Conkel's US cult comedy about growing up a bit weird. Directed by Rebecca Atkinson-Lord, the production will run at today, Ovalhouse 8-25 October 2014, with press night set for Friday 10th October 7.30pm.

MilkMilkLemonade quickly achieved cult status in the USA after its New York premiere, receiving more than fifty productions nationwide and winning the New York Press award for Best Off Off Broadway Show in 2009. A bitterly funny tale of gender, sexuality, life, death, and growing up a bit weird, MilkMilkLemonade will be directed by Rebecca Atkinson-Lord, who also directed the acclaimed UK debut of Josh Conkel's The Sluts of Sutton Drive at the Finborough Theatre in 2012.

Set design is by Off West End Award winning designer James Turner and includes hay bale seating, drawing the audience into the world of Emory, an 11-year-old boy who lives on a farm with his chain smoking Nanna and his only friend; a depressed chicken about to be processed. Emory's Nanna wishes he would get his head out of the clouds, stop choreographing ribbon stick dance numbers, and be more like Elliot, the boy down the road with a penchant for burning things. But Emory and Elliot have a relationship - just not one Nanna would approve of.

In accordance with the playwright's instructions, included in a foreword to the play text, all roles have been cast without regard to the gender or ethnicity of the performers, making a powerful statement about identity in performance. The cast includes Georgia Buchanan (The Sluts of Sutton Drive) and hotly tipped newcomer Daniel Francis-Swaby.

Rebecca Atkinson-Lord said "I wanted to direct MilkMilkLemonade because I love Josh's work; he has a brilliant knack of finding hilarity in everyday tragedies and making me cry tears of laughter and sorrow at the same time. MilkMilkLemonade is about being the odd one out; about growing up without people-like-you to look up to; about your outside not reflecting your inside; about feeling like you have to be what everyone else says you are. I'm excited about directing it now because I think we're living in an age of reductive identity politics where people are too often defined by their most simplistic outward characteristics. This story is the opposite of that.

"It's going to be fun. There's a disco dancing giant chicken, an evil conjoined twin and a narrator with performance anxiety. I'm imagining the play as a mash-up of John Steinbeck, Oklahoma and Loony Tunes. With a couple of disco anthems thrown in"

Joshua Conkel said "I'm thrilled for a London production of MilkMilkLemonade. It's become sort of a cult hit in the States and even though it's one of my earliest plays, it's still my most successful. It was great to work with Rebecca on the premiere of The Sluts of Sutton Drive, her daring style suits my work and I can't wait to reunite for this project."

Joshua Conkel is a playwright, director and performer from rural Washington State. His plays include Ok, Bye, The Sluts of Sutton Drive, The Chalk Boy and I Wanna Destroy You. MilkMilkLemonade has been one of Playscripts' top three most-produced plays since its debut in 2009. His work has been performed by companies in the US and UK including Steppenwolf, The Management, Soho Rep, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Old Vic New Voices, Dixon Place and The Flea.

Rebecca is Director of Theatre at Ovalhouse and Founding Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Arch 468. Directing includes: For Ovalhouse, Fosterling, Learning How to Swim (WIP) and Cuddles (UK tour). For Arch 468, Seeking Oblivion, Mrs Edna Way, Rather More Pressing Issues and Right. Other directing includes: The Sluts of Sutton Drive (Finborough Theatre), Top Brass and Anhedonia (Theatre 503), Seeking Oblivion (BAC), Mother Clap's Molly House and The Flies (Crescent Theatre, Birmingham). Rebecca trained at RADA, and with the Young Vic and the Royal Opera House.

For more information, follow @Arch468 or go to: www.arch468.com or www.facebook.com/pages/Arch-468 . Or follow @Ovalhouse or visit www.ovalhouse.com or www.facebook.com/Ovalhouse. Running Time: 80 minutes approx. Suitable for ages 13+.

DETAILS:

Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW

8-25 October Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm,except Sat 18th October, 6.30pm

£10-£6 (concs) | www.ovalhouse.com | Box Office: 020 7582 7680

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