First Production Outside Australia For Acclaimed New Play at Finborough Theatre

" 'Member when you were smart? Year six, start of high school, you know, fractions, Pythagoras's thing, all that? One day, just like that, ya got dumb, made yourself dumb, like that was more attractive."

In its first production outside Australia, acclaimed Australian drama Food opens at the Finborough Theatre for a four week limited season on Tuesday, 20 June 2017 (Press Nights: Thursday, 22 June and Friday 23 June 2017 at 7.30pm).

Nancy left, choosing chaos, freedom and sex. Elma stayed behind and cooked.

Now Nancy is back.

On a stretch of Australian highway, sisters Elma and Nancy run their family takeaway joint - their days heavy with deep frying and memories. While they quietly wage war with their past and dream of a brighter future, a young life-loving Turkish traveller arrives, bringing a charm and sensuality that turns their world upside down.

Food is the first production outside Australia of Australian playwright Steve Rodgers, directed by CressIda Brown,the Artistic Director of Offstage Theatre, and director of the critically acclaimed Amphibians and Walking the Tightrope.

Playwright Steve Rodgers trained at Theatre Nepean, Sydney. His plays include Ray's Tempest (Belvoir Theatre, Sydney, and Melbourne Theatre Company) which was shortlisted for the PatRick White Playwrights' Award and nominated for Best New Australian Work in the Sydney Theatre Awards; Savage River (Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney, Melbourne Theatre Company and the Tasmanian Theatre Company) which was also nominated for Best New Australian Work at the Sydney Theatre Awards; King of Pigs (National Play Festival Playwriting Australia); Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam; and Nothing to Lose (Force Majeure at the Sydney Festival and the Malthouse, Melbourne). Television includes Heads Up (Joanna Werner and Blackfella Films) and Rush (Southern Star, TEN Network and John Edwards). Film includes The Girls and 7 Zero. In addition to writing, Steve has worked as an actor in film, theatre and television for the last twenty years.

Director CressIda Brown was recipient of the National Theatre Studio's Bulldog Prinsep Bursary in 2007, a recipient of the British Council Artists' International Development Fund in 2013, and awarded the Kevin Spacey Foundation's Artist of Choice in 2015. Direction includes Septimus Bean (Unicorn Theatre), Home (Beaumont Estate),The Tempest (Royal Shakespeare Company), Amphibians (Bridewell Theatre), the UK premiere of Caught (Arcola Theatre), Screens and Beautiful Eyes and Trump in Palestine as part of Top Trumps (Theatre 503), Phaedre (Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh), Walking The Tightrope by writers including April DeAngelis, Caryl Churchill, Neil LaBute, Mark Ravenhill, and Timberlake Wertenbaker (Underbelly), Accidental Brummie (Birmingham Rep), Macbeth (Watermill Theatre, Newbury, and Paris), Beyond The Fringe (House of Commons), Re: HOME (Yard Theatre) and Theatre Uncut (Theatre Row, 42nd Street, New York City). She is currently developing a play for the Tricycle Theatre by Somalia Seaton. Cressida is Artistic Director of Offstage Theatre.

The cast is:
Scott Karim | Hakan
Trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Theatre includes Imogen and The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare's Globe), Dara, Great Britain and Othello (National Theatre), King Lear and Brave New World (Royal and DernGate Theatres, Northampton), The Invisible (Bush Theatre) and Ladybird (Secret/HeArt Theatre Collective).
Theatre whilst training includes Cymbeline, The Brothers Karamazov, The House of Special Purpose, Romeo and Juliet, All For Love, Marriage a la Mode, The Tempest, Ajax, Undiscovered Country and The House of Ramon Iglesias, and Masked for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Director's Showcase.
Television includes Britannia and Holby City.

Lily Newbury-Freeman | Nancy
Trained at National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney.
Theatre includes Airswimming (The Vaults), Miss Sarah (Edinburgh Festival), On the Shore of the Wide World for which she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the Sydney Theatre Awards (Griffin Theatre, Sydney), Mortido and Samson (Playwriting Australia), Kill the PM (The Old 505, Sydney), Heart of Gold (Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts), Antigone/Antagone and Frankenstein (Blue Room Theatre, Perth, and Adelaide Festival) and The Stratagem of Interlocking Rings (Blue Room Theatre, Perth).
Theatre whilst training includes The Trojan Women, The Story of the Red Mountains, Cloud Nine and Hinterland.
Television includes Crossing the Border and Devils in Disguise.

Emma Playfair | Elma
Trained at National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney.
Theatre includes Airswimming (The Vaults), Manstruating for which she won Best Actress at the Short and Sweet Awards (Short and Sweet Festival, Sydney) and Her Apocolypse Featuring Zombies (Immersive Theatre, Sydney).
Theatre whilst training includes Sunday in the Park with George, The Trojan Women, A Lie of the Mind, Sucking Dublin and Jimbo.
Television includes Home and Away.

Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Tuesday, 20 June - Saturday, 15 July 2017
Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm. Sunday Matinees at 3.00pm. Saturday matinees at 3.00pm (from 1 July 2017).
Prices until 2 July - Tickets £16, £14 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £14 all seats, and Friday and Saturday evenings £16 all seats. Previews (20 and 21 June) £12 all seats.
£10 tickets for Under 30's for performances from Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online only.
£12 tickets for residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on Saturday, 24 June 2017 when booked online only.
Prices from 4 July - Tickets £18, £16 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £16 all seats, and Friday and Saturday evenings £18 all seats.
Group Bookings - 1 free ticket for every 10 tickets booked.
Performance Length: Approximately 90 minutes with no interval.

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