JANIS JOPLIN: FULL TILT to Open Theatre Royal Stratford East's 2016 Season

Opening Theatre Royal Stratford East's 2016 season is Peter Arnott's production about one of rock's greatest female icons, Janis Joplin. Blending theatre with the feel and atmosphere of a legendary rock gig it's no wonder Janis Joplin: Full Tilt has picked up multiple awards, and sold out its runs at Edinburgh's Fringe Festival. Janis Joplin: Full Tilt is running from Wednesday 10 February to Saturday 5 March, with press night on Thursday 11 February.

Audiences are taken on a rollercoaster ride in this phenomenal play that charts the remarkable rise of Janis Joplin, whilst exploring the emotional torment and crushing isolation Joplin felt, relating right back to a childhood where she was always an outsider fighting against the tide. Janis Joplin: Full Tilt is an emotional, cathartic, uplifting, yet ultimately tragic homage to an artist of unbelievable raw power.

Staring Angie Darcy in the title role has seen her win the Best Female Performance 2014 in the Musical Theatre Network Awards. The play has also won awards from the Scottish Arts Club Awards for a play of outstanding quality and the Edinburgh Arts Guild Award for best production. At some performances the role of Janis Joplin will be played by actor and singer/songwriter Hannah Jarrett-Scott. The show is supported by a full live band of outstanding musicians.

Kerry Michael, Artistic Director at Theatre Royal Stratford East said, "Our manifesto at Theatre Royal Stratford East is to develop new writing in British Theatre through a variety of music genres. Janis Joplin: Full Tilt has done this with ease, merging a powerful story of a legendary icon and her incredible music."

Cora Bissett, Director of Janis Joplin: Full Tilt said, "I am absolutely delighted to be bringing Janis Joplin: Full Tilt to Theatre Royal Stratford East this February. Theatre Royal Stratford East is my home from home in London and my favourite theatre for so many reasons. I've enjoyed a long relationship with the theatre, first as an actress then our site specific Roadkill and political musical Glasgow Girls. The warmth, enthusiasm, sheer vibe and electricity of a Theatre Royal Stratford East audience is like nowhere else, and when Kerry Michael caught the Janis Joplin show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year, we both knew it would find a perfect home here.

"Janis Joplin: Full Tilt is a rollercoaster kiss ass thunderbolt of a show. It doesn't let up for one second, following the intense, compact life of one of rock's most formidable but tragically short lived female icons. It is for the die-hard Joplin fans who will love feeling like Janis is alive in the room for just an hour or so, but it's also for anyone who may know very little about her.

"It's theatre, it's a story, it's a full on gig and this is a specially updated version of the show, extended, and new songs added, with a new design custom made for the theatre. This is Stratford East's very own version."

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