MISS WILSON'S WATERLO Set for Finborough Theatre

Miss Wilson's Waterloo, a new play by Ellis Jones and Martin Wimbush, receives two afternoon staged readings at the Finborough Theatre on Wednesday, 10 and Thursday, 11 June 2015 (performances at 3.00pm) to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Based on Ellis Jones and Martin Wimbush's acclaimed one man play Wellington, Miss Wilson's Waterloo is the world premiere of a new play based on the story of celebrated courtesan Harriette Wilson and the Iron Duke, a man of many conquests - only one of which was the Battle of Waterloo.

June 2015 sees the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, the final defeat of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and a milestone in European history. The victors - admittedly with a little help from the Prussians - were the British army led by Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, who went on to become the greatest national hero of the Victorian age, and Prime Minister at a time of growing social discontent.

Harriette Wilson was a woman on familiar terms with many of England's most prominent men, including the Duke, who in turn was on intimate terms with many of the most glamorous women in Europe. Martin Wimbush's extraordinary, acclaimed characterisation of the Duke is set in an entirely new, intriguing context, full of surprises.

A brisk, timely new parlour-piece featuring two of British history's most colourful and entertaining characters.

Playwright and Actor Martin Wimbush returns to the Finborough Theatre where he has been seen in The Potting Shed, Outward Bound and Dream of Perfect Sleep. He has worked extensively with most of our leading repertory companies and his West End credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, City of Angels, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Blandings Castle and Outside Edge. A familiar face on television, recently seen in The Thirteenth Tale, he has just completed filming for the new BBC drama The Outcast. Film includes Legend, Anna Karenina, The Iron Lady and Gangster No 1.

Actor Karen Archer's productions at the Finborough Theatre include Generous and The Goodnight Bird. Theatre includes Happy Ending (Arcola Theatre) The Hundred We Are (The Yard), Four Days in Hong Kong (Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond), As You Like It, Hamlet, All's Well That Ends Well (Royal Shakespeare Company), Town (Royal and Derngate Theatres, Northampton), The Gods Weep (Royal Shakespeare Company at the Hampstead Theatre), Mourning Becomes Electra (National Theatre), The Memory of Water (English Theatre, Vienna), Ghosts (Library Theatre, Manchester) and Nicholas Nickleby (Royal Shakespeare Company on National Tour and US Tour).
Television includes What To Do When Someone Dies, Law and Order UK, Holby City, New Tricks, Hustle. Elizabeth I in Elizabeth and Assistant Chief Constable Anne Stewart in four series of The Chief. Film includes Wasted, Forever Young, Giro City and The Mouse and the Woman.

Playwright and Director Ellis Jones' adaptations of Shakespeare and Dickens have been acclaimed on land and sea. His versions of The Pickwick Papers re-opened the Everyman Theatre Cheltenham, Hard Times and Great Expectations achieved box-office records at Keswick, and the latter also joined the repertoire of the RADA graduate company on board the Cunard ocean liner the Queen Mary 2, with cunningly reduced versions of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night. A resident director at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for over sixteen years, Ellis has directed many of today's leading actors during their training, and in recent years has worked all over the world, including directing Alan Ayckbourn's Taking Steps at the Shanghai Theatre Academy in Mandarin.

Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED
Box Office 0844 847 1652 Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Wednesday, 10 and Thursday, 11 June 2015
Performances at 3.00pm
Tickets £8 all seats.
Performance Length: Approximately two hours with one interval.

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