SCREAMING IN ADVANCE Festival of New Works Kicks Off Today at The Print Room

Following the award-nominated 2012 production of Howard Barker's Lot and His God, Artistic Director Anda Winters announces that the acclaimed writer returns to The Print Room for a series of readings performed by his own company as part of his festival Screaming in Advance today, May 3 and May 4.

This two-day festival comprises four new works in staged readings, performed by members of the company. Howard Barker will also be in discussion with the performers and the journalist Mark Brown.

CONCENTRATION
Friday 3 May, 3 p.m.

'Here they come, the liars... I killed one, one liar, only one, still, one...'

A play of neurotic intensity which puts Barker's most poetic form at the service of a play whose protagonists are lovers of contrasting ages and murderous ideals.

Directed by Howard Barker. The cast includes Nicholas Le Prevost and Victoria Wicks.

IN THE DEPTHS OF DEAD LOVE
Friday 3 May, 7.30 p.m.

'And what is our attitude to suicide?'

'We confine ourselves to matters of practicality. For example, should you wish to throw yourself into a well, ask first if the well is still in use, for certainly your corpse will contaminate the water...'

Chian H'si 'Conversations with Hu' (c.1380)

A fable of the Chinese feudal poet Chin, exiled to the remotest province and the proprietor of a bottomless well. Who may choose to die in this well, and for what reason, becomes his obsession...

Directed by Peter Kavanagh. The cast includes Jane Bertish.

DYING IN THE STREET
Saturday 4 May, 3 p.m.

'I do not ask for happiness, nor to be free...'

The death-wish of an entire community is embodied by the inhabitants of a single street. Like Wedekind's 'Lulu', its main protagonist is an agent of destruction and despair, but unlike Wedekind's heroine she is a woman distinguished by her virginity and age.

Directed by Hannah Berrighan. The cast includes Nicholas Le Prevost and Melanie Jessop.

DISTANCE
Saturday 4 May, 7.30 p.m.

'It is necessary, your perfection, as your fall is also necessary, both...'

Next year is the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.

This intense chamber piece is a meditation on love and grief and is directed by GERRARD McARTHUR with a cast which includes Jane Bertish.

This reading will be followed by Howard Barker in discussion with the company and the journalist Mark Brown.

Howard Barker has long been considered the enfant terrible of contemporary British theatre, and his first play was performed at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1970. Subsequently, his works were presented by the Royal Court, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Open Space Theatre, Sheffield Crucible and the Almeida. His plays include Scenes from an Execution, Women Beware Women (from Middleton's classic), The Seduction of Almighty God amongst many others.

He is the Artistic Director of The Wrestling School, a company established to disseminate his works and develop his theory of production. His work is played extensively in Europe, in translation, in the United States, and in Australia. He writes regularly for radio, both in England and Europe. He is the author of plays for marionettes and has written three librettos for opera. He is the author of two works of theory, and five volumes of poetry and has written a collection of essays on the nature of theatre, Arguments For A Theatre (Manchester University Press).

His plays are known for their exploration of power, sexuality and human motivation. His texts overflow with rich language, challenging ideas, history, beauty, violence and comedy, all brought together within the extremes of human experience to create a powerful and compelling theatrical experience.

Mark Brown is a freelance writer with the Sunday Herald and Daily Telegraph, and a Guest lecturer at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His work has also been published in the Guardian, New Statesman, The Times, and The Scotsman.

For more information, visit www.the-print-room.org or visit the print room on Twitter: @the_printroom.

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