THE DEAD MONKEY Revival Begins Next Month at PARK 90

James Lance, Ruth Gibson and Charles Reston will star in the London revival of Nick Darke's black comedy The Dead Monkey at PARK 90 from 9 June - 4 July, directed by Hannah Price. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of Nick Darke's death, Mongrel Thumb, in association with Falmouth University, are honoured to present The Dead Monkey to London audiences.

Welcome to California. Dolores has a unique gift. Hank's youth is dead.

Oranges, Macedonian curly tailed pigs, vet bills, bible sales and a creeping sense of violence...

The Dead Monkey premiered at the Barbican Pit in 1986 in a Royal Shakespeare Company production directed by Roger Michell. Since then it has been staged worldwide, including a 1998 London revival, and is widely considered to be Darke's masterpiece.

Bleakly comic and darkly original, The Dead Monkey examines the sphincter of modern life through the lens of a grimy American marriage, where the relentless march of time has taken its toll on two people with a monkey metaphorically, and literally, on their shoulders.

James Lance plays Hank. His most recent theatre credits include Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense (Duke of York's), Celebrity Autobiography (Leicester Square Theatre) and Ingredient X (Royal Court). His TV credits include 'Babylon', 'Siblings' and Toast of London. His film credits include 'Estranged', 'Northern Soul' and 'The Look of Love'.

Ruth Gibson plays Dolores. Her most recent theatre credits include Theatre Uncut (Soho Theatre and National Tour), The Kitchen (National) andPortmanteau (Arcola). Her TV credits include 'Babylon' and 'The Littlest Boho'. Her film credits include 'Moomins on the Riviera' and 'Good Girl Bad Girl'.

Charles Reston plays Vet. Theatre credits include Anjin: The Shotgun and the English Samurai (Sadler's Wells), Weird Weather (Vaults) and The Pope's Wedding (The c*ckTavern). His TV credits include 'Consenting Adults' and 'Comedy Lab'. His film credits include 'Burn Burn Burn' and 'Captain Webb'.

Nick Darke was born and raised in St Eval, Cornwall, the son of a farmer. He wrote over twenty plays during his lifetime, which have been produced by, amongst others, the RSC, the National, Royal Court, Donmar, The Bush, Lyric Hammersmith and BBC Radio and television. After suffering a stroke in 2001 he lost the ability to speak and write, and while relearning these skills produced and fronted the BBC4 documentary 'The Wrecking Season', filmed and directed by his wife Jane. He died of cancer in June 2005, just four weeks after being diagnosed, aged 56.

Hannah Price is Co-Artistic Director and Founder of Theatre Uncut. She was Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar for 2012 and toured to New York with their all-female Julius Caesar. She was also Associate Director on The Machine (Manchester International Festival/ Park Avenue Armoury NY). Most recently she directed Boa (Trafalgar Studios).

Set and costume design is by Anthony Lamble (credits include design for Trafalgar Studios, Southwark Playhouse, Arcola and Soho Theatre) with lighting design by Malcolm Rippeth (credits include lighting design for Kneehigh, Trafalgar Studios and RSC) and original music by Dave Price (credits include sound design for National, Royal Exchange, RSC and Trafalgar Studios).

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