THE GOOD DAD Comes to The Old Red Lion Theatre

Gail Louw's new play The Good Dad (A Love Story) opens at The Old Red Lion Theatre for a four-night limited run on Wednesday, 12 February 2020 (Press Nights: Wednesday, 12 February 2020 at 7pm) as part of The Old Red Lion's 'Where Are We Now?' festival of emerging artists.

The whole family knew he was a good dad. A really good dad. But he wasn't well, had a weak heart, so they gathered around him to protect him - from everything. Because he was a good dad. And Donna was special; he loved her the most. So why is Donna in prison?

Based on real life events from the 1980s, The Good Dad, A Love Story is the latest one- woman play from multi award-winning playwright Gail Louw. Told from the unique perspectives of mother, daughter and sister, this haunting family drama receives its world premiere at The Old Red Lion.

Playwright Gail Louw is an award-winning playwright who has her plays performed throughout the world. Twelve plays have been published in three collections by Oberon Books. Her play BLONDE POISON has been performed in eight productions throughout the world including Sydney Opera House, LA and Berlin. It won an Argus Angel award for Artistic Excellence at Brighton Festival. DUWAYNE won Best New Play at Brighton Festival and MISS DIETRICH REGRETS won a Naledi award in South Africa. BEING BRAHMS won an award by Radio Sussex and Surrey. Other plays which tour extensively are AND THIS IS MY FRIEND, MR LAUREL and SHACKLETON'S CARPENTER.

Director Anthony Shrubsall is a founder member of And Tomorrow Theatre Company and the Entire Theatre Company, and former academic. Direction credits include AN ABSENCE OF (Winner of the Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing, Windsor International Fringe Festival), EDRED, THE VAMPYRE (Old Red Lion Theatre/London Horror Festival), IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY (Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham) DEATH OF A HUNTER (Finborough Theatre), THE GIN CHRONICLES (ArtsSpace Edinburgh), ORBITS (Drayton Arms Theatre), REALLIFE TV (Barons Court Theatre), SAFFRON HILL (Pleasance Theatre), LANZA (Kings Head Theatre), THE SEAGULL (Tabard Theatre), ZENA EDWARDS'S SECURITY (BAC), the first UK production selected for Tadashe Suzuki's Shizuoka Festival, Japan, and Richard Tyrone Jones' BIG HEART, which was subsequently adapted for BBC Radio 4. He was formerly Artistic Director of the Drayton Court Theatre, where productions included THE BULLET, LANDSCAPE and THE LOVERAND MOJO. He has published on directing Vsevolod Meyerhold's acting technique, Harold Pinter's MOUNTAIN LANGUAGE, Samuel Beckett's ROCKABY and the theatre of Jacques Lecoq.

Actress Sarah Lawrie studied Social & Political Sciences at Cambridge University before training to be an actress, working extensively in theatre to date, most recently playing Nell Gwyn in ORANGES & INK which enjoyed a sell-out run at The Tristan Bates Theatre in April and subsequently toured. Her stage credits include the U.K. premiere of the Ephron sisters' LOVE, LOSS & WHAT I WORE (Mill at Sonning), Alan Ayckbourn's IMPROBABLE FICTION and TEN TIMES TABLE (also at The Mill at Sonning), Gretchen in BOEING BOEING (Oldham Coliseum), Emma Bovary in MADAME BOVARY (Hope Theatre), Jane in TREE HOUSE (Brewhouse Theatre Taunton and touring), Katherine in RESTORATION (Salisbury Playhouse), Hannah in LOVE BITES (Southwark Playhouse), Miss Ledrook/Peters in THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY PARTS I & II (Chichester Festival Theatre, West End and Toronto), Estella in GREAT EXPECTATIONS, Helen Schwarz in TALES FROM HOLLYWOOD and Aricia in PHEDRE (Perth Theatre), Lulu in SMOKING WITH LULU and Tilda in PAL JOEY (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow), Celia in VOLPONE (Theatre Babel), Amy in MY ROMANTIC HISTORY (Old Red Lion), Mademoiselle Frankenstein and Captain Walton in FRANKENSTEIN (Space Theatre and the London Horror Festival), Fiona in WATER COOLER (Miniaturists, Arcola Theatre), Joan Weech in THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (Farnham Maltings), JACK'S GOODBYE (Everyword Festival, Liverpool Everyman) as well as numerous productions for New Perspectives and Oxfordshire Touring Theatre. Radio work includes SOMETHING UNDERSTOOD and THE PETTICOAT VOTE (BBC Radio 4) and POP/THE ASSASSINS for Resonance FM. Sarah is deeply proud of her association with renowned children's mentoring charity SCENE & HEARD, with which she has been involved as a volunteer theatre professional since 2007.

Lighting and Sounds Designer Chuma Emembolu trained under the Head of Lighting at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he worked as Lighting Technician on productions including TALES OF OVID directed by Tim Supple and RICHARD II directed by Steven Pimlott. He went on to become Technical Director and Lighting Designer for several theatre companies before moving to London to fully realise a career in lighting design. Since then, his work has been seen at many theatres and festivals across the UK. Recent work includes THE FEAR AND GRAVEL HEART (Bunker Theatre), METAMORPHOSIS (Off the Cliff Theatre) and ROMEO AND JULIET (Controlled Chaos Theatre) both at Waterloo East Theatre, LAST ONE HERE (Tripped Theatre), GIFT OF THE GAB (Shiny Pin Theatre), which he also sound designed, THE PROJECT (White Bear Theatre) and DARE TO DO (Ka Zimba Theatre at The Space). Recently he conceived, produced, directed and co-wrote a very successful run of MACBETH - THE MUSICAL (White Bear Theatre) performed by puppets, for which he also designed the lighting, sound and video. Chuma is also a Sound and Projection designer. Upcoming lighting designs includes TRYING TO BE HER (The Writing Network at The Etcetera Theatre), RICHARD III (Open the Vault productions) and THE SWORD OF ALEX for Beyond the Pale (White Bear Theatre). www.performing-arts.co.uk/chuma-emembolu/

Book online at https://www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk/the-good-dad-a-love-story.html

Box Office 0333 012 4963.

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