THIS WILL END BADLY Makes London Premiere at Southwark Playhouse Tonight

Following a critically acclaimed sell-out run at Pleasance Edinburgh this August, Anna Haigh Productions' THIS WILL END BADLY transfers to Southwark Playhouse for its London premiere for four weeks this January 2016. The production is written by Rob Hayes (Awkward Conversations with Animals I've F*cked) and directed by Clive Judd (Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs, Captain Amazing). It stars Ben Whybrow (Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man, RSC). Press night: tonight, 14 January 2016 at 8pm. Runs Tuesday 12 January - Saturday 6 February 2016.

"You can't even shit... You're being outskilled by the most primitive life forms on Earth." Repressed rage; entrenched isolation; compacted bowels. Staring deep into the destructive ego of the modern man, Rob Hayes masterfully dissects the world of relationships, defecating and surviving in this testosterone-triggered tragi-comedy. Collaborating with critically acclaimed director Clive Judd, Hayes injects dark humour, candid observation and arresting imagery to confront our existing understanding of masculinity at blistering pace.

Playwright Rob Hayes recently wrote Awkward Conversations With Animals I've F*cked (Edinburgh Festival). Other writing credits include Step 9 (Of 12) (Trafalgar Studios), which he is currently adapting for the screen, A Butcher of Distinction (Cock Tavern and King's Head Theatre) and Selling Clive (Lost Theatre). He won the 2013 Tom Erhardt Award for Most Promising Playwright and was also shortlisted in 2013 for the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum, the Royal Exchange Theatre Hodgkiss Award with director Ned Bennett, and two Off West End awards.

Director Clive Judd trained on the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme at the Watermill Theatre in 2011/12 and was a member of the inaugural Foundry Scheme at the Birmingham Rep Theatre in 2013. Recent directing credits include the 50th anniversary production of Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs (Southwark Playhouse), Sparks (Old Red Lion), the Edinburgh Fringe 2013 hit Captain Amazing by Alistair McDowall (Live Theatre, Newcastle), Romeo + Juliet (Watermill Theatre, Newbury) and Why I Don't Like The Sea (Arcola and Lost Theatre).

Performer Ben Whybrow trained at LAMDA and Bristol University. Recent theatre credits include Conrad Scherer and Jasper Tuttle in The Drowned Man (Punchdrunk/NT), The Winter's Tale directed by Lucy Bailey (RSC), the world premiere of Dead On Her Feet by Ron Hutchinson (Arcola), a Trevor Griffiths double bill of All Good Men and Thermidor (Finborough) and Polixenes and Florizel in an abridged version of The Winter's Tale (Orange Tree Theatre). Film includes Tube Tube and most recently Orsino in a forthcoming version of Twelfth Night. Radio includes The Archers. As a theatre maker and deviser he is a collaborator with Mark Arends' company Make Mend and Do who make innovative work for young people and grown ups. Something Very Far Away at the UnicornTheatre/NT Studio won the Off West End Award for best show for young people in 2013 and has since toured internationally to Imaginate Festival in Edinburgh, Paris, Singapore and Melbourne International Festival. Their second production, At The End Of Everything Else, continues to tour.

Set Design is by Jemima Robinson, Lighting Design is by Christopher Nairne and Sound Design and Composition is by Giles Thomas.

The production team are working with CALM, "The Campaign Against Living Miserably", a registered charity, which exists to prevent male suicide in the UK.

About CALM - We all get down at times, but you may be shocked to learn that suicide is the single biggest killer of men aged 20-45 in the UK, and that in 2013, male suicide accounted for 78% of all suicides. We're here to change that. (ONS Stats, see more at thecalmzone.net/about-calm/what-is-calm/.)

We aren't here to represent health professionals or the mental health industry. CALM is about, for and on behalf of men. We use young men's peers, their voices and interests to reach them. We believe that if men felt able to ask for and find help when they need it then hundreds of male suicides could be prevented. We believe that there is a cultural barrier preventing men from seeking help as they are expected to be in control at all times, and failure to be seen as such equates to weakness and a loss of masculinity.

We offer support to men in the UK, of any age, who are down or in crisis via our helpline, webchat service and website. We challenge a culture that prevents men seeking help when they need it, through campaigns such as #mandictionary where men define themselves on their own terms, saying sayonara to harmful, boring and archaic male stereotypes. (Mandictionary: tagboard.com/mandictionary/178379).

For tickets and more information, visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk.

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