Writers Avenue Opens New Season at The Courtyard in Hoxton

WRITERS AVENUE, founded by its visionary Artistic Director, Sandra Thompson-Quartey (left), specialises in finding, developing and producing compelling new plays, supporting new writers and staging their work. The company recently moved into its new HQ at The Courtyard Theatre in Shoreditch, east London.

"We are absolutely delighted to be newly based at the Courtyard Theatre and working with their enthusiastic team," says Sandra. "We opened well in June and I'm confident we'll reach even more people through our exciting programme of performances throughout the summer and into September." www.writersavenuetheatre.co.uk

Writers Avenue@The Courtyard's summer season opened with a critically acclaimed, rousing performance of 'DenMarked', an intense, confessional autobiography from musician and spoken-word artist Conrad Murray. 'DenMarked' returns to the Courtyard September 25th-30th.

JUNE 19TH - JULY 1st at 7pm
'MORE MANET FOR YOUR MONET - THE HIPSTERS' PANTOMIME'
A grand satirical farce...and a Brechtian comedy of bad manners!
Written and performed by Zaf Ayub of Clay Theatre and Film
Performed by: Nina Lainville, Leonie Owens, Matt Moorehouse, Jack Waldouck, Leigh Kelly and Cary Tennant (all from Clay Theatre and Film)
Director: Leigh Kelly
105 minutes (including one interval), £14/£11

Cal St. John's debut art show descends into farce and chaos when his friends take artistic licence too far. Amid the destruction our hero is given an insight into the nature of life, art and success... but is he wise enough to grasp it?

JULY 3rd and 4th at 7.30pm
'6 DEGREES' written by George Johnston, Emily Gillmor Murphy, Mariam Ives-Moiba, Jennifer Richards, Rob Thomson, Atlanta Green and Grace Maxted.
Performed by actors 18-30 from the Writers Avenue Network
75 mins/no interval, £12/£10

The late Hungarian author and playwright, Frigyes Karinthy, was the first proponent of the six degrees of separation concept which refers to the idea that everyone on this earth is approximately six or less steps away from introduction to each other. 6 Degrees is a fusion of the UK's finest emerging talent.

JULY 5TH at 7pm
'GEORGIE MORRELL: THE MORRELL HIGH GROUND'
Written and performed by Georgie Morrell
60 mins/no interval £12/£10 - or two shows for £16 - 'A Poke In The Eye' July 6th

Can disability finally bring sexy back? Can Georgie save the NHS?! Is the benefit system as doomed as Ken Loach depicts? Are NHS doctors hotter than private ones? These are some of the essential questions Georgie asks while taking the audience through her journey and tackling the political and social implications of what it really is to be disabled today. Georgie Morrell is a half-blind comedian from London.

JULY 6TH at 7pm
GEORGIE MORRELL: 'A POKE IN THE EYE'
Written and performed by Georgie Morrell (left)
60 mins/no interval, £12/10 - or £16 for two shows ' The Morrell High Ground' July 5th
One woman. One eye. A Poke in the Eye returns after its successful Edinburgh and Soho Theatre runs; using her wit, charm and anecdotes Georgie tells the story of how she went blind but now she can see...literally! Recounting stories of doctors, sexual fantasies, binge drinking and family dramas, Georgie's rollercoaster account of what it's like to face inevitable blindness has the audience gasping, laughing and crying - mostly at the same time. London Pub Theatres ****

AUGUST 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th at 7pm
'DON'T BLAME THE BANKERS...$TOOPID'
Written and performed by Serafina Salvador (left)
Performed by: Serafina Salvador, Anne Musisi, Gaurav Kumar
60 mins/ no interval
August 7th 8th: £14/£10
August 9th 10th: £16/£12
'Don't Blame The Bankers...$toopid' is a young woman's disastrous love affair with power and money...it's not a rarity in today's society for a news headline to promote...hate. It is also not a rarity to do so using industries that are largely alien to the public, where men are top dogs earning big bucks and women the underdogs. What is rare is to get a young woman's perspective on such an industry from the inside out. This is a play about banking, blame, and the electronic world using spoken word and music.

AUGUST 16th 17th 18th 19th at 7pm
'FOREIGN BODY'
Written and performed by Imogen Butler-Cole (left)
Director: Fran Moulds
1 hour 20 mins including 45 min Q&A, £15/£12
Foreign Body is the beautifully crafted debut solo show by Imogen Butler-Cole about hope, healing and forgiveness after sexual assault. Uniquely told from the perspective of the survivor and perpetrator of the same assault, using a charged combination of verbatim, physical theatre and a stunning original soundtrack, Foreign Body is a brave, liberating and life-affirming story.

AUGUST 29th-SEPTEMBER 23rd at 7pm

'NO PLACE LIKE HOPE'

Written by Callum McGowan
Directed by Sarah Burger
Performed by: Holly Donovan,

80 minutes/no interval; £15, £12.50 concs

Anna and Becca aren't where they're supposed to be. While serving a community punishment order Becca is sent to work at a hospice where she meets Anna, a cancer patient and an unlikely friendship soon develops. Callum McGowan's award-winning play was written to pass the Bechdel test which asks whether a work of fiction featuring at least two women can talk to each other about things other than men...

SEPTEMBER 25th, 26th, 27th, 29th, 30th at 7pm
'DENMARKED' drama/comedy/music
Written and performed by Conrad Murray (left)
Directed by Ria Parry
70 mins/no interval, £14/£8
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! A blistering combination of hip-hop and theatre, Conrad Murray's one-man show is told through segments of beatbox, guitar and quotes from Hamlet live-mixed with a loop station. DenMarked returns after a triumphant run at the Courtyard in June.

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