Photo Flash: World Premiere of GAZING AT A DISTANT STAR Launches New Greenwich Theatre Studio

Greenwich Theatre 2017 spring season well underway with the world premiere of Siân Rowland's moving new play, Gazing At A Distant Star.

Check out photos below!

The play centres around three people struggling to come to terms with loss - Arun, who works in a call centre to raise the money to pay university fees and whose best friend has disappeared; Anna, whose sister disappeared from the school where she works as a teaching assistant; and Karen, whose adult son went on a lads holiday to Bulgaria and never came back.

Writer Siân Rowland was shortlisted for last year's inaugural RED Women's Theatre Award and Greenwich Theatre Artistic Director, James Haddrell, will direct the play.

"Last year Siân's short play, Spurn The Dust, was shortlisted for the new playwriting award, and I knew straight away that we had discovered an exciting new voice. I was looking for a new play to open the season in our new studio, and Siân had the perfect answer in Gazing At A Distant Star."

The Greenwich Theatre Studio launched last September after a period of refurbishment at the theatre, with a £400,000 investment in the building supported by a range of private donations. "The investment from the local authority was a major endorsement of our work and showed real commitment in the future of theatre in the borough" said James. "We opened the studio with the new play Under My Thumb by Cassiah Joski-Jethi, and seven of the eleven performances sold out. This season we have a range of visiting productions headed for the studio, but it was important to me to start the programme with an in-house production of a new play."

The new play, which stars Harpal Hayer, Serin Ibrahim and Victoria Porter, is being presented in support of national charity Missing People, with a gala performance on Thursday 19 January which will see 50% of the ticket income donated to the charity.

"As heart-breaking as it is, none of the stories in the play are unusual. People go missing every day, some from choice and some through tragedy, and the beauty of Siân's play is its focus on the people left behind. This isn't a police drama about finding somebody, it's a personal story about loss. Having said that, there is a lot of light and moments of real joy in the play too."

Until Sun 29 January 2017
Greenwich Theatre presents the world premiere of
Gazing At A Distant Star
By Siân Rowland
Starring Harpal Hayer, Serin Ibrahim, Victoria Porter

All tickets £10

Missing People Charity Gala, 19 January, all tickets £20

Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES
Box Office 020 8858 7755
www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

Photo credit: Warren King Photography

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