Donmar Warehouse Announces 2013 Autumn Season - ROOTS, THE SAME DEEP WATER AS ME & More

Donmar Warehouse announces 2013 Autumn Season, including:

• Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, Josie Rourke, today announced a new play by Nick Payne, The Same Deep Water As Me, Arnold Wesker's Roots and William Shakespeare's Coriolanus, Matt Charman's The Machine and Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Julius Caesar in New York for her 2013 Autumn season.

• Nigel Lindsay, Daniel Mays and Monica Dolan will star in the world premiere of Nick Payne's new play, The Same Deep Water As Me, directed by John Crowley.

• Jessica Raine and Linda Bassett will star in Arnold Wesker's Roots, directed by James MacDonald.

• Tom Hiddleston will play the title role in Shakespeare's Coriolanus, directed by Josie Rourke. He will be joined by Mark Gatiss as Menenius. Coriolanus will be broadcast live into cinemas on the 30 January 2014 in partnership with National Theatre Live.

• Francesca Annis joins the cast of Matt Charman's The Machine, opening at the Manchester International Festival in July and Park Avenue Armory, New York, in September.

• The Donmar's all-female production of Julius Caesar, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, will make its US Premiere this October presented by the Donmar Warehouse and St Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn.

Today the Donmar Warehouse announces its 2013 Autumn season of five productions in London, Manchester and New York and on cinema screens with National Theatre Live. Artistic Director, Josie Rourke has programmed a compelling mix of new writing, a modern classic and Shakespeare.

Josie Rourke commented: "This year, the Donmar is a champion of British and Irish theatre. This next season of new and classic work examines life on these islands and considers how we find our place in the world. Struggle, laughter and tragedy are in all these plays. When work on our stage can not only ask what essentially it is to be human but also ask what it is to be human right now - that's dynamite."

The season will open with the world premiere of Evening Standard Award-winner Nick Payne's new play, The Same Deep Water As Me directed by John Crowley, starring Nigel Lindsay (Shrek The Musical, Four Lions, The Pillowman), Daniel Mays (Trelawny of the Wells and Moonlight for the Donmar, Welcome to the Punch, Atonement) and Monica Dolan (BAFTA winner for Appropriate Adult, Call the Midwife). Next, James MacDonald will direct Arnold Wesker's modern classic, Roots. Call the Midwife star, Jessica Rainewill perform alongside Linda Bassett (East is East, Lark Rise to Candleford) and Emma Stansfield (Privates, Skins). Finally, Josie Rourke will direct Tom Hiddleston (Othello, Ivanov for the Donmar, Avengers Assemble, Thor, War Horse, The Hollow Crown) in the title role of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, alongside Mark Gatiss (The Recruiting Officer for the Donmar, Sherlock) as Menenius. Alongside these productions in London the Donmar's work will be seen in Manchester, New York and on cinema screens across the globe.

In October the Donmar and St Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn will present the US premiere of the Donmar's critically acclaimed all-female production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Phyllida Lloyd will reprise this ground-breaking production with original cast members including Harriet Walter, Frances Barber, Jenny Jules and Cush Jumbo. This will be the second production the Donmar takes to New York in 2013. The Machine, a co-production with the Manchester International Festival and Park Avenue Armory, will premiere in Manchester this July, before opening in New York on 04 September for a two week run.

Josie Rourke commented, "With the American premiere of Julius Caesar, Phyllida Lloyd's ground-breaking production and company will bring the important conversation they began in London to New York this Autumn. I'm delighted that this incredible reimagining of a classic play will follow The Machine in New York, and be the first London to New York transfer from the Donmar's new team."

The Donmar will also run an ambitious programme of education workshops, projects and dedicated schools performances to sit alongside its forthcoming season. Over 1000 school students will get the chance to see a Donmar production for just £5 and each production will be accompanied by two practical Open Workshops, open to the general public to book.

The renovation and refurbishment of Donmar Dryden Street will continue through to the end of 2013 with the organisation set to move into its new creative and administrative hub in January 2014. Donmar Dryden Street will bring all of the theatre's off-stage work under one roof for the first time, allowing this ambitious theatre to develop its creative output and expand its reach.

The Donmar also announces the continuation of its highly successful Barclays Front Row access initiative, which every Monday offers over 300 £10 tickets in the front row of the stalls and circle for performances two weeks later.

Kate Pakenham, Executive Producer, commented "In the first six months of Barclays Front Row, 5,000 of the £10 tickets have gone to people visiting the Donmar for the first time. It's helped us to realise our ambition to open up the Donmar, and we are continuing the scheme for this new season of work."

Barclays Front Row tickets will be available for The Same Deep Water As Me, Roots and Coriolanus. Tickets can be purchased online by going to www.donmarwarehouse.com/barclaysfrontrow , in person at the box office or on the telephone.

Full releases for each production follow.

THE SAME DEEP WATER AS ME
A new play by Nick Payne
01 August - 21 September 2013
Press night: Tuesday 06 August 2013

Director: John Crowley
Designer: Scott Pask
Lighting Designer: Peter Mumford
Sound Designer: Christopher Shutt

Cast includes: Monica Dolan, Peter Forbes, Joanna Griffin, Nigel Lindsay, Daniel Mays, Niky Wardley

"Everyone's battlin' it; f-ing fiscal cliff, mate, and I'm hanging off the edge."

Nick Payne won last year's Evening Standard Award for Best New Play for Constellations. John Crowley returns to the Donmar to direct Payne's witty and incisive new play.

Had an accident at work? Tripped on a paving slab? Cut yourself shaving? You could be entitled to compensation. Andrew and Barry at Scorpion Claims, Luton's finest personal injury lawyers, are the men for you.

When Kevin, Andrew's high school nemesis, appears in his office the opportunity for a quick win arises. But just how fast does a lie have to spin before it gets out of control?

Nick Payne (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright, whose most recent play Constellations, won the Evening Standard Award for Best New Play and was nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards. He studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama and University of York before completing the Royal Court Young Writers course. In 2009, he won the prestigious George Devine Award with his play If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet. The play premiered at the Bush Theatre, directed by Josie Rourke. His playWanderlust was produced by the Royal Court in 2010.

John Crowley (Director) returns to the Donmar where, as Associate Director, he directed Tales from Hollywood, Juno and the Paycock, which transferred to Broadway, Into the Woods and How We Learned to Drive. For the stage he also directed Love Song, starring Neve Campbell and On An Average Day starring Woody Harrelson, both for the West End. For The National Theatre he directed The Pillowman which transferred to Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in 2005. His debut feature film, Intermission, was released in 2003 and in 2009 he released Is Anybody There? starring Michael Caine.

Monica Dolan (playing Anne Gunn & Georgina Burns) has had a prolific stage and television career. Theatre credits include Birth of a Nation (Royal Court), numerous productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the West End production of Jane Eyre. In 2011 she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for the ITV drama Appropriate Adult and appeared in the BBC TV series Call the Midwife. Film credits include Alan Partridge The Movie, Kick Ass 2 and Sightseers.

Peter Forbes (playing Guy Haines & Judge Appleton) is currently playing R F Simpson in Singin' in the Rain at the Palace Theatre. Other theatre credits include The Observer (National Theatre) and Lord Elgin in the original cast of Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland). His film credits include Wilde and Blue Ice, and recent television credits include Peter Kosminsky's The Promise.

Joanna Griffin (playing Terri & Attendant) graduated from LAMDA in 2011. Since graduating, she has appeared in Earlsfield at the Centre of the World (Tara Arts) and A Hundred Million Hits (Arcola).

Nigel Lindsay (playing Barry Paterson) has previously performed at the Donmar in The Real Thing and Morphic Resonance. Most recently he played the title role in the hit West End musical, Shrek The Musical, receiving an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. He starred in the BAFTA winning film Four Lions and has a prolific television career, including Spooks, Silent Witness, Waking the Dead and Rome. His extensive theatre credits include Under the Blue Sky, Guys and Dolls and Bedroom Farce in the West End and he has performed at the Royal Court and National Theatre on a number of occasions.

Daniel Mays (playing Andrew Eagleman) has previously appeared at the Donmar in Trelawny of the Wells and Moonlight. He is well known for his roles in films including Made in Dagenham, Tin Tin, Red Riding 1975 & 1983, Shifty, Atonement, Vera Drake and most recently Welcome to the Punch. On television he has appeared in the series Mrs Biggs (National Television Awards nomination for Best Male Drama Performance), Outcasts, Ashes to Ashes, Hustle and Public Enemies.

Niky Wardley (playing Jennifer Needleman) is probably best known for her television roles as Caroline in In With the Flynns, Sally inThe Spa and The Catherine Tate Show. Her theatre credits include Bedroom Farce (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Much Ado About Nothing (National Theatre), and Our Country's Good and Three Sisters at the Nuffield Theatre.

ROOTS
By Arnold Wesker
03 October 2013 - 30 November 2013
Press Night: Tuesday 8 October 2013

Director: James MacDonald
Designer: Hildegard Bechtler
Lighting Designer: Guy Hoare
Sound Designer: Ian Dickinson

Cast includes: Linda Bassett, Michael Jibson, Jessica Raine, Emma Stansfield

"The world's bin growing for two thousand years and we heven't noticed it"

Roots is the exquisite centrepiece of Wesker's seminal post-war trilogy, a landmark achievement of 20th century British theatre. James MacDonald now revives this portrait of a young woman finding her voice at a time of unprecedented social change. The production will star Jessica Raine who is best known for her role as Jenny Lee in the BBC TV series Call the Midwife, Linda Bassettwho starred in the films East is East and Calendar Girls and Emma Stansfield who recently starred in the BBC drama Privates.

It's 1958. Beattie Bryant has been to London, and fallen in love with Ronnie, a young socialist. As she anxiously awaits his arrival to meet her family at their Norfolk farm, her head is swimming with new ideas. Ideas of a bolder, freer world which promise to clash with their rural way of life.

Arnold Wesker, F.R.S.L. (Playwright) born London 1932, has written over 45 plays the most well-known being The Wesker Trilogy,The Kitchen, Chips With Everything, and Shylock, most of them performed worldwide. He has written two opera librettos, published volumes of fiction and non-fiction, poetry, a book for young people, an autobiography - As Much As I Dare (1992). His work has been translated into 17 languages. Wesker may be unique in having had sixteen world premieres abroad. In the last seven years he has written five new plays and other works, including his first novel, Honey, published by Simon & Schuster 2005. In 2008 he published his first volume of poetry All Things Tire of Themselves. In that year he also completed a commission, to celebrate 75 years of the BBC World Service, for a radio play, later adapted for the stage - The Rocking Horse Kid. He has just completed his latest new play Joy and Tyranny. The recipient of honorary degrees and prizes, Wesker's vast archives have recently been purchased by Texas University. He was knighted in the 2006 New Year's Honours list for services to world drama.

James MacDonald (Director) was Associate Director of the Royal Court from 1992 to 2007 where he directed Cock, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You (also Public Theater, New York), Dying City (also Lincoln Center, New York), Fewer Emergencies, Lucky Dog, Blood, Blasted and 4.48 Psychosis. His other directing credits include The Arrest of Ai Wei Wei, And No More Shall We Part (Hampstead Theatre), King Lear, The Book of Grace, Top Girls (Broadway/MTC), A Delicate Balance, Judgment Day, The Triumph of Love(Almeida), Dido, Queen of Carthage, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Exiles (National Theatre) and Glengarry Glen Ross in the West End.

Linda Bassett (playing Mrs Bryant) has previously performed at the Donmar in Phaedra. Throughout her prolific career she has performed at The National Theatre, Royal Court and Royal Shakespeare Company. Her television credits include The Life & Adventures of Nick Nickleby, Lark Rise to Candleford and Grandma's House. She is best known for her roles in feature films East is East, The Reader, Calendar Girls, The Hours and Effie.

Michael Jibson (playing Jimmy) has previously performed in Road Show (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Comedy of Errors(Manchester Royal Exchange), and A Midsummer Night's Dream and Timon of Athens (Shakespeare's Globe). He recently starred in the feature film LES MISERABLES and his television credits include Hatfields & McCoys and Band of Brothers.

Jessica Raine (playing Beatie) is best known for playing the lead role in the BBC drama, Call the Midwife. Her theatre credits include The Changeling (Young Vic), Rocket to the Moon, Earthquakes in London, Gethsemane and Harper Regan all for The National Theatre. She recently starred in the feature film The Woman in Black and television credits include Doctor Who, An Adventure in Space and Time and Garrow's Law.

Emma Stansfield (playing Pearl) made her West End debut in 2002 in Daisy Pulls It Off. She has performed in a number of productions at The National Theatre including Mephistopheles and Sparkleshark. She is perhaps best known for her role as Ronnie Clayton in Coronation Street and most recently starred in the BBC drama Privates. Other television credits include Skins, The Tudorsand Fanny Hill.

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