GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, 4:48 PSYCHOSIS, & CONTAINER Come To The Young Vic In July

The Young Vic has a real variety of shows coming up in July: Alecky Blythe's The Girlfriend Experience, Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis and Clare Bayley's The Container.

After a sold-out run at the Royal Court last year, THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE comes to the Young Vic for a strictly limited run this summer.

"We have Tessa, curvy dress size 14, very bubbly, offers most services. We also have Suzie, curvy dress size 18 to 20, very passionate lady, offers the full girlfriend experience.'

Young Vic Associate Director Joe Hill-Gibbins brings his acclaimed production of Alecky Blythe's verbatim play to the Young Vic's Main House. The entire cast who originally brought the show to vivid life return: Debbie Chazen, Esther Coles, Lu Corfield, Beatie Edney and Alex Lowe.

Alecky Blythe's hilarious and eye-opening script consists of edited conversations recorded with prostitutes in an actual brothel. She draws back the net curtains to reveal a very different view of the oldest profession. Worlds away from newspaper stereotypes of streetwalkers hooked on heroin or glamorous belle de jours, she depicts a cosy melee of garden gnomes, PVC, flat-pack furniture, watersports, cuddles and the full Girlfriend Experience.

Tickets £22.50 (Previews £15) Call 020 7922 2922 or visit www.youngvic.org for more information. July 24-August 15.

International film actress Anamaria Marinca performs 4:48 PSYCHOSIS, Sarah Kane's intensely lyrical exploration of emotional breakdown, directed by the distinguished French director Christian Benedetti.

This new production reunites the captivating Romanian actress with the pioneering Benedetti who, in 2001, was the first to stage 4:48 Psychosis in France before directing Anamaria Marinca in a Romanian production of the same play. This new production has been specially created for the Young Vic.

Spiked with inky black humour, Sarah Kane's fifth and last play is set in the hinterland between reality and imagination, between dreaming and waking. The Marinca/Benedetti interpretation highlights the themes of the human capacity for love and the profound quest for human connection that lies at the heart of Kane's work.

Following her death in 1999, Kane has become one of the most frequently performed playwrights world wide. For example, all five of her plays are currently in the repertoire of the legendary Berlin Schaubühne. Her brief but transcendent career has had a deep influence on the interNational Theatre landscape.

Tickets £17.50 (Previews £10) Call 020 7922 2922 or visit www.youngvic.org for more information. July 21-August 8.

THE CONTAINER by Clare Bayley tells the story of immigrants trying to smuggle themselves into the UK inside a sealed container to start a new life. It takes place - actors and audience packed close together - inside a container lorry.

The Container was the hit of the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe, winning a Scotsman Fringe First and Amnesty's Freedom of Expression award. Working together with Amnesty, the Young Vic have made it possible for London to share the experience. This summer The Container will play inside a container parked in The Cut for three weeks. Each performance has space for an audience of just 28.

"Most of us are isolated from the immigrant experience," Bayley says. "We might read about these people in newspapers but we seldom hear their stories from their own mouths. Everything in The Container is based on actual events that really happened to someone."

Young Vic Artistic Director David Lan says "Theatre is always an expression of our common humanity. In life there are no bit parts, no walk ons. Everybody matters equally. I am delighted that, in association with Amnesty International and supported by a number of well-wishers, we can give new life to this powerful performance, this unique evocation of the experience of the thousands who risk everything to share the life opportunities we take for granted."

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen says "People who seek asylum here are so often demonised in the media or referred to as faceless statistics. This play brings those people to life and gives them a voice.

"The Container deservedly won Amnesty's Freedom of Expression Award for bringing these issues to a wide audience. We're delighted to be associated with these performances at the Young Vic."

Tickets £22.50 (Previews £15) Call 020 7922 2922 or visit www.youngvic.org for more information. July 15-30.

 

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