Adam Spreadbury-Maher and Ben Cooper for Good Night Out Presents Peter Gill: THE FIRST TWO PLAYS THE SLEEPERS DEN & OVER GARDENS OUT
THE SLEEPERS DEN
28 September - 16 October 2010
PRESS NIGHT: THURSAY 30 SEPTEMBER at 7.45pm
Director: Adam Spreadbury-Maher Designer: Julia Berndt
OVER GARDENS OUT
19 October - 6 November 2010
PRESS NIGHT: THURSAY 21 OCTOBER at 7.45pm
Director: Sam Brown Designer: AnneMarie Woods
From the company that brought the 2009 sell-out hit THE YORK REALIST, come Peter Gill's first two plays THE SLEEPERS DEN and OVER GARDENS OUT. Rarely seen in London, Good Night Out Presents continues its mission to produce the world's finest playwrights and plays.
THE SLEEPERS DEN tells the story of the pathetic plight of the Shannon family, living in squalid surroundings and unable to fend for themselves, with society unable to offer them any practical help. The play underlines the stark predicament of Mrs Shannon, caring for her invalid mother and trying to keep her family together in desperate circumstances.
OVER GARDENS OUT depicts the relationship between young Jeffry and Dennis, bright but hampered by their family backgrounds. This darkly humorous play ironically highlights the sombre way in which the boys' surroundings slowly cripple their individuality.
Both plays are by turns touching, hilarious and harrowing - and "evoke with economy of means and lyrical skill the circumstances of [Gill's] Cardiff boyhood", according to The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre.
"Peter Gill's plays are one of the best kept secrets in British theatre" John Burgess
A key figure in British theatre for over fifty years, Peter Gill founded Riverside Studios, and the Royal National Theatre Studio. His many plays and adaptations have been performed at venues including The Royal Court, the National Theatre, Sheffield Crucible and Theatre Royal Bath. The Sleepers Den and Over Gardens Out were Peter's first two plays, and were performed in 1965 and 1969 respectively at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs.
"Lovingly revived by Adam Spreadbury-Maher" Michael Billington, THE GUARDIAN ****
(The York Realist)
Director Adam Spreadbury-Maher is Artistic Director of The c*ckTavern Theatre and resident companies Good Night Out Presents and OperaUpClose, as well as being the new Artistic Director of the King's Head Theatre. He won an Australia Critics' Circle Award (2004) for his production of Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful Thing. Adam has directed at The New End; Arcola; Oval House; White Bear and Etcetera Theatres. Recent credits include: revivals by Stephen Fry and Nick Ward (both at The c*ckTavern Theatre); The Ides of March (Time Out ****); The York Realist (Time Out Critics' Choice); Studies For A Portrait (Time Out Critics' Choice, **** The Times, The Sunday Times Critics' Choice) and Hotel Sorrento (Time Out Critics' Choice).
Listing Details
Venue: Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9RL
Dates & Times: 28 September - 16 October 2010 (The Sleepers Den)
19 October - 6 November 2010 (Over Gardens Out)
Tuesday - Saturday 7.45pm, Matinees: Saturday and Sunday 3pm
Box Office: 020 8237 1111 / www.riversidestudios.co.uk
Tickets: £12 - 14 Tuesday - Thursday and Matinees
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