Park Theatre Announces Complete Schedule for 2016 Season
By: Matt Smith Oct. 30, 2015
As Park Theatre enters its third year, Artistic Director Jez Bond today announces its new season of work, including seven new writing world premieres alongside a number of exciting revivals, and a brand new British musical.
Bond says, "At Park Theatre we are committed to presenting world class theatre, and collaborating with the finest existing and emerging talent right in the heart of Finsbury Park. Our last season delivered phenomenal successes with sell out runs for new plays The Gathered Leaves and An Audience With Jimmy Savile, and I'm confident that this new season of work will challenge, entertain and stimulate audiences old and new."
Following his controversial and critically acclaimed performance as 'Jimmy Savile', Alistair McGowan returns with 4000 Days - the new play from Peter Quilter whose play Glorious! was Olivier nominated for Best New Comedy. Jonathan Lynn, creator of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, writes and directs The Patriotic Traitor, a new play examining the true story of the wartime relationship between De Gaulle and Pétain. Praised for their ingenuity and bold productions, simple8 ("a company possessing the skills.
dedication and intelligence to create wonder" - The Times) present their new devised piece Don't Sleep There Are Snakes, based on the true story of Daniel Everett's adventure into the Amazonian jungle. A striking new musical The Buskers Opera by Dougal Irvine has its world premiere, providing a refreshingly innovative take on Gay's classic The Beggar's Opera, before touring the country. The season ends with The Quiet House by Gareth Farr, a funny, poignant play that tackles the taboos of conception and IVF.
In Park90, Two Sheds Theatre return after their sell-out run of Muswell Hill, this time presenting African Gothic, a dark and disturbing play by South African's most award-winning playwright Reza de Wet. Ensemble Theatre and Theatre Royal York's musical production The Restoration of Nell Gywn by Steve Trafford then takes us back to a bawdy but dangerous time in England's royal court. Giant Cherry Productions also return, following up their sell-out run of The Glass Protégé with a revival of the hilarious Hello Norma Jean by Dylan Costello - which considers the very real possibility of Marilyn Monroe living incognito in Essex today. Produced by Attic Theatre Company, new drama Beacons by Tabitha Mortiboy takes us on an atmospheric and sometimes haunting journey through love and loss on the cliffs of Beachy Head. Social media is at the fingertips of children of all ages now, and PMJ Productions' timely response is Sket by first time playwright Maya Sondhi, which follows a group of young people through the trials and tribulations of selfies and sexting - and examines the consequences. Award winning, prolific producer Guy Masterson brings his double bill of exquisite, sharp plays Absolution by Owen O'Neill and Bill Clinton Hercules by Rachel Mariner with Guy Masterson directing both. Park90's season concludes with Shock Box Theatre's production of Happy To Help by Michael Ross, a quick-witted, fast-paced, biting satire set in a fictional supermarket chain, that was developed through Park Theatre's Script Accelerator Programme.
Jez Bond continued, "It's important to all of us here that Park Theatre is accessible to all. We've just launched 'Park Young Patrons' to encourage more young people to engage with our work, and we're continually fundraising to keep ticket prices low and to enable us to provide more Creative Learning projects for the community. We're continually evolving as a building, and this autumn we'll be improving the ticket buying process with the introduction of a dedicated box office in the foyer."
www.parktheatre.co.uk
Box office: 02078706876
For media information, images, interviews and press tickets, please contact PARK200: Arabella.Neville-Rolfe@target-live.co.uk / 020 3372 0961 PARK90: Andrew.greer@target-live.co.uk / 0203372 0966
PARK200
14 Jan - 13 Feb 2016
Engine House Presents the UK Premiere of 4000 DAYS
Written by Peter Quilter
Directed by Matt Aston
Cast includes Alistair McGowan
Press night: Tuesday 19 January
Times: Mon - Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees
What would you do if you forgot the last decade of your life? Michael has been in a coma for three weeks.
On waking, he realises that four thousand days of his memory have been completely erased. He remembers nothing of Paul, his partner.
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Paul must fight to bring Michael's memory back, while Paul's mother, Carol, fights to remove him from their lives completely. Alistair McGowan returns to Park Theatre to lead the company of 4000 Days, following his acclaimed performance in An Audience with Jimmy Saville. Director, Matt Aston, who directed Bombers Moon at Park Theatre in 2014 and its subsequent transfer to the West End in 2015, returns to present this new play by Olivier and Tony nominated writer Peter Quilter (End of Rainbow). 17Feb-19Mar2016 Bob Benton and Daniel Brodie for DB Productions present the World Premiere of THE PATRIOTIC TRAITOR Times: Mon - Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees |
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"You were the sword but I was the shield. I love France. I also love you - as a son." The Patriotic Traitor is about two giants of history. Written and directed by multi-award winning Jonathan Lynn (Yes Minister / Yes, Prime Minister / My Cousin Vinny / Nuns on the Run), it tells the extraordinary true story of Charles de Gaulle and Philippe Pétain, who loved each other like father and son but found themselves on tragically opposing sides in World War II. This relationship, noble, comic and absurd, changed history: Philippe Pétain, a tough, uncompromising soldier who rose through the ranks to save France in 1916 at the Battle of Verdun, and Charles de Gaulle, the aristocratic, academic, awkward and equally uncompromising soldier who led France to freedom when Pétain became a Nazi collaborator. In 1945 de Gaulle had his oldest friend tried for treason. But was it as simple as it seemed? This extraordinary story is seen as Pétain waits for the verdict. 22 March - 23 April 2016 simple8 in association with Park Theatre presents the World Premiere of DON'T SLEEP THERE ARE SNAKES Press night: Wednesday 23 March Pirahã [(n) pi?a?hã] a remote Amazonian tribe with a language no outsider has ever understood |
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Daniel Everett, a linguist and missionary, is sent into the jungle with a clear purpose: to learn their language and convert them to Christianity. |
But as he struggles to communicate, he uncovers a culture like nothing he's ever imagined. What he discovers blows apart modern linguistic theory, forcing him to question his faith and his understanding of what it means to be human.
Following the critically acclaimed The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Moby-Dick, the award winning ensemble, simple8, return with an adventure wrenched from the heart of the jungle, that traces how language, culture and experience shape us all.
28 April - 5 June 2016
Michael Peavoy, Neil Marcus and Paul Tyrer & Jamie Clark for Buskers Opera Ltd in association with Park Theatre present the World Premiere of
THE BUSKERS OPERA
A new musical by Dougal Irvine
Inspired by The Beggar's Opera by John Gay
Press night: Thursday 5 May
Times: Mon - Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees
"The future's ripe for those who mix their artistry with politics"
London, 2012. The night before the Opening Ceremony.A group of street performers called'the 99percenters,' gather in protest against the over-priced, corporate games. Among them is Macheath, satirist and ladies' man, whose razor-sharp wit is slashing chunks out of the Mayor's reputation. Powerful figures are watching. With the ever-influential media operating 24/7, capital punishment has found a new method of delivery.
A hilarious new musical from the pen of one of the hottest writers emerging in UK theatre, Dougal Irvine, whose catalogue of work includes Departure Lounge, The Snow Queen, Teddy, The Other School, In Touch and Britain's Got Bhangra. Expect a reckless abandonment of political correctness and some top class tunes to redefine a golden age.
Supported by Rooks Nest Entertainment Suitable for 15 years upwards
Echo Presents, Park Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre present the world premiere of
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Echo Presents, Park Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre present the world premiere of: THE QUIET HOUSE
An original drama by Gareth Farr
Directed by Tessa Walker
Press night: Wednesday 8 June
Times: Mon - Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees
"It's passing on your thoughts, your personality, a part of yourself, your DNA. If we don't do that what are we? We're just dust."
Jess and Dylan are in love. They want a family. That's all they have ever wanted.
When diagnosed with infertility, this ordinary couple find themselves on an extraordinary journey. They enter the world of IVF treatment where intimacy is replaced by injections.
Forced to fight for the family they so desperately want, they put their faith in science and their relationship through the ultimate test.
An exploration of infertility and the taboo that surrounds it, The Quiet House is a funny, moving and unswervingly honest love story, inspired by true events.
Gareth Farr's highly anticipated new play following his Bruntwood Prize-winning debut, Britannia Waves The Rules.
This production has been created in association with The London Women's Clinic
PARK90
23 December 2015 - 23 January 2016
Two Sheds Theatre presents
AFRICAN GOTHIC
Written by Reza de Wet
Press night: Tuesday 5 January
Times: Tue - Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees
But that was decades ago.
Now their parents are long gone, the farm a desolate ruin, and God has clearly forgotten them.
26 January - 20 February 2016
Ensemble and York Theatre Royal present
THE RESTORATION OF NELL GWYN
Written by Steve Trafford with songs by Henry Purcell Directed by Damian Cruden
Press Night: Wednesday 27 January
Times: Tue - Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees
A gorgeous new comedy, full of bawdy wit.
A fine vignette of Britain, then and now, where the personal is heroically, hilariously political. King Charles II lies ill. Nell, his royal whore, once star of the Restoration stage, rages against the fate that may befall her if Charles dies. Margery, Nell's maid, is no whore but a survivor whose fate too hangs on the life or death of the Royal patriarch.
We see Nell in breeches, a perfect boy. She sings like an angel. Margery dances, emptying chamber pots with priceless asides on sex, love, class and power... Wonderful roles for distinguished actresses Elizabeth Mansfield, Olivier Award nominee, and Angela Curran, star of ITV's hit comedy series 'Job Lot'. An intriguing reinterpretation of our national treasure Nell Gwyn and a timely celebration of female resilience in a world where women seldom thrive.
23 Feb - 19 March 2016
Giant Cherry Productions in association with Park Theatre presents
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"Still water, deep ground, and underneath the devil is turning around" |
Afrikaner children's rhyme |
Frikkie and Sussie were born into a South African Eden, an idyllic farm with loving and responsible
parents, a black nanny as their second mother, and a benevolent God in Heaven to keep them all safe and
sound.
Written during the Apartheid era, Reza de Wet's astonishing play (originally "Diepe Grond" - Deep
Ground) held up a mirror to the dark heart of Afrikaner society, forcing it to take a long and
uncomfortable look at itself and the myths that sustained it.
From the production team behind Muswell Hill (Park Theatre, February-March 2015) and My Children! My
Africa! (Trafalgar Studios, August 2015).
HELLO NORMA JEANE
Written by Dylan Costello
Directed by Matthew Gould
Press Night: Wednesday 24 February
Times: Tue - Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees
It's Spring 2003 and Essex grandmother Lynnie has escaped from her nursing home and fled 5000 miles across the Atlantic to Hollywood, Los Angeles, where she plans to reveal to the world her deepest secret - that she is Marilyn Monroe, alive and well after faking her death decades before.
As her gay grandson Joe turns up to take her home, he finds himself embroiled in his grandmother's scheme, questioning his sanity wondering whether he really can be the grandson of Marilyn Monroe.
But is Lynnie really Marilyn? Or just a crazy old lady wanted to avoid ending her days alone inside a nursing home? There's only one way that the truth will be revealed in this funny drama that is full of surprises...
22 March - 16 April 2016
Attic Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of BEACONS
Written by Tabitha Mortibo
Press Night: Thursday 24 March
Times: Tue - Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees
"See those three at the edge, those three in a line? That's me, and you and Julie. We're a constellation."
Julie sells ice cream on the cliffs at Beachy Head and searches for love online. Her friend Bernard walks the clifftops and can't seem to settle.
When sixteen year old Skye arrives for the summer and decides to stay, the lives of all three become unexpectedly entwined. But when memory takes hold, will their buried fears force them apart?
Tabitha Mortiboy's magical new play tells of love, loss and midnight ice cream sundaes under the starlit skies of the South Downs.
19 April - 14 May 2016
PMJ Productions present the World Premiere of SKET
Written by Maya Sondhi
Directed by Prav MJ
Press Night: Wednesday 20 April
Times: Tue - Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees
"You're so beautiful... take a picture, take one for me right now and send it."
At an inner city school the teenagers are obsessed with 21st century technology. Living their lives through social media, where 'sexting' and 'selfies' are the norm and access to sexual imagery is available 24/7, what are the real costs...?
This insightful play follows the lives of six young adults as they negotiate the minefield of technological advances, ever-changing laws and moral dilemmas.
Mistakes happen but now they can remain forever in the virtual domain.
17 May - 11 June 2016
Guy Masterson presents the London premieres of
ABSOLUTION and BILL CLINTON HERCULES
Press Night: Wednesday 18 May
Times: Tue - Sat 19:45 & 21:15, Thurs and Sat matinees 15:15 & 16:45
Both shows presented in a double bill, directed by Olivier Award winner Guy Masterson. ABSOLUTION
Written & performed by Owen O'Neill
Donegal. Present Day. Catholic priests are disappearing. One man knows why and he wants to confess. His confession is brutal. It's bloody, frank. He tells us it is not murder. It's retribution. It's absolution.
A five-star, sell-out hit at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival.
BILL CLINTON HERCULES
Written by Rachel Mariner Performed by Bob Paisley
With the world ravaged by war, drowning refugees, mass migration, jobless, homeless, hopeless, with inequality and injustice at its worst for a century, the 42nd President wants to cut loose, shoot from the hip and waken the world in his own fantasy TED talk. His own epic life has led to this moment... but will he be silenced by his spouse's political ambitions? Will he be Hillary's foot-soldier or will the comeback kid come back?
12 June - 9 July 2016
Shock Box Theatre in association with Park Theatre presents the World Premiere HAPPY TO HELP
Written by Michael Ross
Press Night: Thursday 16 June 2016
Times: Tue - Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees
A darkly funny new play about the supermarket industry and its impact on all of our lives.
In a last-ditch attempt to gain PR traction, the managing director of UK supermarket chain 'Frisca' has returned to the shop floor incognito to experience life as a shelf-stacker. Yet beneath a facade of ruthless ambition and wholehearted commitment to the corporation lie tales of tragic pasts.
Discover the immense power of supermarkets, the human ramifications of low-cost food, and how the industry's monopolising power has changed the face of the British high street.
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