Park Theatre Announces New Season, Including DO I HEAR A WALTZ?

With the world première of Larry Belling's Stroke of Luck with Tim Pigott-Smith about to open in Park200, Artistic Director Jez Bond today announces the third season at the Finsbury Park venue.

Opening the programme in the Park200 is Charles Court's production of the seldom performed Rodgers/Sondheim musical Do I Hear A Waltz?. The seasons continues with Engine House's production of Bomber's Moon, written by celebrated screenwriter William Ivory (Made in Dagenham, Burton and Taylor), and is completed by the world première of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a tale of revenge set in the Wild West, adapted by Jethro Compton from the short story by Dorothy M. Johnson.

The intimate Park90's season includes Storm in a Teacup, a physical comedy adaptation of Chekhov's Three Sisters, devised by Hot Coals Theatre Ensemble; Fluff Productions' multi-generational drama World Enough and Time about three different women living in very different times and political landscapes; Desdemona: A Play About A Handkerchief , a twist on Shakespeare's Othello, written by Pulitzer and Obie award-winning playwright Paula Vogel (How I Learned To Drive, The Baltimore Waltz); an award-winning play from Spanish playwright Josep Maria Miro called Archimedes' Principle; and closing the season is acclaimed writer and directorChe Walker with Klook's Last Stand.

This season sees Park Theatre celebrate its first birthday with a special performance. Full details of this will be announced at a later date.

Artistic Director Jez Bond said today, "I'm thrilled to announce our third season at Park Theatre, which will see us celebrate our first birthday in May. We've had an exceptional year with huge support from the local community and across London. It's testament to the hard work and dedication of our small team here at the theatre that our venue is fast becoming a fixture on London's theatrical map.

"This new season welcomes extraordinary talent from the UK and across the globe, and furthers our ambitions to produce a great range of innovative and provocative work, cementing our unique position as a venue providing a platform for both new, experimental theatre makers, and more established companies and producers."

PARK200

DO I HEAR A WALTZ?

Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Arthur Laurents

Based on the play The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents

Directed by John Savournin; Musical Direction by David Eaton

5 March - 30 March 2014

Charles Court, known for its light opera, music theatre and 'boutique' pantomimes, presents this forgotten musical gem that brings together two of the most celebrated writers of the last century in a romantic comedy that's ripe for revival. This rare and exhilarating collaboration by Sondheim and Rodgers boasts a luscious and memorable score and some of Sondheim's finest lyrics.

Leona, a 'fancy' American secretary, goes on a solo vacation to Venice, where a charismatic shopkeeper sweeps her off her feet. He gives flight to her long held dreams of romance and, in the most romantic of cities, she falls deeply in love. However, her chance-encounter is not as simple as she'd hoped, and this timeless tale is a bittersweet testament to the complexities of the heart.

BOMBER'S MOON

By William Ivory

Directed by Matt Aston

2 April - 11 May 2014

Meet former RAF gunner Jimmy and his new care assistant David. Both have been through the wars. Whilst Jimmy is fighting his final battle against old age and infirmity, David is desperate to lay his past to rest and build a new future. As Jimmy's memory increasingly snaps him back to the adrenaline-fuelled terror of his WWII bombing raids, David's new found faith is tested to breaking point, as both men fight for a lasting peace.

Engine House presents an unbeatable drama from leading screenwriter William Ivory (Common as Muck, Made in Dagenham, Truckers, Burton and Taylor), full of gritty realism, wicked black humour and, above all, a compelling human story.

Jethro Compton in association with Park Theatre presents

World première

THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE

Adapted and directed by Jethro Compton

From the short story by Dorothy M. Johnson

14 May - 22 June 2014

Jethro Compton presents, in association with Park Theatre, the world première of one of the greatest tales from the American West - on stage for the first time.

Journey into the Wild West, 1890, in this story of good versus evil, of law versus the gun, of one man versus Liberty Valance. A tale of love, hope and revenge set against the vicious backdrop of a lawless society.

When a young scholar from New York City travels west in search of a new life he arrives beaten and half-dead on the dusty streets of Twotrees. Rescued from the plains, the town soon becomes his home as he finds the love of a local girl. This love gives him purpose in a broKen Land, but is it enough to save him from the vicious outlaw who wants him dead? He must make the choice: to turn and run or to stand for what he believes, to live or to fight... to become the man who shot Liberty Valance.

PARK90

Hot Coals Theatre Ensemble in association with Park Theatre presents

STORM IN A TEACUP

Inspired by Chekhov's Three Sisters, devised and performed by the Company

Directed by Alice Robinson

18 February 2014 - 16 March 2014

Hot Coals Theatre Ensemble present Storm in a Teacup - inspired by Chekhov's Three Sisters, devised and performed by the Company and directed by Alice Robinson.

This darkly comic and cartoon-like piece is a window into the quirky and tender world of three sisters as they fight the system to keep their independence. In an old room where words have lost their place, physical comedy, walking sticks and false teeth come to life. No previous experience of Chekhov required!

Fluff productions presents

WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME

By Sarah Sigal

Directed by Justin Audibert; Designed by Lily Arnold

19 March - 13 April 2014

2014. Celia appears to be the woman who has it all--a high-flying career, financial security and a picture-perfect family... But then a friend from her past re-appears and the certainties of her spotless life start to crumble...

1936. Pamela, a journalist, is assigned to interview little-known American socialite Wallis Simpson. What starts as a piece on cocktails and couture becomes more dangerous when she meets Charlie, an MI5 agent monitoring the relationships between Simpson, the Prince of Wales and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler...

1647. With the men of the village away fighting, Lady Anne's Royalist household is struggling to survive the winter with Cromwell's Army bearing down on them. When Joan, Anne's illegitimate half-sister and suspected witch, turns up on her doorstep looking for protection, Anne is faced with a terrible choice...

World Enough and Time interweaves these three stories in a provocative new play about women's lives in political landscapes.

Fox Trotter TC in association with Park Theatre presents

ARCHIMEDES' PRINCIPLE

By Josep Maria Miro; Translated by Dustin Langan

Directed by Marta Noguera Cuevas

15 April - 11 May 2014

Life is easy for Brandon, Matt and Anna. They enjoy teaching at the local swimming pool. But regular lessons come to a halt when Brandon is accused of inappropriately touching a child.

What begins as a question quickly turns to malicious gossip - and, in a town already haunted by an incident at the nearby Scouts centre, Brandon's life is picked apart.

Matt and Anna are torn - on whose side will they fall?

Big Bear Theatre Company in association with Park Theatre presents

DESDEMONA: A PLAY ABOUT A HANDKERCHIEF

By Paula Vogel

Directed by James Bounds

13 May - 8 June 2014

Big Bear Theatre Company, in association with Park Theatre, presents a deliciously demented version of Othello.

Desdemona's fate hinges on the location of a handkerchief. In this hilarious take on Shakespeare's classic play, Paula Vogel exposes Othello's wife as a volatile, passionate young woman who revels in bawdy tales of conquest - much to the chagrin of her long suffering maid, Emilia, and the entertainment of local prostitute, Bianca.

Against a misogynistic sixteenth century world, Vogel gives us three very different women - who form an unlikely friendship fighting against society's laws.

Paula Vogel's plays have been performed on Broadway and beyond. Awards include an Obie Award for Best New American Play for The Baltimore Waltz and the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for How I Learned to Drive.

Vaultage Productions presents

KLOOK'S LAST STAND

Written and directed by Che Walker

Lyrics by Che Walker & Anoushka Lucas

Music by Anoushka Lucas and Omar Lyefook

11 June - 6 July 2014

Klook is a drifter who's gotten too old to drift. Vinette is on the run but she doesn't know what's chasing her. Together, they make a tentative stab at love and reach for hope until the past catches up to the future and smacks it in the face.

Tough, tender, funny, poignant, Klook's Last Stand will grab you from the inside out. Soulful music combined with a witty, moving story makes this a mesmerizing theatre experience.

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