Alan Cox to Star in THE DIVIDED LAING Premiere at the Arcola This Autumn

Cabinet of Cynics and Stepping Out Theatre present THE DIVIDED LAING by Patrick Marmion, running November 18 - December 12, 2015 at the Arcola Theatre.

'Some people are lucky: they get through life thinking the ground beneath them is solid...'

London, 1970. Experimental psychiatrist R.D. Laing is facing eviction from his pioneering asylum in the East End's Kingsley Hall. Local residents are up in arms -- and to make matters worse, Ronnie's revolutionary colleague David Cooper is flipping out on the roof...

With his personal life going down the pan and his mental state heading the same way, Ronnie takes an acid trip to the future. His mission is to save his therapeutic collective The Philadelphia Association, and secure his professional legacy. Will it be a one-way ticket to madness -- or can breakdown sometimes mean breakthrough?

Alan Cox (Broadway's TRANSLATIONS) plays Ronnie Laing in this provocative, freewheeling comedy by the acclaimed playwright and journalist Patrick Marmion. Also in the cast are Amiera Darwish, Laura-Kate Gordon, Kevin McMonagle, Oscar Pearce and James Russell.

Michael Kingsbury (In Lambeth, Ying Tong) directs the world premiere production, with designs by Nicolai Hart-Hansen, on the 50th anniversary of The Philadelphia Association and of Laing's experimental asylum at Kingsley Hall in Bromley-by-Bow.

Patrick Marmion's previous plays include The Institute (Etcetera), Pieta - After Chekhov (Finborough & Print Room) and Terms & Conditions(White Bear). Screenplays include Mushroom Soup (Sam Mendes/Renaissance Films), Kids FM (Working Title Television), Maid Marion (Channel Four Films), The Dead Guy and Archie Tanner & The Dodo (Children's Film & Television Foundation).

Michael Kingsbury's directing credits includes In Lambeth by the Olivier Award-winning Jack Shepherd at the Southwark Playhouse; the critically-acclaimed Ying Tong by Roy Smiles, which opened at the West Yorkshire Playhouse before transferring to the Ambassadors; This Other Eden by Jonathon Moore at the Soho Theatre (runner up in the Verity Bargate Awards); The Caretaker and Bloody Poetry.

Click here for tickets and more information.