Maxine Peake, Gemma Jones and Martha Goober to Perform in The Old Vic's Inaugural ONE VOICE Event

The Old Vic today announces the full programme for the inaugural One Voice performance on Saturday 26 November.

In this new strand of The Old Vic's programming, audiences will see a series of specially commissioned monologues by Shami Chakrabarti, Marie Jones and John Godber.

On Saturday 26 November, Maxine Peake, Gemma Jones and Martha Godber will perform these curated pieces in an afternoon which celebrates new writing.

A voice can take you anywhere, to see anything, to feel joy, pain, to make you laugh until you cry, to see inside another person's head, to build castles in the air.

Funded by the TS Eliot Estate, One Voice celebrates the most raw of theatre forms - a single voice on a stage without scenery, without costume and with nothing to rely on but words.

Saturday 26 November Full Programme:

R I G H T written and directed by John Godber and performed by Martha Godber.

Dear Arabella by Marie Jones, directed by Annabel Bolton and performed by Gemma Jones.

Thankless by Shami Chakrabarti directed by Annabel Bolton and performed by Maxine Peake, with an appearance from Jake Poolman.

Artistic Director, Matthew Warchus commented: 'At The Old Vic we believe in the vital importance of sharing stories and the compelling power they have to entertain our minds, offer fresh perspectives and foster understanding and empathy. Sometimes our stories are told by many people (such as the 23-strong cast currently performing King Lear) and sometimes by a single voice in an empty space. I'm very proud to be launching The Old Vic's new One Voice series of specially commissioned monologues, kindly supported by the TS Eliot Estate. Great writing, great acting, one voice.'

Other writers this season include Amelia Bullmore, Chris Terrio, Patrick Marber and Mark Watson, with more to be announced.

Annabel Bolton is an Associate Director of The Old Vic Theatre and has directed and produced many high profile events both in the UK and USA. Previous credits as director include Future Conditional (Co-Director with Matthew Warchus), Love Story (Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia), 24 Hour Plays Celebrity Gala, Scenes from Romeo and Juliet with West Side Story, The Old Variety Nights and many workshops. Credits as Associate Director include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Sam Mendes, Hay Fever for Howard Davies, Million Dollar Quartet for Eric Schaeffer, Love Story for Rachel Kavanaugh, Deathtrap & La Bête for Matthew Warchus, Backbeat for Iain Softley (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow), Norman Conquests for Matthew Warchus (Old Vic and on Broadway); Complicit for Kevin Spacey (Old Vic); Speed-the-Plow for Matthew Warchus (Recklinghausen, Germany). Assistant Director: The Lord of the Rings & Stones in His Pockets (UK tour). Film credits include Music Coordinator for Pride and for television Up the Women (BBC workshop).

Shami Chakrabarti was Director of Liberty from September 2003 - March 2016. Shami first joined Liberty as In-House Counsel on 10 September 2001 and became heavily involved in its engagement with the 'War on Terror' and with the defence and promotion of human rights values in Parliament, the Courts and wider society. Since then, she has written, spoken and broadcast widely on the importance of the post-WW2 human rights framework as an essential component of democratic society. She is Chancellor of University of Essex and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple. Shami was one of six independent assessors advising Lord Justice Leveson in his Public Inquiry into the Culture, Practice and Ethics of the UK Press. She was also chosen as one of eight Olympic flag carriers at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. She is an Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Manchester, and in 2015 she was a Law Commissioner for LSE's Gender, Equality and Power Commission. Shami's first book, On Liberty, was published in October 2014.

John Godber's plays are performed across the world and he has the distinction of being one of the most performed writers in the English language. He has won numerous awards for his plays including an Olivier Award and seven Los Angeles Critics' Circle Awards. His plays include Bouncers, Up 'N' Under, April In Paris, Teechers, Blood Sweat And Tears, Happy Jack, September In The Rain, Salt Of The Earth, Passion Killers, Happy Families, Gym & Tonic, Lucky Sods, Unleashed, Thick As A Brick, Men Of The World, Perfect Pitch, Muddy Cows and Funny Turns. John also co-wrote the highly successful Shakers with Jane Thornton. John is also co-writer of the BAFTA-award-winning Oddsquad and wrote both Thunder Road and My Kingdom For A Horse (BBC). His first feature film, Up 'N' Under, adapted from his own play was released in 1998. John has also written extensively for radio, including two series of Spread A Little Happiness, which he co-wrote with Jane Thornton for Watershed Productions, Going East, also co-written with Jane Thornton and First Born, both for the BBC. John has recently established The John Godber Company working with Theatre Royal, Wakefield, which will present his plays. To date, the company has toured his play The Debt Collectors, Weekend Breaks and Losing The Plot, all of which he has also directed. He has also directed a production of his adaptation of Stan Barstow's A Kind Of Loving for The John Godber Company.

Martha Godber has appeared in Residue for Matador Pictures, South Riding for the BBC, and most recently, The Last laugh for Visualize Films. She has appeared in numerous productions for radio, including The Gift with Stephen Tompkinson, Fact to Fiction and Award-winning serial D for Dexter. Theatre work includes Funny Turns for Hull Truck Theatre, and most recently The Empty Nesters Club for The John Godber Company. Martha is currently studying for an acting degree at Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and is also a graduate of Northern Contemporary Dance.

Gemma Jones has worked extensively for stage and screen. Theatre credits include Richard III, The Marriage of Figaro, King Lear, After Aida (The Old Vic), A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Henry IV Part 1 & Part 2 (RSC); The Cavern, Getting On, The Homecoming, The Ride Down Mount Morgan, Cat on a Hot Tim Roof, The Master Builder (West End), The Mystery of the Rose Bouquet, The Family Reunion (Donmar Warehouse). Television includes Marvellous (for which she won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress), Last Tango in Halifax, Whistle and I'll Come to You, Spooks, Longitude, Inspector Morse, After the Dance, The Seagull, The Lie, The Duchess of Duke Street. Film includes The Devils, Sense and Sensibility, The Winslow Boy, Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Bridget Jones' Baby, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, You Will Meet a Talk Dark Stranger, Radiator.

Marie Jones is an award-winning Irish writer and has written extensively for stage and television. Her play Stones in His Pockets was an international success, has been performed in over thirty countries to date, and has won numerous awards all over the world. Both Women on the Verge of HRT and A Night in November were revived in London and Belfast in 2008 and Women on the Verge of HRT toured the UK in 2009. Marie co-wrote the book for the smash hit musical, Dancing Shoes, which sold out the Belfast Opera House for its initial eight week run in summer 2010. Marie's comedy Fly Me To The Moon played at the Grand Opera House in Belfast before transferring to New York and touring around Ireland. Marie is one of the founding members of the Charabanc Theatre Company and was its Writer in Residence from 1983-90. She also works as an actress and played Sarah Conlon in the Jim Sheridan film In the Name of the Father. Marie received the John Hewitt Award for outstanding contribution to culture, tradition and the arts in Northern Ireland. Her most recent play Mistletoe and Crime was a huge sell-out hit at The Lyric Belfast for Christmas 2014.

Maxine Peake has had a prolific run of top quality television dramas in recent years; Silk, Criminal Justice, The Village, Hancock & Joan and Shameless. Maxine has enjoyed a range of colourful roles in film including Private Peaceful, Run And Jump, Keeping Rosy, SvengalIi and Carol. In 2015 she firmly cemented her position as one of the country's leading ladies with her role as Stephen Hawking's carer The Theory Of Everything alongside Eddie Redmayne. With a rich list of credits in front of the camera, Maxine's career in theatre is as equally impressive. She has performed at some of the most prestigious theatres in the country, including the National Theatre, the West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Royal Court. Maxine took the title role in Hamlet at the Manchester Royal Exchange in a "radical reimagining" of William Shakespeare's play, which opened to rave reviews. Maxine has also turned her considerable talents to scriptwriting. Starting with her first radio play Beryl: A Love Story On Two Wheels which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and nominated for a Sony Radio Award, it was obvious that her expertise lay in writing stories as well as telling them, with a particular focus on creating female-led and female-fronted drama. Beryl was adapted into a stage play, again penned by Maxine, and produced at the West Yorkshire Playhouse as part of the Tour de France Grand Départ.

Jake Poolman is 14 and lives with his family in Hertfordshire. Theatre credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, LES MISERABLES (West End).

ONE VOICE will take place on Saturday 26 November 2016 at 5pm in the Rehearsal Room, The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 8NB. Tickets: £10. Contact The Old Vic Box Office at 0844 871 7628 or online at oldvictheatre.com.

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