David Edgar News

Jasmyn Banks and Tom England will join the previously announced Caroline Langrishe, Aden Gillett, James Sutton and Elizabeth Boag in the 2019 national tour of Torben Betts's biting comedy, CAROLINE'S KITCHEN, beginning on 24 January 2019 at Derby Theatre, running through to 13 April 2019 at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. This will be followed by an off-Broadway season in New York Spring 2019. There will be a national press night at Cambridge Arts Theatre on Tuesday 29 January 2019.

Having recently worked on a number of musicals (including the acclaimed Half a Sixpence), Rachel Kavanaugh returns to the RSC for a play which has some ghosts of the past and present. Sharing some of her earliest experiences with theatre, Rachel reveals what it's like to work alongside a figure from then, and what audiences can expect from this show now.

What makes a good play? A musical can hook you with a snappy showstopper, but a play, on the other hand, is all about the language, rhythm, and story. And some of the best contemporary plays I've seen of late are more character-driven than plot-driven and an exploration into the daily life of the everyman, muddling through just like the rest of us, trying to find himself or reconcile with his inner demons. I suppose it is the fine art of storytelling, as well as the astute observation of the ordinary while skating between the supernatural and the mundane, that makes Burning Coal's current production of Conor McPherson's THE WEIR so engrossing.

The Burning Coal Theatre Company is proud to present Conor McPherson's The Weir, the story of what happens on a seemingly quiet evening in a rural Irish pub when the local boys are visited by a stranger. Directed by Jerome Davis, The Weir will play at Burning Coal's Murphey School Auditorium in downtown Raleigh from November 29th through December 16th. There will be a "pay what you can day" on Sunday December 2nd.   Performances are November 29, 30 and December 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 & 15 at 7:30 pm and December 2, 9 & 16th at 2 pm.  Tickets are available now for $25, with a senior discount (65+) at $20, a student, teachers, and active military discount at $15 and student rush tickets for $5 (if available) at curtain. Those interested can secure their tickets online at burningcoal.org or by calling the box office at 919.834.4001.

Torben Betts's biting comedy, CAROLINE'S KITCHEN, was staged earlier this year on tour and at Park Theatre, London, under the title Monogamy, starring Janie Dee. Betts and his producers, Original Theatre Company, under the Artistic Direction of Alastair Whatley, have reworked the play and, with a new cast led by Caroline Langrishe, Aden Gillett, James Sutton and Elizabeth Boag (further casting to be announced), will begin a new national tour on 24 January 2019 at Derby Theatre, running through to 13 April 2019 at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. This will be followed by an off-Broadway season in New York Spring 2019.

Burning Coal Theatre Company is proud to announce that its Artistic Director, Jerome Merritt Davis, will receive the 2018 Raleigh Medal of Arts Award.

California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes) Board President Jean Simpson today announced that Managing Director Susie Falk will be stepping down from her position at the end of the calendar year, after 14 years with the company. The Board has formed a Transition Task Force to oversee this important evolution in leadership for Cal Shakes.

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project), in association with Middlebury College, proudly presents its 32nd repertory season, its 12th consecutive in New York City, in a limited Off-Broadway engagement at The Atlantic Stage 2, located at 330 West 16th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Previews began on July 10 for a July 17 opening with performances continuing through August 5.

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project), in association with Middlebury College, proudly presents its 32nd repertory season, its 12th consecutive in New York City, running July 10 - August 5, 2018 in a limited Off-Broadway engagement at The Atlantic Stage 2, located at 330 West 16th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project), in association with Middlebury College, proudly presents its 32nd repertory season, its 12th consecutive in New York City, running July 10 - August 5, 2018 in a limited Off-Broadway engagement at The Atlantic Stage 2, located at 330 West 16th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

Everybody has a nationality: most are inherited, and some are given to us. In the midst of a cultural and political climate dominated by Brexit, the Windrush scandal and debates about who has the right to belong, Chris Thorpe questions how we acquire these narratives and the internal and political conflicts that arise when people choose not to accept their nationality.

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project), in association with Middlebury College, proudly presents its 32nd repertory season, its 12th consecutive in New York City, running July 10 - August 5, 2018 in a limited Off-Broadway engagement at The Atlantic Stage 2, located at 330 West 16th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project), in association with Middlebury College, proudly presents its 32nd repertory season, its 12th consecutive in New York City, running July 10 - August 5, 2018 in a limited Off-Broadway engagement at The Atlantic Stage 2, located at 330 West 16th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

In 1968, playwright David Edgar was 20 years old. It was also the year of some of the most important and formative events in modern history, including the Paris student revolt, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Enoch Powell's "rivers of blood" speech, and the ongoing war in Vietnam. Trying It On is a new play written and performed by David Edgar, which reflects on the legacy of this momentous year, drawing on first-person interviews with some of the leading political figures of the time, as well as contemporary activists. The performance also marks David's first professional stage performance in this contemplative one-man play.

The second phase of a scheme to improve access to dance in rural communities has been launched with a call out to artists interested in creating or developing work for village halls. Rural Touring Dance Initiative 2 is a partnership between the National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF) and The Place, Take Art and China Plate. Dance is underrepresented on the rural touring circuit and the partnership is seeking to increase opportunities for rural audiences to experience the art form.

Artists Repertory Theatre is proud to present the World Premiere of The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota) from April 1 through 29, on the Morrison Stage. The play is directed by Luan Schooler, Artists Rep's Director of New Play Development & Dramaturgy. The Thanksgiving Play is the second commission of the theatre's Table|Room|Stage new play development program to receive its World Premiere at Artists Rep.

Artists Repertory Theatre is proud to present the World Premiere of The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota) from April 1 through 29, on the Morrison Stage. The play is directed by Luan Schooler, Artists Rep's Director of New Play Development & Dramaturgy. The Thanksgiving Play is the second commission of the theatre's Table|Room|Stage new play development program to receive its World Premiere at Artists Rep.

On the day that one of the most important British playwrights of the post-1960s generation celebrates his 70th birthday, he is also announcing his stage debut. Trying It On is a new play written and performed by David Edgar, which reflects on the legacy of the worldwide student revolt of 1968 (when David was 20 and at university), drawing on first person interviews with some of the leading political figures of the time, as well as contemporary activists.

Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic thriller has had such an impact on the public psyche that a reference to 'Jekyll and Hyde' is universally known as referring to a person with a dual personality. An adaptation at Kingston's Rose Theatre attempts to convey the dark horror of the story where upright Dr Jekyll's secret experiments split his personality in two and reveal the murderous Mr Hyde. Unfortunately, the shocking impact of the story is lost in this overly long and un-engaging adaptation.