London's Good Night Out Closes A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION, 7/17

From June 16 to July 17, Cath Farr for Good Night Out present the UK premiere of Jack Hibberd's play A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION at the c*ckTavern Theatre in London.  The production will be directed by, designed by, and starring Mark Little.

Mark Little plays the irascible anti-hero Monk O'Neill - philosopher and yarn-spinner, heroic battler and individualist, satirical revolutionist, cultured man-of-letters and bon-vivant. This poetic monologue introduces the audience to the painfully lonely world of Monk O'Neill and his memories as he faces death alone, but with humour and resilience. The play is set in the Australian Bush.

Since it was first performed in 1972, A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION has been celebrated as one of the classics of Australian theatre and is now widely regarded as Jack Hibberd's most important play. In 2009 it was studied as a set text on the drama syllabus in Australia. Good Night Out Presents is producing the UK premiere of this significant script as part of its commitment to bringing unduly neglected plays to a new audience. Mark Little starred in the inaugural Good Night Out Presents production of Cosi in 2008.

Of the play, the Melbourne Herald-Sun says, "Hibberd's script is a perfectly crafted, multi-faceted jewel... Classy, intellectual, witty, passionate and gut-wrenchingly funny."  The Sydney Morning Herald calls it, "An Australian classic, for good reason... bold and absurd... it boisterously lets rip with the vernacular, and gives its actor the chance to show his mettle," while the Sunday Age describes it as, "One of the classics of the theatre... fresh and funny... power to astonish and to move."

Playwright Jack Hibberd was born near Bendigo, Victoria, and studied Medicine at the University of Melbourne. While practising as a doctor, Hibberd wrote poetry and plays, and White With Wire Wheels was produced at the University of Melbourne in 1967. Soon after this success, Hibberd was a founding member of the La Mama Company, which became the Australian Performing Group and performed many of his early plays. In 1973, he began writing full-time. That year David Williamson directed Dimboola and it was adapted to film in 1979. Dimboola is Jack's most popular play, a wedding reception audience-participation play, which attracts 20 productions a year in Australia. In 1983 he founded the Melbourne Writers Theatre.
He has published three novels: Memoirs of an Old Bastard, Perdita, The Life of Riley, as well as three volumes of poetry Le Vin des Amants (after Baudelaire), The Genius of Human Imperfection, and Madrigals for a Misanthrope.
Jack has written 40 plays including: Three Old Friends, The Les Darcy Show, A Toast to Melba , One of Nature's Gentlemen, Mothballs, Lavender Bags, Liquid Amber, Duets, Slam Dunk, A History of the Western World in Ninety Minutes, The Second Coming and Commandments. Jack practices medicine part-time as a clinical immunologist and is a noted arts journalist who reviews stage productions and books for newspapers and journals. He has just completed four years service on the Literature Board of the Australia Council.

Mark Little trained as an actor at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. His theatre credits include: Australian performance artist Leigh Bowery in Taboo in (West End and UK tour), Costard in Loves Labours Lost, Crispin in A Chorus of Disapproval, Laurie Blake in The Temple, Toad in Wind in the Willows, Alan in Serial Killers, Bottom in A Mid Summer Night's Dream (Stafford Shakespeare Festival) and Roy in Cosi.
His West End debut was in Defending the Caveman (Apollo Theatre) in 1999, for which he won The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment (2000). In 2009 he reprised the role and completed an extended nine week season at Leicester Square Theatre and a 3 month British Tour. Mark returned to the Leicester Square Theatre in January 2010 for a second season and national tour this year.
Mark is well known for his self-devised productions at the Edinburgh Fringe and has toured the shows nationally. He will return to Edinburgh in 2011 to present his 9th installment. It will be his 21th anniversary show having first hit with Mark Little's Atomic Dilemma in 1990.
Mark has appeared in fifteen feature films including An Indecent Obsession and Short Changed. He has been nominated for 2 Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Actor.
After settling in Britain in 1992, Mark went on to present a number of programmes on British television, including The Big Breakfast (Channel 4) which he presented for two and a half years. He had his own strand on Wish You Were Here (ITV) and since 2009 he has been a regular panelist on The Wright Stuff (Channel 5). On television Mark is best known for his portrayal of Joe Mangel in the soap phenomenon Neighbours where he created one of Ramsay Street's most legendary characters. He received an Australian Television Society Best Actor nomination for his role as Joe and won the same award for his portrayal of Ron Miller in The Flying Doctors in 1985. In 2010 he will be seen on Ladies of Letters (ITV) and Celebrity Masterchef 2010 (BBC).
Of Mark Little, the press says, "Out-Hirsting Damien, he puts new life into the hackneyed adjective ‘surreal'" (The Independent); "Consistent, talented, funny...a man who never fails to please" (The Scotsman); and "Should be ranked with the best of them" (The Guardian).

The c*ckTavern Theatre has firmly established itself at the forefront of the London Fringe by winning the prestigious Dan Crawford Pub Theatre Award at the Peter Brook Empty Space Awards. Formed in January 2009, under the artistic leadership of Adam Spreadbury-Maher, the theatre runs a programme of new writing alongside select revivals. Resident company OperaUpClose's production of La Boh?me ran for a record-breaking 5 months this year; it transfers to Soho Theatre in July. Time Out says of the company, "Evocative. Edgy. Irresistible... We can't wait to see what they do next."

Adam Spreadbury-Maher (Best Artistic Director - Fringe Report Awards 2010) formed theatre company Good Night Out Presents in August 2008; they are the resident theatre company at The c*ckTavern Theatre. Credits include the Time Out Critics' Choice productions of Studies for a Portrait (White Bear and transfers to Oval House and King's Head) and The York Realist (Riverside Studios). Adam begins his first season as Artistic Director at the King's Head Theatre in autumn 2010, Good Night Out Presents will be the resident company at both The c*ckTavern and King's Head Theatres.

The c*ckTavern Theatre is located at 125 Kilburn High Road in London.  Performances will be Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8:15pm and Sundays at 5pm.  Tickets will be £15.  To purchases tickets, call 08444 771 000 or visit www.cocktaverntheatre.com.