Third Man Theatre's MUGS ARROWS Plays the Old Red Lion Theatre, Now thru June 21

Critically acclaimed theatre company Third Man Theatre are working at the Old Red Lion for the first time, with the London transfer of their brand new full-length show, Mugs Arrows, which was developed and premiered at the Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter as part of their Residency programme in 2013 receiving rave reviews. The show will run at the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington from today, 3rd - 21s June 2014. Press night is set for Thursday 5th June, 7.30pm.

Mugs Arrows is a surreal black comedy set in very ordinary surroundings - the local pub. With rural areas being forever altered through commercial development and extreme weather conditions and locals disenchanted by a lack of jobs and the ever- increasing allure of a life elsewhere, Mugs Arrows delves in to a world that is on the change. It explores the depths of the human psyche, love, loss, friendship and darts, leading to hilarious, strange and ultimately disturbing results. Just your average night out down the local then...

Set in a rural pub in North Derbyshire, Mugs Arrows follows two slightly odd locals (played by Rhys King and Eddie Elks) who enter the pub and begin to play darts. It appears they have been at a funeral of their best friend but when Sarah (Chiara Wilde) enters wearing a wedding dress it is clear things are not quite as they seem - they have lost their best friend in a different manner. As Sarah joins in the game, the action becomes odder and slowly more dangerous with surreal surprises along the way.

This production also marks the return to the Old Red Lion of Ken McClymont who was former Artistic Director of the theatre from 1988 - 2001. During his time he programmed over one hundred and fifty shows and directed over forty.

Newly appointed Old Lion Artistic Director Stewart Pringle said: "It's fantastic to have Ken here to direct, and I look forward to hearing first hand about his remarkable time running this place."

CAST:

Pat - Rhys King
Ed - Eddie Elks
Sarah - Chiara Wilde

CREATIVES:

Director | Ken McClymont
Producer | Molly Roberts
Associate Producer | Paul Jellis
Set Design | Ken McClymont
Sound Design | James Freeman
Props | Natasha Jenkins
Special Coordinator | Patrick Molyneux

Performances : Tuesday - Saturday at 7.30pm
Matinees: Saturday at 3pm / Sunday at 2pm
Ticket prices: £15 full price / £13 concession / £10 Sunday Running Time: 1 hour 20 minutes with no interval

To book general tickets for Mugs Arrows at the Old Red Lion, call the box office on 0844 412 4307 or visit www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk.

CAST / CREATIVES BIOGRAPHIES:

RHYS KING (Pat) - Theatre Includes: Study in Scarlet (Southwark Playhouse), Botallack O'Clock (Third Man Theatre, UK Tour and 59E59 Theaters New York), Romeo and Juliet (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds), No Picnic (Mc Mac and the Red Bear Collective), Twelfth Night, The Intruder, See How They Run (Original Theatre Company), Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice (Guildford Shakespeare Company), Madness of George III, Journey's End (Icarus Theatre/ Original Theatre Company UK National Tour), Our Boys (Young Mann Walker, Tabard Theatre) DOIG! The Musical (Basic Theatre, Tabard Theatre), Othello (Creation Theatre Company). Film Includes: Hitler, And Nothing But The Truth, Moviem.

CHIARA WILDE (Sarah) - Theatre includes: Belle (Theatre 503), Jayden's War (Y&T Rep, Oxford House Theatre), Swan Love (Populace, The Bush Theatre), The Love of the Nightgale (Rough Fiction) and Almost Nothing(Theatre 6, Waterloo East Theatre). Film includes: The Love That Lasts Forever, Quarantine.

EDDIE ELKS (Ed / Writer) - Theatre Includes: A Piece of Cake (Mill at Sonning), Alfie in Alfie (Blackeyed Theatre, National Tour), Stalag Happy (Third Man, National Tour), The Dice House (Hen and Chickens), Cold Comfort Farm (Lichfield Garrick Rep), Much Ado About Nothing (Central Line Touring, Lichfield Garrick), Mojo (Easy Eye Theatre, Regional Tour). TV and Film includes: Crossing Lines (NBC), Vikings (History Channel), The Bible (History Channel), Holby City (BBC), Voyages of Discovery (BBC), Simon and Emily (Opiate Films). Writing/Directing Credits include: Botallock O'Clock, Stalag Happy, The One That Got Away (Third Man Theatre).

KEN MCCLYMONT (Director) - Ken was Artistic Director of the Old Red Lion Theatre from 1988-2002. He has directed over forty productions of mostly new plays including Doig The Musical With No Singing No Dancing And Very Little Music by Greg Freeman in September 2009 (Tabard Theatre), Hummingbird and Eat The Enemy by Chris Lee in 1996 and 1999 (Old Red Lion Theatre). He won an Outstanding Contribution to Fringe Theatre Award in recognition of consistent programming of an exceptional standard in the 1989-1990 Charrington London Fringe Awards, a Best Director Award at the London New Play Festival and Best Production of a Comedy Award at the Charrington London Fringe Awards for John Byrne's The Slab Boys.

MOLLY ROBERTS (Producer) - Molly is an Acting graduate of the Guildford School of Acting and Artistic Director / Executive Producer for Poleroid Theatre. She is also Associate Producer for Third Man Theatre and has assistant produced for Nabokov Theatre. Her producing credits include: FlickBook (Theatre503/Etcetera); Back2Back (White Bear); Breakout (Cockpit); Write It : Mic It (Hackney Attic Regular / Castle Hotel Manchester); Peanuts (Tristan Bates/Last Refuge); Instadate (Hackney Attic/Ritzy Cinema); Our Father (Theatre503); Timebomb (White Bear); Nabokov Arts Club (Vault Festival/Nabokov Theatre). She is currently producing Mugs and Arrows (Old Red Lion/Third ManTheatre); Free Fall (Pleasance Islington); The Allotment (R&D, Live Theatre Newcastle).

ABOUT THIRD MAN THEATRE: Third Man Theatre are an award winning theatre company based in London and Cornwall. They specialise in new writing and produce 1-2 plays a year. Previous productions have included Stalag Happy, which won a Spirit of the Fringe Award in 2009 and most recently Botallack O'Clock by Eddie Elks, a black comedy based on the life and death of the artist Roger Hilton CBE, which was shortlisted for Time Out's Best Fringe Show 2011 and transferred to New York as part of the Brits Off Broadway Season 2013.