Torben Bett's INVINCIBLE Coming to Birmingham Repertory Theatre
By: Tyler Peterson Apr. 27, 2016
With the recession biting hard, Emily and Oliver have decided to downsize and shift their middle-class London lifestyle to a small town in the north of England. One night, they open their doors to their next door neighbours, Dawn and Alan. Over the course of a disastrous evening of olives, anchovies, Karl Marx and abstract art, class and culture collide, resulting in consequences that are both tragic and hilarious.
Playwright Torben Betts was born in Lincolnshire and studied at Liverpool University. He became the resident dramatist at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1999. Poet and dramatist Liz Lochhead said Betts "is just about the most original and extraordinary writer of drama we have." His play The Unconquered won Best New Play 2006/07 at the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland. 2015 saw a revival of his acclaimed 2012 play Muswell Hill at London's Park Theatre, his latest work, What Falls Apart, opened at Newcastle's Live Theatre, and his version of Chekhov's The Seagull was staged at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. He has adapted Get Carter for Northern Stage in Newcastle, which opened in February this year, before embarking on a major national tour.
The full cast includes Alastair Whatley as Oliver, Emily Bowker as Emily, Graeme Brookes as Alan and Kerry Bennett as Dawn, and will be directed by Associate Director of The Original Theatre Company, Christopher Harper.
Alastair Whatley most recently played Teddy Graham in the 2015 UK tour of Flare Path and Evans in the UK tour of Birdsong (Birdsong Productions / Original Theatre Company). Other recent theatre roles include Jerome in Three Men In A Boat and The Reverend Lionel Toop in See How They Run (both for Original Theatre Company), and the title role in Henry V (South Hill Park). Alastair is also the Artistic Director of the Original Theatre Company.
Emily Bowker has recently appeared at Salisbury Playhouse in Up Down Man, the sequel to the internationally acclaimed Up Down Boy by Brendan Murray (A Myrtle Theatre Company/Salisbury Playhouse). Other recent roles include Isabelle Azaire in the 2015 UK tour of Birdsong (Birdsong Productions/ Original Theatre Company), A Bunch Of Amateurs (The Watermill), What The Women Did (Two's Company/Southwark Playhouse) and London Wall (Two's Company/Finborough and St James Theatres).
Walsall actor Graeme Brookes most recently appeared in The Tempest (Teatr Modrzejewskiej /Colchester Mercury), A View From A Bridge, The Rivals; A Slight Ache/The Lover, King David - Man of Blood (Colchester Mercury Theatre), Transmissions (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Tanika's Journey (Frantic Assembly/Deafinitely Theatre) and The Police (Battersea Arts Centre).
Kerry Bennett recently finished playing Jess Cranham in Casualty (BBC). Kerry's theatre work includes Celia and Cora in Calendar Girls (National Tour), Cassandra in One For All (Finborough Theatre) and Natalie in The Queen Is Dead (The Lowry).
Director Christopher Harper is an Associate of the Original Theatre Company and directed their 2011 production of See How They Run. As an actor, he recently finished playing Benedick on a world tour of Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare's Globe, and starred as Victoria Wood's son, Cliff Last, in the television film Housewife 49.
Invincible is designed by Victoria Spearing, with sound by Dominic Bilkey. The national tour is produced by Tom Hackney for The Original Theatre Company and Adrian Grady for Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.
The Original Theatre Company was formed in 2004 by Creative Director Alastair Whatley. Based in Whepstead, Suffolk, they create touring productions of both classical and contemporary texts. Past productions include Flare Path, Birdsong, Our Country's Good, See How They Run, Twelfth Night, Dancing at Lughansa, The Madness of George III, The Importance of Being Oscar, Journey's End, Othello, and Vincent in Brixton.
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