The Tricycle Theatre has established a unique reputation for presenting plays that reflect the cultural diversity of its community, in particular by Black, Irish, Jewish, Asian and South African writers, as well as for responding to contemporary issues and events with its ground-breaking 'tribunal plays' and political work.
THE RIOTS
The Riots by
Gillian Slovo, from spoken evidence, continues the Tricycle's record of addressing current issues, in this case with a dramatic account of the recent riots, brought to the stage more than three months before the Deputy Prime Minister's Committee on Riots is due to report.
Nicolas Kent will direct The Riots by
Gillian Slovo, from spoken evidence, running from 17 November until 10 December, with press night on 22 November. Designs are by Polly Sullivan. Full casting to be announced at a later date.
Nicolas Kent and
Gillian Slovo were part of the team responsible for the critically acclaimed Guantanamo - Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, which transferred from the Tricycle to the West End and New York and was performed at the Houses of Parliament and in Washington's Capitol Hill.
From tweets by taxi drivers, to moment-by-moment accounts by riot police, it will build a real-time picture of the riots as they unfolded. And then, from interviews with politicians, police, teachers, lawyers, community leaders, as well as victims and on-lookers, it will analyse what happened, why it happened, and what we should do towards making a better future for ourselves and our city.
When
Nicolas Kent departs in 2012 he will have been Artistic Director of the
Tricycle Theatre for 28 years, building it into 'Britain's leading political playhouse' (The Times, 2011), through multiple award-winning verbatim and tribunal plays, whilst also staging some of the UK's most culturally diverse productions. Kent has most recently directed the critically acclaimed Tribunal Play Tactical Questioning: Scenes from the Baha Mousa Inquiry at the
Tricycle Theatre and in 2010 he directed Greta Garbo Came to Donegal. He co-directed The Great Game: Afghanistan, which premiered at the Tricycle in 2009 and returned in 2010 for a limited run before embarking on a US tour to Washington, Minneapolis, Berkeley and New York. In February this year The Pentagon commissioned two performances of the trilogy which were performed in Washington DC.
Other productions Kent has directed as Artistic Director of the Tricycle include The Great White Hope, which he also staged for the
Royal Shakespeare Company, Trouble in Mind, Wine in the Wilderness, A Love Song for Ulster, Macbeth, 10 Rounds,
Mustapha Matura's Playboy of the West Indies, Walk Hard, How Long Is Never?-Darfur A Response . He has directed all the Tricycle Tribunal Plays including the acclaimed The Colour of Justice - the
Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, and Bloody Sunday - the Saville Inquiry, which won an Olivier award, as well as the controversial Called To Account in which
Tony Blair was put on trial for crimes of aggression against Iraq. His television directing credits include The Workshop, Pentecost, Sharing Time, The Colour of Justice, Justifying War and Half the Picture. In 2006 Kent received an Evening Standard Award for 'pioneering political theatre', in 2008 the TMA Special Achievement award, and in 2010 received the Liberty Human Rights Arts Award.
Gillian Slovo is the author of eleven novels and her best-selling family memoir Every Secret Thing. Her novel, Red Dust, won the RFI Témoin du Monde prize in France and was made into a feature film starring
Hilary Swank and
Chiwetel Ejiofor. Ice Road was shortlisted for Britain's prestigious Orange Prize. She is a recipient of an Amnesty Media Award and compiled, with
Victoria Brittain, the Tricycle's highly successful production Guantanamo- Honor Bound to Defend Freedom. She also edited, from spoken evidence, the verbatim accounts in the Tricycle's Women, Power and Politics season. Gillian is President of English PEN, and her twelfth novel, An Honourable Man, will be published in January 2012.
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
The multi-award winning comedy Stones in his Pockets returns to the Tricycle in a new production directed by
Indhu Rubasingham. It will run at the
Tricycle Theatre from 15 December to 4 February, with press night on 20 December. Designs are by Rosa Maggiora with lighting by
Malcolm Rippeth and sound by David McSeveney. Full casting will be announced in due course.
Stones in his Pockets won awards for Best New Comedy at the 2001 Olivier Awards and the 2000 Evening Standard Awards. It transferred from the Tricycle to the West End, then Broadway, becoming an international hit. Now it returns to the
Tricycle Theatre where it had its original London Premiere.
County Kerry, Ireland. A rural community is turned upside down by the arrival of an American film crew on location to capture 'real' Ireland for their latest Hollywood blockbuster. When locals Charlie Conlon and Jake Quinn are employed as extras for the film, they, like the rest of the village, struggle to present the Americans' romanticised Ireland, a stark contrast to the reality of daily life. Over 15 characters are portrayed by 2 actors.
Indhu Rubasingham last directed the critically acclaimed season Women, Power and Politics at the
Tricycle Theatre. She also co-directed The Great Game: Afghanistan alongside
Nicolas Kent. Further directing credits for the
Tricycle Theatre include Detaining Justice as part of the 2009 Not Black And White season, Fabulation, Starstruck and Darfur: How Long is Never? Rubasingham's other credits as a director include Ruined at
The Almeida Theatre, Disconnect, Sugar Mummies, Lift Off, Free Outgoing and Club Land all for
The Royal Court Theatre, Wuthering Heights for Birmingham Rep, Ramayana for
The National Theatre and Birmingham Rep, Pure Gold for Soho Theatre, Heartbreak House for Watford Palace Theatre, Yellowman and Anna In The Tropics at Hampstead Theatre, Romeo and Juliet for
Chichester Festival Theatre and The Waiting Room by Tanika Gupta for
The National Theatre.
THE BOMB - A PARTIAL HISTORY
IN TWO PARTS
FIRST BLAST (1940-1992) It is the first year of World War II, and in Whitehall two
emigré Jewish scientists are waiting for a meeting to get the British establishment to take their nuclear research seriously. The following plays then trace the history of Attlee's Labour party wrestling with the decision to build the Atomic Bomb, the Cuban missile crisis from a Russian perspective, China's war with India and the subsequent development of India's bomb, the break-up of the Soviet Union and the unilateral disarmament of Ukraine.
SECOND BLAST (1992-2012) A contemporary take on the non-proliferation debate looking at Israel's and Iran's nuclear capability, the "axis of evil" speech and its affect on North Korea, the U.K.'s continuing reliance on Trident in the post cold-war era, through to the current negotiations with Iran and weapons inspections there.
Commissioned by the Tricycle from playwrights
Lee Blessing, Ryan Craig,
John Donnelly,
David Greig, Elena Gremina, Amit Gupta,
Zinnie Harris,
Ron Hutchinson,
Diana Son and
Colin Teevan, The Bomb - a partial history is in two parts, and is the political history of the Nuclear Bomb from 1940 to present-day Nuclear proliferation and its implications for the world now. Each of the two parts can be seen on consecutive nights or on an afternoon and evening over the weekend, from 9 February until 1 April, with the press performances on Monday 20 February 2012. The Bomb - a partial history is directed by
Nicolas Kent. Designs are by Polly Sullivan, with sound by Tom Lishman. Jack Bradley is the Dramaturg for the production and Zoe Ingenhaag is Associate Producer.
From the 9 February- 1 April the Tricycle will be hosting a festival THE TRICYCLE GOES NUCLEAR comprising a film festival, talks, discussions, an education programme and exhibitions which run concurrently with The Bomb - a partial history. The aim of the festival will be to raise issues about Nuclear proliferation, Nuclear power, and to contribute towards the national debate before the UK makes its decision as to whether to renew Trident in 2014.
Full details of THE TRICYCLE GOES NUCLEAR festival will be announced in December 2011.
Please see above for
Nicolas Kent's biography.
LISTINGS
Address
Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR
Phone 020 7328 1000
In person 10am - 9pm Monday - Saturday, 2 - 9pm on Sundays
Online
www.tricycle.co.ukTHE RIOTS
PERFORMANCES Monday - Saturday at 8pm
Saturday mats at 4pm
Weekday matinees Thurs 24 Nov, Wed 30 Nov, Wed 7 Dec
Press Night - 22 Nov at 7pm
PRICES £13 for all performances
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
PERFORMANCES Monday - Saturday at 8pm
Saturday mats at 4pm
Weekday matinees Weds 28 Dec, 4, 18 Jan, 1 Feb
Press Night - Tues 20 Dec at 7pm
PRICES £14 Mon 8pm, Weekday Matinees
£20 Tues-Fri, Sat 4pm
£24 Sat 8pm
N.B if you book for performances in 2011 you will get £2 off full price tickets.
THE BOMB
PERFORMANCES Go to
www.tricycle.co.uk to see calendar for details
Press performances at 2.30pm & 7.00pm on 20 February
PRICES £14 Mon-Fri 8pm - one part
£25 Mon - Fri 8pm - both parts
£16 Weekend ticket for one part
£29 Weekend ticket for two parts
CAFÉ-BAR
The Tricycle Café (serving food) is open from 12noon to 8pm Mondays to Fridays and 10am - 8pm on Saturdays. The Tricycle Bar (serving drinks and snacks) is open from 12 noon Mondays to Fridays & from 10.30am Saturdays & closes at 11pm Mondays to Saturdays. On Sundays the Bar is open 3-9pm.
TRANSPORT
Tube: Kilburn (Jubilee Line)
Bus: 16, 31, 32, 98, 189, 206, 316, 328
Train: Brondesbury (London overground)
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