EastLine Theatre Brings A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON to Long Island

EastLine Theatre will return to the BACCA Arts Center in Lindenhurst this December with the Long Island premiere of A Very Expensive Poison by Emmy-winning playwright Lucy Prebble. Based on the true story of the life and death of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, A Very Expensive Poison was the 2020 winner of the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

"Some plays steal into your heart, others race," says director Nicole Savin, "What begins as an explosive mystery becomes a farce, takes a left turn through puppetry, adds a sprinkle of vaudeville, and finishes with a gut punch of emotional honesty." The honesty stems from the truth behind the play: Alexander Litvinenko became mysteriously ill on November 1, 2006 and died on November 23, 2006. In the intervening days, Litvinenko and his wife Marina traced the path of his own poisoning. "This is one of the great plays," Savin adds, "I could not be more pleased to be introducing Long Island audiences to it."

Performances will take place at the BACCA Arts Center in Lindenhurst December 20th through January 4th. 

A Very Expensive Poison by Lucy Prebble, based on the book An Expensive Poison by Luke Harding is directed by Nicole Savin and presented by EastLine Theatre in partnership with the Babylon Citizens Council on the Arts, costumes are by Lyn Adler and Wendy Grimm, stage management by Michelle Savin, original music by David Edward Keen, and lighting design by Remi Watts.

The cast of A Very Expensive Poison features Boyu Chen, Tom Ciorciari, Michael Devereaux, Carl DiModugno, Taylor Dunn, Steven Garry, Elise Hansen, David Edward Keen, John McGowan, Allison Paul, Debbie Starker, and Candace Wilkerson.

"One of the boldest, bravest theatre companies on Long Island," according to Fire Island News, the nonprofit EastLine Theatre aims to create theatre in unlikely spaces while re-examining the canon, exploring modern plays, and bringing original works to the attention of the community.