Photos: The Ringwald's SHOPPING & F***ING Opens Tonight, 9/8

The Ringwald opens its sixth season with the Detroit debut of Mark Ravenhill's gritty and controversial Shopping & f-ing (aka Shopping & F***ing). The first show in a season all about Family, Shopping & F***ing, opens tonight, September 8th and will play Saturday-Mondays for an exclusive three week run at The Ringwald Theatre in Downtown Ferndale.

Shopping & F***ing follows a crowd of drifters and sex traders in a seedy area of London. Five main characters comprise an unlikely family at whose center is an ever-changing love triangle of petty criminals. It is a gritty, grimy urban society, a microcosm of drugs, shoplifting, prostitution, and sexual adventure. The characters have shunnEd Morality and conduct hedonistic and destructive lives in this shocking, humorous, nihilistic play that examines a completely corrupted society. NOTE: Shopping & F***ing contains nudity, violence, and adult situations.

This groundbreaking drama was Mark Ravenhill's first full-length play and part of a movement in the 1990s of "in-yer-face" British theatre that dealt frankly with issues of sex and violence and pointedly challenged societal values

Shopping & F***ing opens tonight, September 8th and plays through Monday, September 24th at 8pm on Saturday and Monday nights with 3pm Sunday matinees.

Ticket prices are $20.00 for Saturday performances, $15 for Sunday shows, and Monday nights are HALF OFF the original ticket price at only $10 a ticket. Tickets can be purchased at www.TheRingwald.com or at the theatre box office. The Ringwald box office opens 45 minutes before performances and tickets can be purchased with cash or Visa/Mastercard.

The Ringwald opened their doors five years ago on May 11, 2007 with Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy. Quickly, The Ringwald became a mainstay of Detroit's theatre community. Past Productions include: Trainspotting, Shining City, The Bad Seed, Killer Joe, Bug, Mercury Fur, and Silent Night of the Lambs. The Ringwald was named 2009 and 2012 Best Theatrical Troupe by Real Detroit and Best Place to See Local Theatre in 2010, 2011 and 2012 by the readers of Metro Times.

SHOPPING & F***ING CAST AND CREATIVE: Mark played by Matthew Turner Shelton (Grosse Pointe); Robbie played by Robbie Dwight (Detroit); Lulu played by Genevive Jona (Detroit); Gary played by Bailey Boudreau (Ferndale); Brian played by Mikey Brown (Ferndale); Directed by Joe Bailey (Ferndale); Assistant Directed by Lisa Melinn (Royal Oak); Scene Design by Traci Jo Rizzo (Ferndale); and Costume Design by Vince Kelley (Ferndale).

Lulu (Genevieve Jona), Robbie (Robbie Dwight), Gary (Bailey Boudreau) and Mark (Matthew Turner Shelton)

Mark (Matthew Turner Shelton), Gary (Bailey Boudreau), Lulu (Genevieve Jona) and Robbie (Robbie Dwight)

Robbie (Robbie Dwight), Mark (Matthew Turner Shelton), and Lulu (Genevieve Jona)

Mark Ravenhill's Shopping & F***ing plays at Ferndale's Ringwald Theatre