Bestselling Thriller Comes To The Court Theatre In Stephen King's MISERY

Screams will be echoing in The Court Theatre when its first show of the Meridian Energy 2018/2019 season, Stephen King's Misery, opens this August.

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Stephen King, Misery is a thrilling story of obsession. Penned by playwright William Goldman (who wrote the screenplay for the Oscar winning film of the same name), Misery follows the tense story of writer Paul Sheldon as he struggles to break free of his captor - and biggest fan - Annie Wilkes.

Paul finds himself in Annie's care after waking up from a car crash somewhere in rural Colorado. Annie is, supposedly, Paul's saviour, having pulled him from the wreckage and into her home. But if that's the truth... then why is his bedroom door locked?

Annie has been patiently awaiting Paul's latest book in his popular Misery series but, upon reading the novel, flies into a frightening rage. Violently, she orders Paul to write a sequel where she gets to dictate the storyline.

Trapped with his new typewriter and his self-confessed biggest fan breathing down his neck, Paul does as she asks... All while plotting his escape.

For director Dan Bain, who is also the Associate Director at The Court, the story is a classic psychological thriller that he can't wait to bring to The Court's mainstage.

"If you've got an idea of what plays The Court does, this is the play that breaks those assumptions. Thrillers used to be a really big mainstay of people's theatre experience, but not so much anymore. It's a genre that is really easy to make a value judgement on by saying, 'that's not for me,' or, 'I certainly wouldn't enjoy that,' but there are things to enjoy in Misery that people will be surprised by."

The woman delving into the madness of Annie Wilkes is actor and director Lara Macgregor.

For Macgregor the play is exciting because, "so rarely does the opportunity present itself to view a psychological horror of this calibre on stage. It cleverly perches you on the edge of your seat while paying homage to the redemptive power of writing."

Joining her is two-time Chapman Tripp Theatre Award winner Gavin Rutherford as the man being kept under lock-and-key, writer Paul Sheldon, with Adam Brookfield rounding out the cast as cop Buster.

Bain, who designed and ran the Ghost Tour at the Arts Centre, knows a lot about frightening people - which is his aim in bringing Misery to life.

"We'll be doing our best to honour the intent of the piece... Our aim is not to please, coddle or pander. Our goal is screams."

Stephen King's Misery opens at The Court Theatre on 4th August and runs through until 25th August.

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