Epic Theatre Ensemble Casts 'Palace Of The End'

 Epic Theatre Ensemble announced today that Teri Lamm, Heather Raffo  and Rocco Sisto will comprise the three-person cast of the New York Premiere of Palace of the End, a new drama by Judith Thompson.  Thompson's play was recently announced as the 2008 winner of the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for playwriting.

Palace of the End is an incendiary and haunting triptych of monologues that intimately explores the experiences of three key figures of the Middle East crisis: Lynndie England (Lamm), the U.S. soldier who was convicted of abusing detainees at Baghdad's Alu Gharib prison; David Kelly (Sisto), the British weapons inspector who allegedly committed suicide after being involved in a government scandal and Nehrjas Al Saffarh (Raffo), a member of the Communist Party of Iraq who suffered under Saddham Hussein's regime and died when the Americans bombed her home during the initial Gulf War.

Commissioned and developed by Epic Theatre Ensemble, Palace of the End caps a distinguished 30-year career for the Canadian playwright.  Directed by Daniella Topol, the play will begin performances on June 11 at Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons.  Opening Night is set for June 23 as part of Epic's current 2007-8 Season.

Scenic Design is by Mimi Lien, Lighting Design is by Justin Townsend, Costume Design is by Theresa Squire, Sound Design is by Ron Russell, Projection Design is by Leah Gelpe and Original Music is by Katie Down.

Palace of the End is based on the monologue play, My Pyramids by Judith Thompson, first read at the Toronto political cabaret, The Wrecking Ball.  The premiere production was subsequently produced by Volcano at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in August, 2005.  The play was further developed with the Canadian Stage Company in Toronto where it received its Canadian Premiere in February, 2008.

Tickets are priced at $50.00 and are now on sale through TicketCentral by calling 212- 279-4200 or visiting www.ticketcentral.com.

Winner of OBIE, Lucille Lortel and OTTO Awards, Epic Theatre Ensemble was founded in 2001 by Zak Berkman, Melissa Friedman, Teri Lamm, Ron Russell and James Wallert.  Additional Producing Artists are Godfrey L. Simmons Jr. and Sarah Winkler.  Epic's past productions include Nilaja Sun's No Child..., which Epic commissioned, developed and premiered before its commercial transfer and current national tour, as well as premieres of A Hard Heart by Howard Barker (featuring Kathleen Chalfant), Beauty on the Vine by Zak Berkman (featuring Epic Associates David Strathairn and Olivia Wilde), Hannah and Martin by Kate Fodor (featuring David Strathairn), Einstein's Gift by Vern Thiessen (featuring Aasif Mandvi and Shawn Elliott), Habitat by Judith Thompson and revivals of GB Shaw's Widowers' Houses (with Peter Jay Fernandez), Little Eyolf by Henrik Ibsen and Time and the Conways by J.B. Priestley.

For more information visit www.epictheatreensemble.org.

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