JW3 & Wilton's Music Hall to Revive LISTEN, WE'RE FAMILY

LISTEN, WE'RE FAMILY, the hit show at JW3 last Autumn, is to be freshly revived in a new co-production between JW3 and Wilton's Music Hall.

The play, written by Kerry Shale and Matthew Lloyd, was created using the verbatim theatre technique. A revelatory exploration of contemporary family life, it dramatises the universally true stories of an extraordinary gallery of real characters.

Wilton's Music Hall is situated in the heart of the "old East End" of the Jewish community who populated the area so densely before moving on. Understanding the lives of local families over the years is an important part of Wilton's research today - helping the theatre to understand its past and the position it will hold within the local communities of the future.

"When we started the project," said actor and co-creator Kerry Shale, "we had no idea we would be entrusted with such hilarious and hair-raising material. Everyone connects with a different story, whether it's the Medallion Man who started a suburban spanking club, the Rabbi on the liberation of Belsen or the 91 year-old barber who experienced a childhood punch-up around the corner from Wilton's."

Director and co-creator Matthew Lloyd added: "One of the most moving things last time round was the way the contributors themselves responded to the show. They're just ordinary people getting through their lives, but there's a real heroism in the way they share that and make you laugh as well as cry about it."

Two of the original cast, Kerry Shale and Tom Berish, will reprise their roles alongside new cast members Jennie Stoller and Debbie Chazen. Jennie's theatre credits recently include Ding Dong The Wicked and Seven Jewish Children (both Royal Court Theatre), Hacked (Theatre 503) and Scorched (Old Vic Tunnels). Debbie Chazen has recently appeared on stage in Calendar Girls and The Duck House (both West End) and on screen in Holby City (BBC). Debbie is also is a specialist in the verbatim technique from her work with acclaimed playwright Alecky Blythe in The Girlfriend Experience.

Raymond Simonson, Chief Executive of JW3, said: "This was our inaugural theatre commission and it struck such a powerful chord with our audience that we had to find a way to bring it back."

Frances Mayhew, Artistic Director of Wilton's, said: "Matthew Lloyd created a really poignant and beautiful verbatim play about modern day pilgrims for Wilton's during our first building phase - as we started on our own pilgrimage to fix Wilton's. He and Kerry are so sensitively able to take real people's stories and transform them perfectly on stage. These particular stories also resonate with Wilton's heritage and we were delighted to be asked to launch its revival with JW3 now, during the final phase of our building works."

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