Clint Dyer and Carolina Main Lead Theatre503's VALHALLA, Beginning Tonight

You know the words but when it comes to pain and fear and love we are a breed apart...

Clint Dyer and Carolina Main have been named as the cast of Paul Murphy's VALHALLA - the joint winner of Theatre503's inaugural international Playwriting Award. This tense psychological thriller is set in a world in which men have become gods, but gods have become depraved.

VALHALLA runs at The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW, tonight 30th September - Saturday 24th October 2015. Press Night: Saturday 3rd October, 7.45pm.

Director Jo McInnes (Royal Court, National Theatre, RSC) comments: VALHALLA demands ones attention not only in its ideas but in its form. Its ambition and power are undeniable. I feel privileged to be part of its genesis from page to stage. Dyer and Main are each fantastic actors - when paired as a couple it's very exciting to watch their chemistry develop in rehearsals.

Main has recently appeared in Grantchester for ITV as well as King Lear for the RSC and The Winter's Tale and All's Well That Ends Well for the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. Dyer's extensive credits include The Royale (Bush Theatre), Sus (Young Vic and Tour) and Big White Fog (Almeida).

As violence sweeps the city, an exhausted couple seek refuge in an isolated Nordic research centre. They are on the brink of discovering a cure for the devastating disease which is ravishing the community when cracks in their marriage start to appear. Suddenly they find themselves forced to choose between conflicting allegiances to love and science.

Conceived against a backdrop of bewitching Icelandic scenery, this extraordinary play asks questions about the ethics of genetic research, fertility and the endurance of human love.

Playwright Paul Murphy comments, I wanted to use the subject of genetic research to explore the question of what makes us who we are, on both the genetic level and the individual level. I'm attracted to challenging pieces of work that ask important questions whilst retaining an emotional rawness. The play provides no answers but I hope it will provoke plenty of questions.

VALHALLA is produced in association with Sheer Drop Theatre and has been generously supported by Arts Council England, Cockayne - Grants for the Arts, The London Community Foundation and The Richard Carne Trust.

IF YOU GO:

VALHALLA

Wednesday 30th September - Saturday 24th October 2015 Tuesday to Saturday, 7.45pm and Sunday, 5pm

Running Tie: 80 minutes (no interval)

Recommendation: Ages 14+

At Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW (Theatre503 is located on above the Latchemere Pub on the corner of Latchmere Road and Battersea Park Road.)

Tickets are available priced £15 (£12 concessions); Pay What You Can Sundays. Available from Theatre503 Box Office and theatre503.com, 020 7978 7040.

Paul Murphy is a London-based playwright. With no university degree or formal training in playwriting, he was the joint winner of Theatre503's inaugural Playwriting Award in 2014 for his ground-breaking script VALHALLA. He has had a short play staged at Theatre503 as part of the venue's Rapid Write Response programme, but VALHALLA is his first full-length piece.

Jo McInnes has worked extensively as both an actress and director. She has directed work at the Bush Theatre, Royal Court, The Old Vic, Soho and Hampstead Theatre. Recent productions include Vera Vera Vera and Red Bud at the Royal Court, 36 Phone Calls at the Hampstead Theatre studio, I Can Hear You and This Is Not An Exit (Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place) and the world premiere of Marine Parade by Simon Stephens at the Brighton Festival. Her television credits also include The Verdict (BBC2) and Simon Stephens' Pornography (Chanel 4).

Clint Dyer is an Associate Director at the Royal Court and, as a writer, under commission to the National Theatre. Theatre credits include: The Royale (Bush Theatre); Perseverance Drive (Bush Theatre); Sus (Young Vic & Tour); Michael X (Eclipse Theatre and The Tabernacle); Big White Fog (Almeida); and AC arpet, A Pony and A Monkey (BushTheatre). Film credits include: Montana (dir. Mo Ali); Agora (dir. Alejandro Amenabar); Bean II (dir. Steve Bendelack, for Working Title); Love Me Still (dir. Danny Hiller); Portrait of London (dir. Simon McBurny / Mike Figgis); and Sahara (dir. Breck Eisner, for Paramount). Television credits include: MI High (Kudos Prodctions); Hope Springs (Shed Productions); Fallout (Company Pictures); Dalziel and Pascoe (BBC); Holby City (BBC); Inspector Lynley (BBC); The Commander (LaPlante Productions); 'Orrible (BBC); Skank (BBC/Shona); Douglas (BBC); Prime Suspect (Granada); Pie In The Sky (BBC); Eastenders (BBC); The Bill (Thames); The Upper Hand (Central); and Flip (BBC).

Carolina Main has recently appeared in Grantchester for ITV, directed by Harry Bradbeer. She's also been seen in Old Jack's Boat for Cbeebies and Tom Fontana's Borgia III, directed by Athina Tsangari. Prior to that she appeared as Regan in King Lear for the RSC's production reimagined for Young People, directed by Tim Crouch. Other credits include the short film The Swimmer for Warp Films, directed by Lynne Ramsay and The Winter's Tale and All's Well That Ends Well for the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival.

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