Laura Jacqmin's A THIRD to Premiere at Finborough Next Month

The world premiere of A Third by award-winning Chicago playwright Laura Jacqmin runs at the Finborough Theatre for twelve performances, on Sunday and Monday evenings and Tuesday matinees, from Sunday, 28 June 2015 (Press Night: Monday 29 June 2015 at 7.30pm).

Young marrieds Paul and Allison have everything going for them. They have money, they're in love, and their sex life is great. But could it be better? Instead of being monogamous, why not try "monogam-ish"? What would happen if they invited "a third" into their bedroom and into their lives?

Allison and Paul convince themselves that they are being just about as liberal and adventurous as modern society seems to want. But as they transition from threesomes to couple-swapping, they discover the fragility of their own liberal attitudes. Just how flexible can one person's sexuality truly be? And how far can "monogam-ish" go before it's simply cheating? Can a couple go back to simply being a couple?

A funny, provocative and unflinching look at modern attitudes to sex, relationships and polyamorous love.

The run will be accompanied by the return of our FINBOROUGHFORUM, a series of informal discussions and debates, after every performance on Sunday and Monday evenings. All events are free to ticketholders for that evening's performance of the new play. FINBOROUGHFORUM events will all be Twitter friendly with live tweets from @FinboroughForum. Using the hashtag #finfor, the speakers will also answer questions posed on Twitter so everyone can be included, no matter where they are in the world. Discussions will include the definition of modern romantic relationships - a hot topic in recent discourse, especially given the recent legalisation in both countries, partial or otherwise, of gay marriage. These will include Skype and Twitter link-ups with guest speakers from the US.

Playwright Laura Jacqmin is a Chicago-based playwright and television writer. She was the 2008 winner of the Wasserstein Award, and previous International Playwright-in-Residence at the Royal Court Theatre. Other awards include two NEA Art Works Grants, the ATHE-Kennedy Center David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award, two MacDowell Fellowships and an Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Grant. She was a finalist for the Heideman Award, the Laurents/Hatcher Prize, the BBC International Playwriting Competition and the Princess Grace Award. She took part in the Old Vic New Voices TS Eliot US/UK Exchange in 2012. Her play Dental Society Midwinter Meeting was named one of New City Stage's Top Five Plays of 2010, as well as Time Out Chicago's Honorable Mentions for the Best Theatre of 2010. Other productions include Ski Dubai at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, and Dead Pile at XIII Pocket, Chicago. She is also a staff writer on forthcoming Netflix series Grace and Frankie starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

Director Josh Roche is the Artistic Director of Fat Git Theatre. He has been an Assistant and Associate Director with Greg Doran at the Royal Shakespeare Company (Death of a Salesman), with John Dove at Shakespeare's Globe (The Taming of the Shrew, Doctor Scroggy's War, Farinelli and the King), with Steve Marmion at Soho Theatre (Utopia, The Boy Who Fell into a Book), English Touring Theatre (Eternal Love) and nabokov (Blink). For Fat Git Theatre, he has directed Winky (Soho Theatre and Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival), Encounter (Theatre503), (i feel fine) (New Diorama Theatre and Vault Festival), Uninvited (New Diorama Theatre and Bedlam Theatre at the Edinburgh Festival) and Gaia: New Approaches as the culmination of Fat Git's residency at the University of Warwick. Other direction includes The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Warwick Arts Centre Studio) and The Cafe, a site-specific play at The Coffee Works Project in association with Old Red Lion Theatre. He also works as a dramaturg and literary consultant for Sonia Friedman Productions, Soho Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre.

The cast is:

Will Alexander | Jay
Theatre includes Tis Pity She's a Whore (Cheek by Jowl International Tour), The Winter's Tale (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), The History Boys (Court Theatre, Christchurch), Gods of Warm Beer (Court Theatre, Christchurch), The Seagull (Court Theatre, Christchurch), and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Top Dog Theatre).
Television includes Doctors and Outlander.

Jeremy Legat | Paul
Productions at the Finborough Theatre include Thérèse Raquin and its subsequent transfer to the Park Theatre.
Theatre includes Peter Pan (Richmond Theatre), Curtains (Landor Theatre), Hamlet and The Canterbury Tales (Cunard Queen Mary 2), Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre), Dido, Queen of Carthage (Chapel of St Barnabus at Kensington Palace), Peter Pan (Birmingham Rep), Beautiful Thing (Haymarket Theatre, Leicester), Spring Awakening (The Young Vic), The Snow Queen (Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton), Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? (Soho Theatre and Warwick Arts Centre), Gompers (Arcola Theatre), Oliver! (London Palladium) and Peter Pan (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford).
Television includes Canoe Man, Hustle, Surviving Disaster, Mike Bassett: Manager and Hope and Glory.
Film includes The House on Arch Lane, Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story and Endgame.

Asha Reid | Allison
Theatre includes Scarlet (Southwark Playhouse), Electra (The Old Vic), Cross Purpose (Crypt Gallery), Medea (The London Theatre), The Hate Play (Box Clever Theatre), Miniaturists: The Interval (Arcola Theatre), Courting Drama (Bush Theatre), The Tempest (Palace Theatre, Watford), Lord of the Flies (Broadway Theatre), The Magpies The Wolves (Tristan Bates Theatre and Pleasance London), Hacked (Theatre503) and The Beggars Opera (Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park).
Film includes House Hold, Gemma's Wedding, Puzzled, White Collar and Weird Love.

Lucy Roslyn | Mariella
Theatre includes the award-winning The State Vs John Hayes (Edinburgh Festival, Ustinov Studio, Bath, The Lowry, Salford, and Brighton Fringe), Crystal Springs (Park Theatre), Chicken Shop (Park Theatre), Mr Happiness and The Water Engine (Old Vic Tunnels), Money Vs Happiness (Nu:write Festival Zagreb and BAC), Laundry (Waterloo East Theatre), Colin Hoult's Real Horror Show (Leicester Square Theatre) and The Stooge (Tristan Bates Theatre).
Film includes Blind Eye, the world's first interactive 3D cinema campaign for Women's Aid.

DETAILS:

A THIRD
Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED
Box Office 0844 847 1652 Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, 28, 29, 30 June, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 July 2015
Sunday and Monday evenings at 7.30pm. Tuesday matinees at 2.00pm. Monday matinee on 20 July at 2.00pm.
PRESS NIGHT: MONDAY, 29 JUNE 2015 AT 7.30PM
Tickets £18, £16 concessions.
Performance Length: Approximately 95 minutes with no interval.

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