London Premiere of CUT Begins Tonight at The Vaults

Set against a black backdrop with unsettling moments of complete darkness, a small audience is sealed in an atmospheric Vault under the Waterloo railway arches. Winner of the Best Theatre award at Adelaide Fringe 2015, and the Underbelly Adelaide Award 2015, this is the London premiere of CUT - an edge-of-your-seat thriller, written by award-winning Australian playwright Duncan Graham and performed by Hannah Norris.

Performances will play The Vaults Theatre, Launcelot Street, London SE1 7AD from tonight 5th to Sunday 31st July 2016. Press Night is slated for Wednesday 6th July 2016, 7.45pm.

A woman prepares for work. Pursued by a man, she is hunter and hunted. CUT is a total work of art. A Lynchian dream that transports an audience deep into the heart of 21st century fears - the psychological equivalent of extreme turbulence. Part installation, pArt Theatre poem, part noir thriller, prepare to be sealed into this intimate and unforgettable experience.

Having taken the 2015 Adelaide Fringe by storm, CUT then went to a site-specific secret Edinburgh venue. With atmospheric sound design from 2009 Tony nominee Russell Goldsmith, this is a dark game of observer and observed, pursuer and pursued. The fragmented storylines, technical wizardry and superb performance manifest into an unforgettable theatrical trip.

Writer Duncan Graham, comments: The idea for CUT was conceived in London, as I flew into the city, moved around on its trains, through its parks. Having had a season in Sydney at Belvoir, it's so great to be presenting the work in what I consider to be its home. Hannah Norris is startling in the role, and she'll haunt The Vaults with her breed of pure vengeance.

It is from this uncomfortable position that you become enraptured by this one-woman journey. Hannah Norris's ability to flicker from victim to predator in the blink of an eye truly sends shivers down the spine... If you enjoy taking a step into the darkness, then this award-winning show certainly delivers the chill factor (Edinburgh Evening news).

IF YOU GO:

CUT by Duncan Graham

Tuesday 5th - Sunday 31st July 2016
Tuesday-Friday, 7.45pm
Weekend, 5pm and 8pm
Running time: 60 minutes

Ages 16+. Contains total blackouts, adult themes and scenes of a violent nature.

At The Vaults, Launcelot Street, London SE1 7AD

The Vaults are located underneath Waterloo station (on the Northern, Bakerloo and Jubilee lines). Leave Waterloo Station via Exit 1 and they are a short walk away.

Tickets are available from £12.50 from www.thevaults.london/#!cut/c1e1t.

Duncan Graham is a writer and performer. He completed a Bachelor of Medical Science before studying Acting at AC Arts in Adelaide. His works include one long night in the land of Nod (TRS/ floogle, shortlisted for the Max Afford Playwright's Award), Ollie and the Minotaur (Belvoir/floogle/45 Downstairs), Cut (Belvoir), Half-Real (Malthouse/The Border Project/Melbourne Festival), The Love Play (Malthouse/ABC/Belvoir), No Exit From the Roof (STC) and Twin (Neon Festival, MTC). He received the Adelaide Fringe award for Best New Work in 2006 and the Jill Blewett Playwrights' Award in 2008. Duncan was a writer in residence as part of the Griffin Studio in 2012, his play Dreams in White received its premiere season at Griffin in 2013, which was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Award and Max Afford Playwrights' Award.

Hannah Norris is a widely acclaimed actress of the independent and professional stages of Australia. A 2001 acting graduate of Adelaide's Centre for the Performing Arts (now AC Arts), she is perhaps best known for her powerful performance of the one-woman show My Name is Rachel Corrie (Daniel Clarke) in Melbourne and Adelaide, receiving Adelaide Critics Circle and Victorian Green Room Award nominations, and the 2010 ATG 'Curtain Call' Award for Best Female Performance. In 2009 she was awarded Best Theatre Performance at the Adelaide Fringe for her role in After the End (Daniel Clarke). Other theatre credits include Buried Child (State Theatre Company of SA), Justin Hamilton's Goodbye Ruby Tuesday (Melbourne International Comedy Festival), Palace of the End (Theatre Works), The Red and the Black (Stork Theatre), Osama the Hero (The Rabble), Been So Long (Adelaide Fringe) and The Turn of the Screw (State Opera SA).

Underbelly is a UK based, live entertainment company. Their events and festivals division operates one of the largest operations at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe selling, in 2015, 215,000 tickets for over 140 shows over 25 days. 2016 marks the eighth year of Udderbelly Festival at Southbank Centre and the fifth year of LonDon Wonderground at Southbank Centre. Elsewhere Underbelly also produces Edinburgh's Christmas and 2015 saw the first Udderbelly Festival in Hong Kong. Underbelly also produce West End Live in Trafalgar Square, and Pride in London, for Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre, and produced the 2015 Rugby World Cup fanzone in Richmond. Through their Underbelly Productions arm they produce and promote live shows in London, throughout the UK and on tour internationally. In 2015 Underbelly sold over 1.1 million tickets to their various events.