ROUNDELAY to Tackle Sex in Later Life with Aerial Arts at Southwark Playhouse

Inspired by the scandalous 1897 play La Ronde, Visible Theatre tackle love and sex in later life with an intergenerational cast of nine performers - including an aerialist.

Secrets and lies, memories and fantasies unravel over seven interlinked stories in this new production written by Visible's Artistic Director Sonja Linden and directed by Olivier Award-nominated Anna Ledwich.

The show follows the sell-out success of Visible's Who Do We Think We Are?, also written by Sonja Linden, at Southwark Playhouse in 2014.

You know what they say, love makes the world go round. And sex of course - when you can get it. We aim to surprise. We may not have lions in this little circus of ours, but we have tigers....How's your inner tiger tonight? Roundelay, a fantabulous conglomeration of circus, dance and music. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself for close encounters with the third age!

Roundelay is performed by a multi-talented ensemble, led by Ringmistress Clare Perkins, who has worked with Ken Loach and Mike Leigh and won the Screen Nation Film and Television Award for Best Actress for Bullet Boy. The cast includes Ann Firbank, (Anne Elliot in Persuasion for ITV), who recently appeared in The Crucible at the Old Vic and Oresteia at the Almeida. Ann will be joined by John Moraitis, Holly de Jong, Roger Alborough, Doreene Backstock and Vincenzo Nicoli, whose combined credits across theatre, TV and film comprise many well-loved favourites as well as RSC classics and West End hits. Also joining the cast is circus aerialist Anna Simpson, who will play the roles of Evie and Hattie and newcomer Elan James who recently graduated from Rose Bruford College.

Director Anna Ledwich's Four Minutes Twelve Seconds at The Hampstead Theatre was nominated for the 2015 Olivier Award Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre and chosen by The Times as one of their Top Ten theatre shows for 2015. Other recent credits include Labyrinth and Kiss Me (2016, Hampstead Theatre). The production will be designed by Anna's regular collaborator Moi Tran.

Speaking about her vision for the production, Director Anna Ledwich said "Roundelay will be playful and provocative. A pick'n'mix of tenderness and sass, heartache and joy. We aim to surprise at every turn with a carnival of music, dance and death defying acts (both literal and metaphorical!)"

Playwright Sonja Linden said: "I wrote Roundelay with a view to challenging pre-conceptions of older people through a piece of theatre that I hope is both surprising and entertaining and that provokes audiences to recognise that the most universal of human experiences, love, sex and the need for intimacy are not the special preserve of the young but belong to us all, at any stage of life."

Sonja Linden's previous plays include On A Clear Day You Can See Dover, Welcome to Ramallah at the Arcola, Crocodile Seeking Refuge at the Lyric Hammersmith and I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda, which debuted at the Finborough Theatre before touring the UK and USA. Sonja founded Visible in 2012 to work with older professional actors from diverse cultural backgrounds to create exciting Contemporary Theatre that both represents and transcends issues of older age.

Movement director Diane Alison-Mitchell's recent credits include They Drink It In The Congo (Almeida Theatre) and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as a role in the creative team for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Music and sound design will be by Max Pappenheim, who has been nominated three times for an Off West End Award for Sound Design. His recent work includes Beacons at the Park Theatre and Lucy Kirkwood's The Children at The Royal Court Theatre.

For more information, visit www.visible.org.uk or go to www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk.

IF YOU GO:

ROUNDELAY

Written by Sonja Linden
Directed by Anna Ledwich

Movement direction by Diane Alison-Mitchell
Lighting Design by Matthew Haskins
Set and costume design by Moi Tran Music
Sound design by Max Pappenheim

Cast:
Adam John Moraitis
Ringmistress Clare Perkins
Bette Holly De Jong
Frank Vincenzo Nicoli
Chris Roger Alborough
Daniel Elan James
Gina Doreene Blackstock
Evie/ Hattie/ Aerialist Anna Simpson
Evelyn Ann Firbank

At Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD

Running Thu 23rd February - Sat 18th March
Mon - Sat 7.30pm, Tue & Sat matinees 3pm

Tickets: £12 Previews, £20 (£16 concessions)
Concessions are available Mon to Wed to full time students, patrons over 65, unwaged and disabled patrons
Special 2 for 1 'Valentine's Date 2' Offer on Friday 24th February
Box office: www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk | 020 7407 0234

Running Time: 1hr 40 approx | Suitable for ages 14+

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