Tier 5 Theatre Project to Present LADIES IN WAITING: THE JUDGEMENT OF HENRY VIII

What's a Tudor monarch to do when he has to face all six of his wives in the afterlife?

Tier 5 Theatre Project is excited to announce the world premiere of award winning playwright James Cougar Canfield's new play, LADIES IN WAITING: THE JUDGEMENT OF HENRY VIII, at The Bread & Roses Theatre in Spring 2016. LADIES IN WAITING is a sexy, heartbreaking, humorous, and dark exploration of Henry VIII and his relationships with the women in his life... with a feminist twist.

Workshopped, performed, and produced by graduates and soon-to-be graduates of East 15 Acting School's MA Acting and MFA Acting International programs, LADIES IN WAITING finds King Henry VIII in a purgatory-like situation, where one by one he must face off with each of his wives. Through dark humour, devastating truths, sexy seductions, and powerful revelations, Henry comes face to face with what his legacy has become: one entirely defined by women.

As a playwright, Canfield is the previous winner of the Texas Educators Theatre Association's Playfest Award, shortlisted for North Carolina ArtCenter's 10 by 10 in the Triangle Award, and recognized as the top playwright in the Tony Award winning Alley Theatre's Houston Young Playwright Exchange. Many of his plays have been produced regionally throughout the United States. LADIES IN WAITING: THE JUDGEMENT OF HENRY VIII will be his international debut. Canfield will also appear in the production as the king himself, Henry VIII.

"It's exciting to premiere a new work that gives a different and deeper perspective to these women, who are often regarded as nothing more than a list, nothing more than a historical footnote," said Canfield, in regards to his new play. "It's not only a play about how Henry treated his wives, but what happens when men devalue women."

Following the London premiere, LADIES IN WAITING will transfer to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2016.

Henry's wives will be portrayed by: Hilary Kelman (Catherine of Aragon), Wendy Kenney (Anne Boleyn), Jessica McClellan (Jane Seymour), Kaitlin Gould (Anne of Cleves), Margaret Gorrell (Catherine Howard), and Kimberly Hoffman (Katherine Parr).

Directed by Mitchell Glass, a soon-to-be MFA Directing graduate at East 15 Acting School, LADIES IN WAITING will premiere at The Bread & Roses Theatre, 29 March - 2 April 2016 at 7:30pm. (68 Clapham Manor Street, Clapham SW4 6DZ, London) Tickets: £10/£8 concessions. Press Night: 30 March. Tickets available at breadandrosestheatre.co.uk or by phone 0333 666 3366 (booking fees apply to all phone transactions).