Tommy Murphy's STRANGERS IN BETWEEN Makes UK Premiere at The King's Head Tonight

After a critically acclaimed production of Louis Nowra's Cosi at The King's Head Theatre earlier this year, Adam Spreadbury-Maher directs the UK premiere of Tommy Murphy's STRANGERS IN BETWEEN continuing the venue's exploration of contemporary Australian playwrights.

Shane is sixteen, cute and scared. He's just fled his home in rural Australia for downtown Sydney. Adrift among the lonely hearts and heady thrills of King's Cross, Shane attempts to navigate the troubled waters of his past toward a brighter future.

Tommy Murphy's critically acclaimed drama of friendship, sex and escapism with humour and sensitivity, Strangers in Between, offers an unflinching look at the highs and lows of being gay in modern Australia.

Artistic Director of The King's Head Theatre, Adam Spreadbury-Maher, said: "STRANGERS IN BETWEEN may have a gay central character but its story is universal, it is a coming of age story, about friendship across the generations, and how our past can come back to haunt us. There is a tendency to focus on UK and US writer's in the British theatre scene - after Cosi earlier this year we are again showcasing an Australian writer and hopefully introducing him to new audiences."

Tommy Murphy is an Australian playwright best known for his stage and screen adaptation of Timothy Conigrave's memoir Holding the Man, which won numerous awards including Best Play at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, which he also won for Strangers in Between, he is the youngest recipient of the award and the only playwright to win in successive years.

Adam Spreadbury-Maher is the Artistic Director of The King's Head Theatre. He has mostly recently directed Trainspotting for the King's Head, which transferred to the Edinburgh Fringe last year and is currently on a UK tour. He was also co-Artistic Director of OperaUpClose. Adam has won and been nominated for multiple awards including an Olivier Award for the OperaUpClose production of La bohème, and Best Artistic Director from The Fringe Report.

Performances play The King's Head Theatre, 115 Upper Street, London N1 1QN from tonight 21 Jun to Sat 16 Jul, 8.30pm. Press Night is Fri 24 Jun, 8.30pm. Tickets £10 - £25. Booking information at Kingsheadtheatre.com or 020 7226 8561.

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