WHOSE SARI NOW? and More Set for Theatre Royal Stratford East's Studio Series

Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East, Kerry Michael today announces a specially adapted production of Rani Moorthy's one woman show Whose Sari Now? to open at the theatre this November direct from a UK tour.

The theatre's studio space - Gerry's will house this brand new production which is the centrepiece of a wider line-up of bold and topical pieces being staged in the studio.

Other productions include Angelic Tales, After Orlando: Pulse, and Thisbe. Whose Sari Now? opens on 25 November, with a preview on 24 November, and runs until 17 December.

· Angelic Tales will showcase new pieces of writing from five writers. The theme of this year's festival is Kingdom United.

· One-off charity event After Orlando: Pulse is an evening of short plays in response to the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida with all profit from the evening going to Stonewall - a charity for LGBT equality.

· Door Ajar Theatre Company's award-winning production of Thisbe opens on the 21 February for a limited run.

· Further productions to be announced.

Kerry Michael said today; "We are so very excited to be launching the new line-up at our studio space - Gerry's. This flexible theatre space gives us the opportunity to expand our programming. Going forward we hope to encourage companies new and old to bring their work to Gerry's, which will then allow us to put on more shows to sit alongside and complement the programming of our main house. The space is now another venue on the London map to showcase some of the best UK artists and companies as well as attracting an even more varied theatre audience than we already do. Our current line-up is extremely diverse, popular, exciting and political. Highlights include Rasa's Whose Sari Now? A one-woman show that explores real and complicated relationships with the sari. It's a bold and powerful piece of theatre that takes you beyond the Bollywood wet sari. Overall, we hope the shows in Gerry's will prove to be just as popular as our main stage shows and we also have a great new café and bar offering locally sourced hot food, wine and craft beer."

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Theatre Royal Stratford East & Team Angelica Present
Angelic Tales
Tuesday 25 - Saturday 29 October

All Tickets £8

Angelic Tales will showcase new pieces from five writers in response to this year's theme Kingdom United.

Plays include:

Dagger Lane by Duncan Macinnes

Tuesday 25 October

A retired police detective battles Alzheimer's, determined to solve an historic crime and finally right a miscarriage of justice against Jamaican migrant back in 1950's Yorkshire. A brilliantly atmospheric whodunit, bursting with combined Northern and Caribbean charm.

I Ain't Dumb by Thomas Wright

Wednesday 26 October

A tough inner-city school, proud of its multi-culturalism suddenly explodes into a rapidly escalating race-war. Sex-secrets, hip-hop and hope fight for centre stage in this vibrant, in-yer-face, Generation Grime, real-talk rollercoaster.

Martenitsa by Fiona Whitelaw

Thursday 27 October

A middle-aged woman searching for her birthmother falls into an unexpected relationship with a handsome young Bulgarian. Touchingly romantic, heart-breaking yet ultimately uplifting.

Block of Seagulls by Sophie Olivia Ali

Friday 28 October

The residents of a rundown south coast tower block find their lives intertwining in a series of startling ways. Vivid, fast paced and electrifyingly outrageous.

My Big Fat Greasy Kebab by Alexander Theo

Saturday 29 October

A young Greek Cypriot struggles to balance his cultural and sexual identity in the Instagram culture. Funny, teary, sexy and wildly romantic.

Chaskis Theatre Present in conjunction with Missing Bolts Productions and NoPassport Theatre Alliance & Press, supported by Theatre Royal Stratford East
After Orlando: Pulse
Thursday 3 November

All Tickets £10

Chaskis Theatre presents After Orlando: Pulse, an evening to commemorate this year's tragic nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. For one night only, Gerry's Studio at Theatre Royal Stratford East will become PULSE nightclub in memory of the 49 lives lost there on 12 June 2016.

After Orlando is a global theatre action in response to the fatal Orlando attacks: a playwright driven project comprising over sixty short plays specifically written and curated by emerging and established international voices in theatre. They will be read across the US and UK throughout the Autumn.

The event will include staged readings of 25 plays and poems influenced by the Orlando shootings, plus live music and dancing. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to London LGBT charity Stonewall.

Chaskis Theatre is a transcultural theatre company collaborating with playwrights from America to share new stories, practices and cultural perspectives.

Rasa Productions Ltd
Whose Sari Now?
Written and performed by Rani Moorthy
Directed by Kimberley Sykes
Thursday 24 November - Saturday 17 December
Press performance: 25 November 7:30pm

Tickets £13/£9

Rani Moorthy's brand new one woman show explores real and complicated relationships with the sari. The production directed by Kimberley Sykes comes to Gerry's direct from a UK Tour and opens on 25 November with previews from 24 November and runs until 17 December.

Six yards of cloth, wound round tight
Or draped seductively
Or practically, for breastfeeding
Or pulled between thighs to walk like a man
Or wildly thrown together, with Doc Martin boots
A modest proposal or a political act or a defiant one

Bold and powerful theatre that takes you beyond the Bollywood wet sari!

By turns funny and poignant, 5 characters share their sari tales; from an old Asian woman whose saris are like her second skin, a young mother giving birth in a war zone wrapping her twin babies in her wedding sari, a Malaysian historian connects the sari with mythology, a transgender reflects on his girlfriend's sari obsession, a low caste weaver and a character who contemplates the sari in her final hours.

Rasa is a Manchester based theatre company, renowned for its high quality, critically acclaimed work that aims to artistically celebrate the migrant experience. Rasa has toured extensively in the UK and taken work to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, USA, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mauritius and Singapore.

Door Ajar Theatre Present
Thisbe
Tuesday 21 - Saturday 25 February

Fourteen years have passed since the fateful night Thisbe's parents, Helena and Demetrius, were lost in the woods. The only thing they remember is waking up completely in love with one another. But as their love becomes obsession, where does this leave their neglected and confused daughter, Thisbe?

Cue the prankster Puck and his fairy flunkeys who love nothing more than to meddle with the mortal world. With the promise of solving all of her problems, they lure Thisbe into the woods where it isn't long before she finds herself embroiled in their roguery.

Intoxicated with magic and adventure, has Thisbe gone too far this time? Can she stop her family falling apart? And does she even want to?

BSL interpreted and with an original score, this play is full of playful wit and boisterous theatricality.

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Theatre Royal Stratford East is located at Gerry Raffles Square, London E15 1BN. Box Office: 020 8534 0310 or www.stratfordeast.com.

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