Andy Sandberg Directs The UK Première of Alan Brody's OPERATION EPSILON at Southwark Playhouse Elephant This Autumn

The UK première of Alan Brody's award-winning play Operation Epsilon has been announced. Inspired by actual transcripts that were secretly recorded and then held classified for many decades, Operation Epsilon tells the true story of Germany's ten foremost nuclear scientists who were rounded up and held captive by the British and American forces toward the end of World War II. While there in England, these men learned that that the Americans beat them to the atomic bomb.

Directed by Andy Sandberg, who helmed the world premiere in the U.S., the London production opens at Southwark Playhouse Elephant on 20 September, with previews from 15 September, and runs until 21 October.

“The whole process of writing Operation Epsilon from its very inception has been a labor of love,” said playwright Alan Brody. “I'm thrilled that the play will now have a life in London, and especially at this time in history.”

Andy Sandberg said today, “We are beyond thrilled to be staging Operation Epsilon in a new production for London. It's been an honour to collaborate with Alan Brody on this play's development and extraordinary journey for over a decade now. It feels particularly fitting to present Operation Epsilon in the country where the play is set, and the subject is more relevant today than ever as we grapple with the inherent conflict between scientific advancement and its ethical consequences.”

Set Designer: Janie Howland; Costume Designer / Associate Set Designer: Beth Colley; Lighting Designer: Clancy Flynn; Sound Designer: Chris Drohan; Casting Director: Lucy Casson

It's the close of World War II – the dawn of the atomic age. The Allies have captured Germany's ten foremost nuclear scientists and sequestered them deep in the English countryside to ascertain the answer to a life-or-death question: how close are the Nazis to making an atomic bomb? The world stands on the precipice of creation and destruction, bound by the gravity of their decisions which hold the power to change the course of history.

Based on actual transcripts of secretly recorded conversations – Alan Brody's gripping play delves into the darkest corners of human ingenuity, exploring the intimate conflict within the hearts and minds of luminaries with unimaginable power. A once-classified true story buried in the archives amidst an epic war, Operation Epsilon is a poignant, thrilling exploration of the ties that bind us to our actions, our decisions, and one another.

Directed by Andy Sandberg and featuring an exceptional cast of eleven, this award-winning and thought-provoking play makes its UK première at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the critically acclaimed US production. Filled with explosive possibilities, Operation Epsilon shines a light on the ethical complexity of scientific discovery… and its potential for catastrophic consequences.

Alan Brody's Operation Epsilon received its world première production at Central Square Theater (Cambridge, MA) with the Nora Theater Company in 2013 and received the distinguished IRNE Awards for Best New Play, Best Director (Andy Sandberg), Best Ensemble, and Best Scenic Design (Janie Howland). Named a Critics' Pick by The Boston Globe, Operation Epsilon also received a 2013 Elliot Norton Award nomination for Best New Play and won the Norton Award for Best Leading Actor. Brody's other works include The Housewives of Mannheim (a co-production between Off-Broadway's 59E59 Theatre in NYC and NJ Repertory Theatre), Five Scenes from Life, Greytop in Love, One-on-One, The Midvale High School Fiftieth Reunion, and Reckoning Time: A Song of Walt Whitman. His play Invention for Fathers and Sons was awarded the first annual Rosenthal Award at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in 1989. He also received the 1990 Eisner Award from the Streisand Center for Jewish Culture in Los Angeles for Company of Angels, which had its world premiere at New Repertory Theater in 1993. Brody served as co-director and a founding member of Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, a science-theater collaboration between Central Square Theater and MIT.

Andy Sandberg is a New York-based director, writer, and Tony Award-winning producer. He is also currently Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Florida. He directed the UK première of Jeannette Bayardelle's Shida, which opened to rave reviews and earned 2019 Off West End Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Director, Best Lead Actress (also Off-Broadway at Ars Nova - four AUDELCO Nominations, including Best Director, Best Musical). Additional world premières as director include Straight (Off-Broadway - Critics' Pick in The New York Times, which he is now adapting into a feature film); Application Pending, a comedy about kindergarten admissions (also co-author; BroadwayWorld Award: Best Off-Broadway Play, Drama Desk nom: Outstanding Solo Show, Winner: Book Pipeline Prize); Operation Epsilon (Four IRNE Awards, including Best Play, Best Director); Craving for Travel (also co-author); and the Off-Broadway musicals The Last Smoker in America and Neurosis, among others. Select regional directing credits in the U.S. include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, City of Angels, Into the Woods, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He has written the feature-length screenplays for Five More Minutes and Haul Out the Holly. In his role as Artistic Director of the Hermitage, Sandberg has established the organization as one of the leading national arts incubators in the United States.

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