Bonnici, Brendan, Lewis & More to Lead MODEL FOR MANKIND at The Cock Tavern Theatre, 3/27-4/17

Good Night Out Presents  The World Premiere of A MODEL FOR MANKIND By James Sheldon from 27th March - 17th April 2010.

Director: Blanche McIntyre, Designer: Lucy Read

Cast: Jonathan Bonnici, Paul Brendan, Richard Keightley, Jack Lewis, Shereen Martineau

A Russian journalist published a political bombshell at the peak of the Cold War in 1979 when he claimed he had transcribed Dmitri Shostakovich's memoirs. It shattered his image as "a loyal son of the Communist party" by describing his embittered hatred of Soviet power and his denial of Communism. Soviet authorities reacted by vehemently attacking its authenticity.

In A MODEL FOR MANKIND Shostakovich's confidant of 50 years is arrested and pressured to give evidence to reaffirm that the composer was a devoted Soviet supporter. He reveals Shostakovich as a man who lived for love, friendship and his art, who struggled to maintain a normal life under Stalin's rule. As the Communist regime intensified, his work was increasingly controlled by censorship and he faced agonising choices.

Based on the life and times of one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century; a new play that explores the conflict of personal morality against artistic ambition, friend against friend and memory against history.

JONATHAN BONNICI (Bashevsky) Theatre credits include: The Black Album (National Theatre). Television credits include: George Gently (BBC). Film credits include: Situation Critical: Taliban Uprising (National Geographic).

PAUL BRENDAN (Anton) Theatre includes: Moliere (Finborough); Complicit; The Norman Conquests (both The Old Vic) and A Month in the Country (Tobacco Factory).

RICHARD KEIGHTLEY (Shostakovich) Theatre credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Rose Theatre); Hamlet (TNT Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Oxford Shakespeare Company); Doctor Faustus; The Devil is an Ass (both White Bear Theatre) and Purgatory (King's Head Theatre).

Jack Lewis (Gavanov) Theatre credits include: The Three Sisters (Landor Theatre); The Revenger's Tragedy (BAC); The Merchant of Venice (Union Theatre) and I Really Must Be Getting Off (White Bear Theatre).

Shereen Martineau (Yelena) Theatre credits include: The Black Album; The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other (both National Theatre); Fallujah (Old Truman Brewery); Food (Traverse Theatre); Tejas Verdes (Gate Theatre); Twelfth Night (Albery Theatre); Measure for Measure; Titus Andronicus; Richard III (all Royal Shakespeare Company) and Romeo And Juliet (Liverpool Playhouse).

Television credits include Lewis (Granada); EastEnders (BBC) and the BAFTA Award Winning Britz (Channel 4).

Playwright James Sheldon is based in New York; this is his first full-length play. The c*ckTavern Theatre is proud to be premiering his work as part of their commitment to new writing and support of new talent.

Director Blanche McIntyre is the first recipient of the Leverhulme Directors' Bursary; in 2009 she was Director in Residence at the National Theatre Studio and the Finborough Theatre. Directing credits include: Moliere (Finborough); The Master And Margarita (Greenwich Playhouse); Three Hours After Marriage (Union Theatre); Wuthering Heights (National Tour); The Revenger's Tragedy (BAC); Birds (Southwark Playhouse); Doctor Faustus; The Devil Is An Ass; The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde As Told To An Inmate Of Broadmoor Asylum (all White Bear Theatre); The Invention of Love and Cressida (both Edinburgh Festival). 

The c*ckTavern Theatre has firmly established itself at the forefront of the London Fringe by winning the prestigious Dan Crawford Pub Theatre Award at the Peter Brook Empty Space Awards. Formed in January 2009, under the artistic leadership of Adam Spreadbury-Maher the theatre runs a bold programme of new writing alongside select revivals. 

Adam Spreadbury-Maher ("Best Artistic Director" - Fringe Report Awards 2010) formed theatre company Good Night Out Presents in August 2008, they are the resident theatre company at The c*ckTavern Theatre. Credits include the Time Out Critics' Choice productions of Studies For A Portrait (White Bear and transfer to the main stage at Oval House) and The York Realist (Riverside Studios).

Venue: The c*ckTavern Theatre, 125 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 6JH

Dates: 27th March - 17th April

Performances: Saturdays - at 3pm, Sundays and Mondays - at 7.30pm

Box Office: 08444 771 000 / www.cocktaverntheatre.com

Tickets £12 (£10 concessions) LIMITED NUMBER OF £5 TICKETS AVAILABLE EVERY NIGHT

 

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