Gillian Wright to Star in STEVEN BERKOFF'S RELIGION & ANARCHY at Jermyn Street; Cast Announced!

Sarah Brocklehurst Productions in association with Jermyn Street Theatre presents Steven Berkoff'S RELIGION & ANARCHY, an evening of Steven Berkoff shorts, with co-directors Steven Berkoff and Max Barton, running 24th September - 26th October at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Press Night 26th September 7.30pm.

The cast of a season of short plays by maverick writer, director and actor Steven Berkoff has been announced. Fresh from her departure from Eastenders as Jean Slater, Gillian Wright will star, with Anthony Barclay, Lucy Hollis, Tom Lincoln and Clive Mendus. The season will present five world premieres and will be co-directed by Berkoff himself and Jermyn Street Theatre Associate Director Max Barton.

The collection of plays centres around the theme of the latent anti-Semitism that the dramatist believes still prevails within Britain. A prejudice that, despite the cataclysmic events of twentieth century, refuses to go away and continues to infuse the very heart of the society in which we live.

Guilt
Two middle-aged East-End Jews eulogise about good nosh and the old days as they prepare for the Sabbath. They anticipate the arrival of a prodigal son.

Roast
A mother tells a saccharine bedtime story dripping with anti-Semitic sentiment to her little boy. He laps it up readily.

Line-Up
Two men are in the arrivals queue at a concentration camp. Will they be saved for the work camps or be straight in the chamber?

How To Train an Anti-Semite
Dot is a dyed-in-the-wool bigot. Sid is well on his way. In this feast of filth the two wax lyrical and espouse a monstrous belief system. A pantomime of prejudice.

Gas
Three men are forced to face the worst as the fatal gas flows in.

Max Barton is the Associate Director at Jermyn Street Theatre where he recently directed a critically acclaimed production of Lee Hall's Spoonface Steinberg in association with Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. Max directed the first ever promenade production of Hamlet at Kronborg, Elsinore and was assistant director to Trevor Nunn on A Chorus of Disapproval at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

Steven Berkoff's Religion And Anarchy is part of Artistic Director, Anthony Biggs' first full season at Jermyn Street Theatre which continues to build on the recent past that has seen the studio space in the heart of the West End gain a reputation for punching above its weight by presenting works performed and directed by some of the biggest names on the British stage. Other works in the season include a rare revival of the 1974 David Pinner comedy The Potsdam Quartet which Biggs will direct (29th October to 23rd November) and The Little Beasts (What Happens To Naughty Children) a World premiere Christmas musical for all the family (26th November - 19th December) Biggs' previous productions at the theatre include the UK premiere of Ibsen's St John's Night, Charles Morgan's The River Line, Ibsen's Little Eyolf and a revival of the Frederick Lonsdale's On Approval. The autumn season builds on these and Jermyn Street Theatre's other recent successes, including Trevor Nunn's acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett's All That Fall starring Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon, the musical Boy Meets Boy and a revival of Charles Dyer's Mother Adam.

The show runs Eves Mon - Sat 19.30; Mats Thurs & Sats 15.30 (exc 26th Sept). Ticket prices: £35 / £25 / £15. Box office 0207 287 2875 and online at www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk.

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