Jermyn Street Theatre Presents Two UK Premieres by Eugene O'Neill, THE FIRST MAN & EXORCISM

This Autumn, as part of their American season, Jermyn Street Theatre is to build on its reputation of rediscovering important lost work by great dramatists by staging two UK premieres by Eugene O'Neill.

Written in 1922, The First Man is a highly autobiographical tale of male pride, family jealousy and maternal longing from one of America's greatest playwrights. Following the tragic death of their two young daughters, Martha and Curtis Jayson have made a pact to never have any more children. For ten years they have thrown themselves into anthropological fieldtrips around the world, but having finally returned home to Connecticut, they find themselves suffocated by provincial life and the small-town nature of the Jayson family. On the eve of Martha's 39th birthday, as she longs for another child, Curtis plans to embark on their most ambitious trip yet: an arduous five year expedition to Outer Mongolia for the ultimate quest: the origin of man known as 'The Missing Link'.

Directed by Jermyn Street Theatre's Artistic Director Anthony Biggs and designed by Tim Dann, The First Man has a cast of twelve, which includes Charlotte Asprey, Kate Copeland, Alan Turkington, Lynette Edwards, Richard Emerson, Austin Hardiman, Adam Jackson-Smith, Rebecca Lee, Charlie Roe, Paul Ryan and Clare Wilkie. The lighting is by Charlie Lucas.

The First Man will be accompanied by the first UK production of O'Neill's long lost play Exorcism directed by Grace Wessels. Written in 1919, O'Neill pulled the play after a few performances of its premiere and destroyed all the copies he could find. Finally rediscovered in 2003, Exorcism tells the story of Ned Malloy, a young man who, down on his luck and living in a tawdry NY rooming house with his alcoholic roommate Jimmy, is forced to stage a humiliating event in order to escape his miserable marriage. Performances are on October 15th, 22nd, and 29th at 3.30 pm.

The O'Neill premieres form part of Jermyn Street Theatre's American Season which also includes the currently running production of the hit off-Broadway Musical See What I Wanna See by Michael John LaChiusa and the UK premiere of Dry Land, the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit and Susan Smith Blackwood Award nominee by rising star Ruby Rae Spiegel which runs from November 3 to 21.

Anthony Biggs became Artistic Director of Jermyn Street Theatre in January 2013. His previous productions at the theatre include the recent, Ivy & Joan, Flowers of The Forest, The South African Season, The Potsdam Quartet, the UK premiere of Ibsen's St John's Night, Charles Morgan's The River Line, Ibsen's Little Eyolf and the revival of Frederick Lonsdale's On Approval.

Jermyn Street Theatre
presents

THE FIRST MAN
By Eugene O'Neill
Directed by Anthony Biggs

Designed by Tim Dann

Lighting by Charlie Lucas

Jermyn Street Theatre

October 6 to October 31, 2015
Press Performances October 8 & 9th

Monday to Saturday 7.30pm
Saturday matinees 3.30pm

Tickets
£22.00, £18.00 concessions.

Earlybird Offer: All tickets £17.00 if booked before 21st September

EXORCISM
By Eugene O'Neill
Directed by Grace Wessels
October 15, 22 and 29 3.30pm
All tickets £10

Box office
0207 287 2875
and online at
www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk <http://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk>

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