simple8 simple8 presents
The Four Stages of Cruelty A new play based on the engravings of William Hogarth Written and directed by Adam Brace and Sebastian Armesto
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A company possessing the skills, dedication and intelligence to create wonder
The Times
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24 May - 24 June 2011 8.00pm (mat June 11 3.00pm) simple8 presents
The Four Stages of Cruelty A new play based on the engravings of William Hogarth
simple8
Written and directed by Adam Brace and Sebastian Armesto with simple8 1751. London is over-crowded. The morals are as loose as the women and the crime as free as the gin. On the streets, prostitutes, footpads and highwaymen coalesce with Dukes, Members of Parliament and anyone in between. All scrap for profit. All seek an escape from the drudgery of life. Somewhere near the bottom of this heap is an orphan named Tom Nero. Trapped in a brutal and compelling struggle to survive, he grapples, hustles and kills to rise above the fate society has dealt him. Following their acclaimed productions of Les Enfants du Paradis and The Living Unknown Soldier, simple8 transports this story of wanton cruelty – as pertinent and as visceral as when Hogarth first scratched it – to the London stage. Praise for simple8:
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To have made the swirl of passions so exciting and so moving, and on so bare a stage, is a true achievement
The Times Praise for Adam Brace: Rivetingly intelligent
The Sunday Times
Tickets £15 (£11 concessions)
TEN10 first 10 performances £10 (not available online)
May 25, 26, 28, 30 June 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 Pay What You Can Tuesdays Sustainable Theatre www.simple8.co.uk
Redraws the borders of your assumptions
Time Out Box Office www.arcolatheatre.com 020 7503 1646 Arcola Theatre 24 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London E8 3DL
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