Spring Theatre Brochure by Pleasance

SPRING SEASON BROCHURE

Sleeping Trees

26, 28, 30 Jan 7:30pm £10 (£8 Concession)

27, 29 Jan 7:30pm 30 Jan 9pm £10 (£8 Concession)

Mafia? sees award-winning comedy trio Sleeping Trees team up with three of the best jazz-fusion musicians this side of Cumbria to bring you a live gangster flick of epic proportions.

Western? follows unlikely hero Harry Sudds, as a simple trip to the town bank quickly descends into the worst day of his life. Soon enough Harry has to deal with native red indians, talking wasps and one of the most majestic tumbleweeds ever seen in Louisiana.

Mafia?

The tale follows the Banuchi brothers, as Tommy and Ronnie try to teach their youngest brother Johnny how to be a real life gangster on his 18th birthday. With casinos, operas and rooftop shootouts all brought to life, along with an unrelenting live score, this show really is an offer you can’t refuse. “The birth child of Monty Python and the League of Gentleman” ★★★★ Time Out

Western?

With another rip roaring live score, the Sleeping Trees bring their fast, physical and farcical comic style to one of the most well loved film genres of all time. “With a script that steers left field of convention and indulges every whim, Sleeping Trees have created a lawless comedic style of their own” ★★★★★ Broadway Baby Both shows directed by Tom Parry (Pappy’s BBC).

Book for one Sleeping Trees show and get the second one half price! Simply call the box office to book this offer. 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

2theatre supported by the Pleasance

Boris & Ingrid

31 Jan - 4 Feb 7:30pm, 2:30pm A tale of the elderly, love and bananas! From award-winning international company 2theatre (trained with Marcel Marceau, at London International School of Performing Arts and members of Cirque du Soleil Artist Bank as a clown-duo) and in collaboration with critically acclaimed comedy director Cal McCristal, comes the hilariously sharp play exploring the inevitability of time, solitude and the joys of being odd. The ageing couple’s routine of soup and nap, soup and nap, soup and nap is broken by a knock at the door...

£12 (£10 Concession) puppetry, haunting mask, shadow theatre, mime and captivating live music by Bird Radio. A journey not to be missed! “Existential thriller.” Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden “Expert in the art of clown.” El Universal, Mexico “One of Marcel Marceau’s finest students.” A Younger Theatre “A must-see live act.” Evening Standard In association with Mercury Theatre Colchester and APL Theatre.

An absurd physical comedy combining creative 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Etch, Squint and the Pleasance

The Daily Plays

The Pleasance

The Charlie Play Tryouts

22 & 23 Feb 7pm £6.50 The Charlie Hartill Special Reserve - a Fund for New Theatre from the Pleasance Theatre Trust Each year the Special Reserve Fund provides a young theatre company with the rare and extraordinary opportunity to present a groundbreaking performance of a fully produced play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This is a fantastic opportunity for a team to be creative, innovative, imaginative and entrepreneurial in a big and exciting way.

31 Jan 8pm £10 Etch, Squint and the Pleasance present the winter edition of The Daily Plays. Six new short plays from six of Britain’s most exciting theatre writers, all written in rapid response to this week’s political news. Six writers. Six newspapers. Six new short plays. See the week in plays at The Daily Plays 3. 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

The Special Reserve Fund was established in 2004 in memory of Charlie Hartill, who died in January of that year. Charlie was a wit, writer, performer, ex-President of The Cambridge Footlights, 8 years a director of the Festival Fringe and the Pleasance’s man of the computer. He is very much missed not just for his practical skills and quite extraordinary contributions to the Pleasance, but as the most engaging of human beings. He laughed a lot, constantly entertaining so many of those who met him, and he liked a glass of wine. He was 32. Come join us as several of the best emerging theatre companies showcase their work over the course of two nights in the hope of receiving the fund. The Charlie Hartill Special Reserve is a Pleasance Futures initiative. Find out more about Pleasance Futures at pleasance.co.uk/futures £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Urdang Academy’s 3rd Year Company is proud to present four musical productions this year at the Pleasance Theatre

42nd Street

8 & 9 Feb 7:30pm, 2:30pm £17.50 (£12 Concession) 42nd Street is an American musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes and the subsequent 1933 Hollywood film adaptation, the show focuses on the efforts of famed dictatorial Great White Way director Julian Marsh to mount a successful stage production of a musical extravaganza at the height of the Great Depression.

Parade

20 & 21 Feb Various Times £17.50 (£12 Concession) Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical dramatizes the 1913 trial of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, who was accused and convicted of murdering a thirteen-year-old employee, Mary Phagan. 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

Bring It On

12 & 13 Feb 7:30pm, 2:30pm £17.50 (£12 Concession) Bring It On: The Musical is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt and Amanda Green and book by Jeff Whitty. The story is loosely based on the 2000 film of the same name and focuses on the competitive world of cheerleading and over-the-top team rivalries.

A Man of No Importance

16 & 17 Feb 7:30pm, 2:30pm £17.50 (£12 Concession) A Man of No Importance is a musical with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a book by Terrence McNally, based on the 1994 Albert Finney film, A Man of No Importance. It tells the story of an amateur theatre group in Dublin and their leader, who is determined to stage a version of Salome at his church, despite the objections of church authorities. £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

The Project Theatre Company

Les Enfants Terribles

23 - 28 Feb 7:45pm, 5pm £12 (£10 Concession)

25 Feb 7:30pm £6.50

“...how long can a kid kick a ball against a garden fence for... “

Award-winning theatre company Les Enfants Terribles present The LET Award Showcase for the fifth consecutive year. Ten talented shortlisted companies perform ten minute extracts from their shows in front of a panel of industry judges who will decide the 2016 winner at the end of the evening.

Poll Function

Two west country plonkers return to suburbia and wreak havoc on childhood dreams and a system they believed would bring them future opportunity. Confined within a car for most of the journey, old secrets are aired out and open questions are asked about who they have become since leaving the suburbs. They fight, spit, cry and kill but still find it hard to accept their feelings are only human... Reviews for Shewrings previous production, Guttermouth: “...dirty and hilarious, and punctuated with moments of real poetic beauty... “ ★★★★ Broadway Baby “...as a piece of social commentary, this is inventive, lyrical and bold . . . “ ★★★★ The Public Reviews 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

The LET Award Showcase

This unique opportunity returns to offer young theatre makers the sought-after opportunity of a slot at the Pleasance during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “The intention is to reward people for their artistic merit and ambition, putting the focus on the practical aptitude of creating theatre as opposed to the often long-winded administrative process of finding funding. We want to encourage an entrepreneurial attitude amongst young companies, empowering them to find innovative ways of creating top class theatre that will allow them to flourish in such a difficult financial climate.” Oliver Lansley, Artistic Director, Les Enfants Terribles £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Pipeline Theatre

Transports

28 Feb - 12 Mar 7:30pm, 6pm In the late 1970s a volatile teenager is shunted into her final foster home. Her new carer is an eccentric chatterbox, who keeps her Kindertransport past buried in a trunk. As youth plays cat and mouse with age, their stories collide with devastating consequences. Weaving film and powerful underscore, jumping in time between the 1970s and the 2nd World War, Transports is by turns funny and moving, a journey not quickly forgotten. It was inspired 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£12 (£10 Concession) by the experiences of designer Alan Munden’s mother, a Kindertransport refugee. Pipeline Theatre has a reputation for addressing serious, potentially difficult yet universally relevant subjects in a moving, humorous and totally engrossing way. They were recently shortlisted for the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award for their critically acclaimed show Spillikin. £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

“Transports is effortless. It is beautiful, heartbreaking and thought-provoking... I have genuinely never seen something so beautifully performed on stage.“ A Younger Theatre

Praise for Spillikin:

“Brave, bold and brilliant.“ Cornish Guardian

★★★★ The Stage

020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

★★★★★ British Theatre Guide ★★★★★ Broadway Baby ★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ The Scotsman

£1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

A Pleasance Scratch

29 Feb 7:30pm A Pleasance Scratch is an evening of variety, ideas and fun; a chance to see artists present brave, new work at the first stages of development. The Pleasance is proud to support a large number of developing artists every year through our various Pleasance 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£6.50 Futures initiatives, and this is an opportunity for you to have the first glimpse at what these talented young theatre makers are creating next in the hope of receiving the fund. Programme to be confirmed... £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Rhiannon Faith

Scary Shit

26 & 27 Feb 7:30pm £12 (£10 Concession) Scary Shit is a show about friendship, being a woman and asking for help. Quirky and outrageous dance theatre, Rhiannon Faith brings a moving and courageous physical experience to the stage. A rollercoaster real life experiment, Scary Shit is a show where two young women attend therapy to learn about themselves, the world, and dare to suggest a future without fear. We all have personal fears, be it public speaking, smear tests, heights... But what if you could take the time to cure these fears? Would you be a better person? Would the world be a better place? “A brilliant choreographer, a madcap mind and a cheeky little minx.” Bryony Kimmings (awardwinning Associate Artist at Soho Theatre) 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

London Student Drama Festival

13 Mar 7pm £7 (£5 Concession) The best four shows from the 2016 London Student Drama Festival are to perform in front of award-winning writers, film stars, and West End producers to battle it out for prestigious prizes. These 30-minute shows are written, directed, acted, and designed by students from London’s universities. Four shows will be handpicked from the preceding weekend’s performances at Student Central on the 5th and 6th of March. This year will see UCL, SOAS, LSE, King’s, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, Imperial, Goldsmiths, and the UL Theatre Project compete in London’s biggest student new-writing festival to illuminate the wealth of theatrical talent that lies hidden in London’s universities. £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Bridge Arts

Party

1 - 13 Mar 7:45pm, 5:30pm Mel, Martin, Phoebe and Jared are here to change the world. Duncan is also present. Every great political movement has to start somewhere. In this case, Martin’s mum’s shed is the nerve centre of groundbreaking policy creation on the stuff that really matters: climate change, bike tax, unfair trade coffee, and how 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£14 (£12 Concession) to pronounce “abstention”. After their sold out run of Love in the 21st Century, Bridge Arts presents Party, Tom Basden’s hilarious, critically-acclaimed comedy about revolutionaries who are pro-cake and anti-pillaging. £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

The Reversed Shakespeare Company: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

16 - 27 Mar 7:45pm, 5:30pm, 2pm Magic, love, mischief and madness abound in Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy. A new, exciting and important retelling; it’s Dream, but not as you know it. The Reversed Shakespeare Company present classic texts with the gender of each character switched, with a view to examining and expanding gender roles. How do women woo and can men be wooed? Is vulnerability only reserved for the physically weak? 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£12 (£10 Concession) In their debut production, Reversed Shakespeare present A Midsummer Night’s Dream with this simple twist. In these woods, a man chases a woman demanding that she love him. Five incompetent women try, and fail, to put on a play to impress the royals. The king of the fairies falls madly in love with a woman disguised as a donkey. Come join us. You just might end up dreaming differently. £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Split Bill: Alice & Lisa

Tight Theatre

PUSSY

28 Mar 7:45pm £10 (£8 Concession) 21 Mar 7:45pm £6.50 Two ladies going it alone. But together. Alice and Lisa have just graduated from Jacques Lecoq and are none the wiser as to what they should be doing now. Making 30 minutes of solo material each seemed like a good idea as it gives them a combined hour in the spotlight. Alice is seriously questioning her extracurricular choices whilst talking into a microphone. Lisa just wants to escape loneliness for a bit (please stay for the second half ). Both shows are probably too honest (to the point of oversharing), both shows are attempting to be funny, and both shows are not even shows yet. Two odds make an even. Steven? 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

PUSSY is an explicit, bold and darkly funny representation of what it means to be a young woman in today’s society. Exploring female sexuality, gendering and the taboo subject of masturbation through physical theatre, PUSSY combines elements of cabaret, mime and dance to create a daring and innovative piece. Devised by the young, all-female cast, the performers expose to the stage the private actions of women trying to live up to pop culture ideals – from lip-syncing their way through Destiny’s Child songs to identifying an abundance of vaginal imagery, the show is a comically wicked insight into what it’s really like to be a young woman living in today’s world. PUSSY. It’s not about cats. “PUSSY should be seen by everyone” ★★★★ A Younger Theatre £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

LAMDA is a world-leading drama school. Expect bold, risk-taking and unforgettable work this spring. Find out more at www.lamda.org.uk

A Midsummer Dracula Night’s Dream

31 Mar - 7 Apr 7:30pm, 2pm £10 (£6 Concession)

1 - 5 Apr 7:30pm, 2pm £10 (£6 Concession)

Directed by Adam Meggido. Designed by James Turner.

Directed by Michael Fentiman. Designed by James Turner.

One of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes its audience on an enchanting journey from order to chaos and back again.

Liz Lochhead’s visceral and gripping rendition of Bram Stoker’s spine-chilling classic chronicles Count Dracula’s pursuit of two women and their suitors in a story of epic and intimate terror.

020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Etch in association with Pleasance

Etch New Writing Festival

Fye and Foul

Cathedral

5 - 10 Apr 7:45pm, 2:30pm, 5pm £10 (£8 Concession) 31 Mar - 3 Apr Various Times £6 (£4 for any additional nights) Etch presents a four day new writing festival in association with the Pleasance, exploring eight brand new plays by emerging and established writers in theatre. This is a chance to see and discuss some of the most exciting new plays of 2016. Etch is a new writing theatre company known for the rigorous development of new work. Etch aims to discover, nurture and support new writing and collaboration in theatre. Founded in August 2014, Etch has firmly established itself as a platform and a base for new and provocative work to be created. 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

There is a story, but we can’t remember the details. It has a figure, but its features escape us. You’re my old lover, but I can’t remember your voice. Freely inspired by Raymond Carver’s short story, Cathedral is an audio-based performance taking place in subtle states of low lighting that exposes the audience to the ambiguity of memory and doubt in recollection. “Fye and Foul’s Cathedral was powerfully intense, engaging and brave!” The New Current “This is a performance that needs to be experienced not described” LondonTheatre1 Cathedral was commissioned by RichMix London with the support of The Bike Shed in Exeter and the Wellcome Trust. £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Play presents

Clay

12 - 24 Apr 7:45pm, 5:30pm This is not a story of boy meets girl. But a boy does meet a girl. At a house party in Bromley. Yeah, Bromley. Really. And they had a connection, an extraordinary connection. They talk all night and dance and have the absolute time of their lives. Or did they? Because that’s not how she remembers it… Moving between two differing accounts of the same events, Clay scrutinises a questionable sexual encounter, exploring the often 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£12 (£10 Concession) remarkable difference between individual perception and reality. Because there’s two sides to every story, right? The trouble is working out which one is real. A dark and caustically funny psychological thriller by Soho Young Writer Adam Foster (cowriter of the Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Theatre Fund recipient and award-winning Molly). Directed by Hannah Hauer-King (Dry Land). Produced in association with Play. £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Traverse Theatre

Crash

12 - 24 Apr 7:30pm, 5pm “Everything that happens is created by you.” Confidence is everything in the world of high finance. Confidence in yourself, confidence in the market. Lose that and you lose everything. Crash is the story of an enigmatic trader attempting to rebuild his life following a tragic event. As he takes the first tentative steps back into the brutal landscape of trading stocks, he feels the pressure begin to build. In the continuing wake of the financial crisis, Scottish writer Andy Duffy creates a rare and 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£15 (£13 Concession) poetic insight into the psychology of a banker’s world. Directed by Traverse Associate Artist Emma Callander, acclaimed for recent festival hits Cuckooed (Fringe First Award) and Theatre Uncut (Fringe First and Herald Angel Award).

“You may find yourself trying to take deep-breaths…” ★★★★ Exeunt Magazine £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

“An intense, troubling and beautifully-shaped piece of writing from one of Scotland’s most exciting new playwrights.” ★★★★ The Scotsman “A compelling tour de force.” ★★★★ The Herald “Absorbing performance.” ★★★★ TV Bomb 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

“Emma Callander’s direction more than rises to the challenge... an evocative and compelling reading.” The Stage This show is part of A Nation’s Theatre Festival, a celebration of UK creativity. Theatre-makers from outside London will be presenting and developing shows across the capital in April and May 2016.

£1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Theatre Re

Blind Man’s Song

27 Apr - 15 May 7:30pm, 5pm, 2:30pm Ahead of an international tour and following sell-out runs at the 2015 London International Mime Festival, Latitude and the Edinburgh Fringe, critically acclaimed Theatre Re (The Gambler, The Little Soldiers) presents a wordless tale about the power of imagination blending physical theatre, mime, illusions and a live musical score. While a blind man walks around his room with unsteady steps a story of love, hope, courage 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£15 (£13 Concession)/£6

and unquenchable vision unfolds. Established in 2009, Theatre Re is a London based international ensemble creating vibrant and emotional work on the edge of mime and theatre.

“Superb… like a Beckett play designed by Magritte.” ★★★★ The Stage £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

“A superbly smooth, nuanced production... beautifully evocative choreography.” ★★★★ The List “Theatre Re creates an entrancing, poignant world, and an hour spent in it seems all too brief.” ★★★★★ ThreeWeeks 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

★★★★★ British Theatre Guide ★★★★★ Edinburgh Spotlight ★★★★ Broadway Baby ★★★★ Ed Fest Magazine ★★★★ EdFringe Reviews £1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

Sascha Moore

Trashed

Lucy Grace

Garden

5 - 7 May 7:45pm £12 (£10 Concession) Monday to Friday, Lucy catches the 8.10am to London Bridge. 9am, her day begins at Insignia Asset Management, where she is in charge of the photocopier, printer, scanner, shredder and binder. She is the only person in the office who knows how to clear a paper jam. She’s starting to wonder how this fits into the Grand Scheme of Things. One day, her life takes an unexpected turn when she rescues the long-suffering office pot plant.

26 Apr - 1 May 7:45pm, 5pm £10 (£8 Concession) Goody’s daughter is dead. Desperate to forget, he takes refuge at an illegal fly-tipping site, occupying himself with fags, cans and the company of an 11 year old. But is there something else besides grief Goody is hiding from and how long will it be until someone finds him? A darkly compelling drama starring David William Bryan, Trashed is written and directed by Sascha Moore. 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

In her flat, 24 floors up, she begins to plant, cultivate and nurture her own personal wilderness. Garden is a humorous and poetic story about trying to form a meaningful connection to the world, when you feel out of step with everyone else in it. “Quietly revolutionary.” ★★★★ The Scotsman “Gives its audience a thirst to live their own lives with a little more joy & spontaneity.” ★★★★ The Skinny ★★★★ ThreeWeeks

★★★★ Broadway Baby

£1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5

BOX OFFICE

FIND US

Carpenters Mews, North Road, London N7 9EF 020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

UNDERGROUND Caledonian Road - Piccadilly line (5 minutes walk) Holloway Road - Piccadilly line (15 minutes walk)

Mon - Sun 10am - 6pm On performance days the Box Office will remain open until the start of the final performance.

CONCESSIONS Concession rates (where advertised) are available with proof of status for Under 18s, Senior Citizens, Students, Registered Unemployed, Disabled, Visually Impaired, Deaf or Hard of Hearing Visitors. Carers and Personal Assistants can attend free of charge. Group and Schools discounts are available on selected events, please contact the Box Office directly.

OVERGROUND Caledonian Road and Barnsbury (15 minutes walk) BUS Bus 393 stops right directly outside the theatre with buses 17, 91, 259 and N91 all stopping at Caledonian Road Underground Station, 5 minutes walk away. PARKING Metered on-street parking is available outside the theatre Mon to Fri 10am - 4:30pm with free parking evenings and weekends.

BOOKING FEES Telephone and online bookings are subject to a £1 transaction fee per ticket, capped at a maximum of £5. Tickets can be collected anytime during Box Office opening hours or posted to you for an additional 50p. Bookings made in person are not subject to a transaction fee. Please note tickets sold are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged. Latecomers may not be admitted.

ACCESS Pleasance Theatre strives to provide access for all. Our Main House is fully accessible via a lift from street level, we have infra-red hearing system in both performance spaces, accessible toilets and Guide Dogs are welcome. Sadly at present our StageSpace does not have step free access. Our aim is to make your visit as enjoyable as possible for further information or to discuss any access requirements please contact the Box Office.

020 7609 1800 www.pleasance.co.uk

£1 transaction fee per ticket on telephone and online bookings, capped at £5