With a childhood surrounded by alcoholism and petty cruelties, an adolescence of rebellion and punkish anarchy and an adulthood peppered with heroin addiction, voluntary crucifixion, failed suicide and a penchant for sex with prostitutes, Sebastian Horsley’s life was always destined to become a work of art. An artist, dandy and author who was perhaps best known for having undergone a voluntary crucifixion in the Philippines before beginning a regular column in The Erotic Review, Horsley’s memoirs focused on his dysfunctional family, his drug addictions, sex, and his love of prostitutes, and unsurprisingly became a cult literary sensation. Soho Theatre's theatrical version, has been adapted from Horsley’s no-holds-barred memoir and directed by fellow moral delinquent Tim Fountain. This insane tale of the prototype of modern day dandyism has now found its spiritual platform in the heart of the crazy village he likes to call home. Dandy In The Underworld premiered at Soho Theatre in the summer of 2010.
Sutton’s Complicit is a powerful play that explores the world’s current political climate and the consequences that arise when civil liberties become a privilege rather than a universal right.There's a hard road; there's an easy road – which one would you take? Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ben Kritzer finds himself faced with this very dilemma, as he is stands in front of a Supreme Court Grand Jury. Will Kritzer defend his belief in the freedom of the press, or will he protect his family from the threats facing them?Refusing to hold any punches, Complicit is a political thriller bound to have you questioning your belief in the state and personal security. Gritty, provocative and poignant, Complicit is a thought-provoking and timely play with deep rooted significance within our society. A production directed by Kevin Spacey opens at the Old Vic Theatre, London in February 2009.
Maverick theatre makers On Theatre join forces with legendary singer-songwriter Billy Bragg to explore what it means to be English in contemporary Britain. A drama of passion and predjudice, Pressure Drop takes us to the heart of one family's struggle to define home. Pressure Drop is a new production from Maverick theatre-makers On Theatre, who are headed up by renowned theatre director Mick Gordon. In the tradition of previous On Theatre productions an intellectual theme is explored, specifically in Pressure Drop the theme of national identity.
1985; Ray and Eileen’s five year old son vanishes.22 years later a good looking American arrives in their small English village claiming to be their boy. Can this man really be their missing child or is he an impostor? And what long buried secrets will have to be revealed in order to prove his true identity? “Police said it happened all the time. What was so special about us? What was so special about you? I said, he’s my son, that makes him special. They said, could you get a cuter photo?” They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina ran at the Tristan Bates Theatre at the Actors' Centre in 2007, in a co-production with Theatre503.
London's East End 1973. Trevor organises a surprise party on the release of his brother Andy from Borstal. But Rose, his bingo-playing, pill-popping mother, has other plans.
In her cell in Rangoon’s Insein prison, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi – incarcerated by Burma’s military dictatorship for almost 20 years – tells her story. Richard Shannon’s powerful and moving one-woman play vividly portrays the life and message of the world’s most famous prisoner of conscience.Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002. She was again arrested in May 2003 after the Depayin massacre. At the time of writing she was still being held under house arrest in Rangoon. Aung San Suu Kyi’s message is a simple one – that only by “fighting fear can you truly be free” – a message Burma’s military fears and aims to silence. The Lady of Burma is a Red Fighting Peacock Production presented by the Burma Campaign UK and Louise Chantal. The Burma Campaign UK is part of a global movement to promote democracy and human rights in Burma.
Widower Hari Hobson has a successful dress-making business and three daughters. The oldest, Durga, is the brains behind the operation. 'Can't we choose husbands for ourselves?' I've been telling you for the last five minutes, you're not even fit to choose dresses for yourselves.' But when Hobson says that Durga is too valuable to lose and must give up all idea of getting married, she takes her fate into her own hands and starts her own rival shop nearby. Tanika Gupta's new version of this classic 1916 comedy sets the play in a modern day Salford Asian community, giving a new generation a chance to enjoy the play's sharp wit and charm. This version of Hobson's Choice was performed at the Young Vic, London, June – August 2003.
Sir Hugo Baskerville was the picture of aristocratic excess, drunkenness and debauchery until he was struck down by a demonic hound sent to punish his wickedness – or so thelegend tells. Two hundred years later his descendant Sir Charles apparently meets a similar fate, dying of fright in the grounds of Baskerville Hall. Can Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson solve the mystery of the Hound of the Baskervilles before Sir Charles’ heir comes to an equally gruesome end? The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest stories of the twentieth century and its macabre appeal has made it the most popular of the Sherlock Holmes adventures. Clive Francis’s adaptation premiered at Nottingham and Salisbury Playhouses in 2004 and has toured the UK ever since.
May is an idealist. She’s fighting for a better world and has sacrificed more than most. So when the old regime is destroyed, she is rewarded with a job as a prison photographer.But as the enemy pass one by one before her unflinching lens – both strange and familiar faces – can they shake her belief in this world she helped to create?Inspired by the work of the photographer Nhem En, who photographed the inmates of the Tuol Sleng prison in Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, and by painter Van Nath who painted Pol Pot and was one of the only seven survivors of Tuol Sleng, playwright Sarah Grochala draws on prison records and interviews with both prisoners and Khmer Rouge cadres to create a startling and affecting drama.S-27 won the first Protect The Human Playwriting Competition in 2007, run by iceandfire in conjunction with Amnesty International and Soho Theatre, and was in production at the Finborough Theatre in June 2009.