Cast Announced for New Plays from Georgia and Ukraine

PRESS RELEASE

NEW PLAYS FROM GEORGIA AND UKRAINE AT ROYAL COURT THEATRE – CAST ANNOUNCED

The Royal Court Theatre announces a season of readings by Georgian and Ukrainian playwrights from 12 to 16 March to complement the run of Polish writerAnna Wakulik’s A Time to Reap in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.

Four playwrights from Georgia and Ukraine will have their plays performed as rehearsed readings, translated into English, as part of an ongoing project with a group of 12 writers that the Royal Court has been working with since May 2011. After the final reading on Saturday 16 March, there will be panel discussion with the playwrights on the challenges of writing new plays in contemporary Georgia and Ukraine, chaired by Royal Court Literary Manager Chris Campbell.

Associate Directors Elyse Dodgson and Simon Godwin, International Associate Caroline Steinbeis, director Ramin Gray and playwrights April De Angelis, Rory Mullarkey and Nick Payne travelled to Tbilisi, Lviv and Kyiv to work with writers to develop new plays about contemporary life in their countries, bringing together artists working in Georgian, Russian and Ukrainian.

Tuesday 12 March, 6pm
And I Don’t Care How You’re Doing Anymore
by Oksana Savchenko (Ukraine)
Translated by Rory Mullarkey
Directed by Caroline Steinbeis

Lora is in trouble. The baby is crying, the cold is biting and Andrei is up to his eyes in debt. And just when Lora thinks her life can’t get any worse, Andrei disappears. A play about life on the frontline of the new Ukraine.

Cast: Susan Brown, Laura Elphinstone, Trystan Gravelle, Faye Marsay, Rebecca Oldfield, Felix Scott

Wednesday 13 March, 6pm
The President Has Come To See You
by Lasha Bugadze (Georgia)
Translated by Donald Rayfield
Directed by Simon Godwin

Georgia is at war. Again. And the President can’t cope. So he abandons his post and flees into the city to hide in the homes of his unsuspecting civilians. An absurd comedy about cowardice and power.

Cast: Paul Chahidi, Pandora Colin, Amanda Drew, Tom Godwin, John Heffernan, Toby Jones, John Kirk, Simon Kunz, Isabella Laughland, Helen Schlesinger, Alan Williams

Friday 15 March, 6pm
Twatted
by Evgeniy Markovskiy (Ukraine)
Translated by Rory Mullarkey
Directed by Richard Twyman

Our hero, Hairy, likes swearing, booze and singing in his death metal band. His new girlfriend doesn’t. A foul-mouthed Ukrainian comedy of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.

Cast includes: Morgan Watkins, Mark Bazeley, Kirsty Bushell, Sam Spruell

Saturday 16 March, 12pm
Uncle Sasha The Butcher & Panel Discussion
By Mariam Agamian (Ukraine)
Translated by Rory Mullarkey
Directed by Caroline Steinbeis

Little Anya steals her older brother’s pornographic playing cards and sets in motion a chain of events that will leave her questioning the meaning of sex, relationships and true love well into her adult life. A poignant study of growing up or just growing old.

Cast includes: Bettrys Jones, Hayley Carmichael, Natasha Broomfield, Janet Henfrey, Richard Riddell, Jim Bywater, Alex Warren, Ben Addis

Uncle Sasha The Butcher is presented as a work in progress and will be followed by a panel discussion with the playwrights on the challenges of writing new plays in contemporary Georgia and Ukraine, chaired by Royal Court Literary Manager Chris Campbell.

Tickets for all readings £8 per reading (£6 if booked with another reading) available at
www.royalcourttheatre.com 020 7565 5000

ends
(18/01/13)

For more information, please contact Anna Evans on 020 7565 5063 annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com

Notes to Editors:

Listings Information:

International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project with additional support from the British Council
New Plays from Georgia and Ukraine
Tues 12, Wed 13, Fri15 Mar, 6pm
Sat 16 Mar 12pm
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS
Tickets £8 (£6 if booking for more than one reading)
Concessions £6
Access £6

Since 1996 the Royal Court Theatre has travelled the world, running long-term play development projects and building relationships between playwrights, directors, actors and translators. Working with playwrights and theatre artists in 70 countries and in 30 languages, the work is supported by the Genesis Foundation and the British Council.

New Plays from Georgia and Ukraine is presented as part of International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project, with additional support from the British Council.

Coutts is the Principal Sponsor of the Royal Court Theatre

Coutts is the UK private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Coutts has a long history of supporting the arts going back 200 years, having looked after the financial affairs of many famous clients connected with the arts such as Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens and Chopin. In 1816, Thomas Coutts married Harriot Mellon, a popular actress of her day, and together they became partners of a number of London Theatres, including the Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House. Coutts has even featured in a number of artistic works including The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In the new millennium, this tradition has continued not only through managing the finances of many of today’s top writers, actors and musicians, but also through our arts sponsorship programme and we are delighted to support The Royal Court and its diverse range of ground-breaking performances.

The Genesis Foundation supports the Royal Court’s International Playwrights Programme.

To find and develop the next generation of professional playwrights, the Genesis Foundation funds workshops in diverse countries as well as residencies at the Royal Court. The Foundation’s involvement extends to productions and rehearsed readings which helps the Royal Court to provide a springboard for young writers to greater public and critical attention. For more information, please visit www.genesisfoundation.org.uk

New Plays From Georgia And Ukraine has been made possible by a grant from the British Council Wider Europe. For more information on the British Council and its work, please visit www.britishcouncil.org.