John Arden Memorial Event

Published on Wed 21 Nov 2012
A rehearsed reading of the 1959 anti-war play Sergeant Musgrave's Dance will be held in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court on Sunday 25 November at 5pm in memory of its playwright John Arden, who died in March 2012

PRESS RELEASE

JOHN ARDEN MEMORIAL
ROYAL COURT THEATRE
25 NOVEMBER 5PM

A rehearsed reading of the 1959 anti-war play Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance will be held in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court on Sunday 25 November at 5pm in memory of its playwright John Arden, who died in March 2012.

Directed by Peter Gill, the cast will include Ian Burfield, Brendan Coyle, Ben Dilloway, Nicholas Gleaves, Tony Haygarth, Philip Jackson, Sarah Lancashire, Robert Lonsdale, James Mcardle, Ian Mercer, Clive Merrison, Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Rashbrook, John Savident, Tony Turner and Mark Weinman.

Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance opened at the Royal Court in 1959, directed by Lindsay Anderson and centres on four Victorian soldiers, who have deserted from an imperialist war overseas. They arrive in a northern coal mining town with the aim of seeking revenge from the townspeople after a witnessing a terrible act of colonial violence.

Although Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance is now widely regarded as a modern classic, the play was initially badly received among critics and audiences, playing to quarter-full houses and prompting the Royal Court to publish a leaflet in reaction, challenging audiences to answer the question ‘What Kind of Theatre Do You Want?’ including high profile and passionate advocacy of the play.

John Arden’s other plays at the Royal Court included Live Like Pigs and This Happy Haven, his first collaboration with wife and co-writer Margaretta D’Arcy. His other plays included The Workhouse Donkey at Chichester Festival Theatre in 1963 and Armstrong’s Last Goodnight in 1964 at the National Theatre.

Playwright and Director Peter Gill will direct the reading. He started his career at the Royal Court as an actor, appearing in Arnold Wesker’s The Kitchen, which opened just before Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance in 1959 and went on to become Assistant Director at the Royal Court in 1964 and Associate Director, before directing extensively at the Riverside Studios, where he was Artistic Director and National Theatre, where he founded the National Theatre Studio.

The John Arden Memorial is at the Royal Court Theatre on Sunday 25 November at 5pm. Tickets £8 (£6 concessions) available online www.royalcourttheatre.com or 0207 565 5000.

ends
(21/11/12)

For more information, please contact Anna Evans on 0207565 5063 annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com

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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.