New short play by Caryl Churchill Announced

PRESS RELEASE

NEW CARYL CHURCHILL SHORT PLAY ADDED TO ROYAL COURT THEATRE SEASON

Ding Dong The Wicked, a new short play by Caryl Churchill will run in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court between 1 and 13 October as an addition to the Royal Court’s autumn season.

The thirty minute play will be directed by Royal Court Artistic Director, Dominic Cooke and take place around the evening’s performance of Caryl Churchill’s main stage play Love and Information, with matinee and late night showings on certain days.

“There’s nothing I inherited except my father’s hair and his lefthandedness. Everything I got I earned.”

A child is shut in her room, a dog is dead in the road, someone is kissing her brother in law. A family locked in hatred is sending a son to war.

And meanwhile in another country…

The cast includes Claire Foy, Daniel Kendrick, Stuart McQuarrie and Sophie Stanton.

Director Dominic Cooke said:

“It’s been 40 years since the Royal Court first staged a play by Caryl Churchill and in that time she has led the way in reinventing our notion of what a play can be. Ding Dong The Wicked is as fresh and unusual as anything she’s written and while it differs from Love and Information in content and form, to see both plays in one night promises a fascinating evening. This is the fourth play of Caryl’s that I’ve directed and I can’t wait”.

Caryl Churchill is one of the UK’s most influential playwrights and her association with the Royal Court dates back to 1972 with her play Owners. Her plays at the Royal Court include Seven Jewish Children, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, Top Girls, This is a Chair, Far Away, A Number, Cloud Nine, Serious Money and this season, Love and Information.

Artistic Director of the Royal Court Dominic Cooke directs. His recent credits at the Court include In Basildon, Chicken Soup with Barley, for which he was nominated for an Evening Standard Award, and the multi award-winning production of Clybourne Park for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award. Clybourne Park, which won writer Bruce Norris the Tony Award for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize, opened at the Royal Court in September 2010 to critical acclaim before transferring to the West End. Credits elsewhere include The Comedy of Errors at the National Theatre, as well as adapting and directing Arabian Nights and Noughts and Crosses at the RSC. He will also be directing Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney and In the Republic of Happiness by Martin Crimp this season.

The production is directed by Dominic Cooke, with lighting by Jack Williams and sound by Alexander Caplen.

Further cast to be announced

Ding Dong The Wicked is at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre 1 – 13 October. Tickets from £10 go on sale to Friends and Supporters from 1pm today (Tuesday) and on general sale tomorrow (Wednesday) from 1pm www.royalcourttheatre.com or 0207 565 5000

ends
(04/09/12)

For further information, images or interviews, please contact Anna Evans on 020 7565 5063 annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com

Notes to Editors:

Cast:

Claire Foy
Sophie Stanton
Daniel Kendrick
Stuart McQuarrie

Creative Team:

Director Dominic Cooke
Lighting Designer Jack Williams
Sound Designer Alexander Caplen

Listings Information:
Ding Dong The Wicked
By Caryl Churchill
Directed by Dominic Cooke
Monday 1 October – Saturday 13 August 2012
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs Royal Court Theatre Sloane Square SW1W 8AS
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 6.30pm
Thursday and Saturday 4pm and 10pm
Captioned Performance Wednesday 10 October 6.30pm
Audio Described Performance Saturday 13 October 4pm
Age Guidance 14+
Tickets £10, £8 concessions
Monday day seats avail. on day of performance from 9am online, 10am in person
*ID required. All discounts are subject to availability

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.