PRESS RELEASE: PIMLICO MARKET STALL

THE ROYAL COURT LAUNCHES MARKET STALL AT TACHBROOK STREET MARKET, PIMLICO ON 28 MAY 2015

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• The Royal Court Theatre joins Market Stall sellers at TACHBROOK STREET MARKET, Pimlico, every Thursday and Friday until the end of August.
• The Market Stall features PIMLICO PLAYGROUND: new journeying audio plays written by Royal Court writers; and ESPRESSO PLAYS: plays ‘made to order’ by a resident writer.
• The Royal Court Theatre in collaboration with Open Age present SW ONCE: a selection of rehearsed readings written over six introductory playwriting workshops.

The Royal Court Theatre supported by Bloomberg has set up a Market Stall at Tachbrook Street Market in Pimlico as part of its three year engagement with the area. Trading every Thursday and Friday between 10am – 3pm until the end of August the Market Stall hosts a range of events and is an arena to listen to suggestions from local residents on what they would like to see happen in the area.

Your local theatre is now even closer.

For the next three years we’re going to be camped on your doorstep, hanging out on your high street, hawking in your market and generally being a friendly neighbour.

Visitors to the Market Stall will have access to Pimlico Playground, new journeying audio plays written by Royal Court writers, and Espresso Plays, ‘made to order’ plays written by a resident writer.

Visitors have the opportunity to take part in miniature scriptwriting workshops and a chain-written community play, they will also have access to ticket flash sales for Royal Court productions and free copies of Royal Court plays to take home.

Commenting on the project Royal Court Artistic Associate, Ola Animashawun said:

“I am delighted to welcome with open arms the people of Pimlico to our Theatre Stall in Tachbrook Street Market. Providing the theatre with a great opportunity to engage with the community and offer something that is at once, novel, unique and creative, to invite interest and ignite curiosity. Simultaneously this will enable us to create the launch pad for our wider ambition of tapping into the creative energy, desires and ambitions of the people in Pimlico.”

The launch event will start from 12pm Thursday 28 May with a speech by artistic Associate of the Royal Court Ola Animashawun to celebrate the official opening of the Market Stall at 1pm.

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SW Once (Part of South West Fest)
with Ola Animashawun
22 June 2015 2pm
St. James Theatre, Studio Space, 12 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JA
Free but places must be booked in advance

Local actors will be performing a selection of rehearsed readings, as part of this year’s South West Fest. The plays will be written during six introductory playwriting workshops. The workshops will be run by the Royal Court working with Open Age, an organisation that helps older people to develop new and stimulating interests.

To book email info@southwestfest.org.uk

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The Espresso Plays
Every Thursday & Friday 10am – 2:45pm
Tachbrook Street Market

Written by a resident writter, the Espresso Plays are inspired by ideas suggested by Market Stall visitors.

Come and chat to our market stall playwrights and within 5 minutes a freshly brewed, personalised play will be written for you, all served in a takeaway coffee cup.

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Pimlico Playground
by Diana Nneka Atuona, Josh Azouz, Olivia Hirst, Sarah Kosar, Simon Longman and Nessah Muthy
directed by Ola Animashawun, Debbie Hannan and Chris Sonnex
Every last Thu & Fri of the month (28, 29 May, 25, 26 Jun, 30, 31 Jul, 27, 28 Aug)
10am – 2:45pm
Tachbrook Street Market

Short enough to experience on your lunch break, these six location-based audio plays by Royal Court writers will take you on an imaginative journey through your everyday surroundings, animating the space between Tachbrook St. Market and the playground.

Head to our market stall, grab an MP3 player and a map, and have a wander…

The original short plays were recorded by actors from Pimlico Academy and Mulberry Alumni Theatre group, both of which the theatre have been working with over the past year.

The Pimlico Playground plays include:

Untitled by Diana Nneka Atuona
Bike by Josh Azouz
Hopscotch by Olivia Hirst
Big Body Tiny Head by Sarah Kosar
Bricks by Simon Longman
Brides by Nessah Muthy

Running time 30m

Pimlico Playground writers’ biographies:

Diana Nneka Atuona’s credits for the Royal Court include Liberian Girl. As well as winning the Alfred Fagon Award for Playwriting, Liberian Girl was long listed for both the Verity Bargate and the Bruntwood Prize. It was staged at the Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. The summit was hosted by William Hague MP and Special Envoy to the UN, Angelina Jolie. Diana attended the Royal Court’s Peckham Writers Group, as part of Theatre Local. She is currently on commission with the Old Vic Theatre.

Josh Azouz’s Theatre includes The Mikvah Project (The Yard); Bar-Mitzvah Boy (OvalHouse); Sink or Shpin (Bannatyne’s Health Club/Boom Cycle London). As director, theatre includes: The Man Who Almost Killed Himself (Summerhall/BBC iplayer/Odeon release); Spur of the Moment (ALRA North/Home’s Replay Festival); On Dis Ting (OvalHouse); Gargantua (Library Theatre); No! Mr Lawrence! (The Lowry); Harissa (Tricycle) Europe (Contact).

Olivia Hirst’s theatre includes Goodstock and Play for September (Lost Watch); The Longley Viking Museum (Soho); Baby’s Gone (Performance Academy Newcastle College). She is a Writer and Co Artistic Director of Lost Watch Theatre Company.

Sarah Kosar’s credits for the Royal Court include: Spaghetti Ocean (Live Lunch). Other theatre includes Hot Dog (Descent/The Last Refuge/Thinking Cap). Short plays include Runt (Oxford School of Drama/Soho), Ice Cream (Little Pieces of Gold/Southwark), Fox (Descent/Little Pieces of Gold/Southwark), Pineapple and other short plays (Outlines/Old Red Lion), Gynotime (Orange Tea/Amsterdam). Radio includes Hashtag (Roundhouse Radio/Theatre Centre).

Simon Longman’s theatre includes Milked (Pentabus); Why I Don’t Like the Sea and Popcorn (Arcola). He was a member of the Royal Court Young Writer’s Group in 2013 and is currently under commission for the Royal Court.

Nessah Muthy’s credits for the Royal Court include: Beastie (Live Lunch), Gastronauts, Hungry (Lost in Theatre, Open Court). Other theatre includes: This is not a Slog (OvalHouse); IED (HighTide Festival); Sucker (Old Vic New Voices); Sex with Robots & other Devices (Cloakroom); Nazma (Kali); Freya & Mr Mushroom (The Building Site/Southwark).

Ends

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For more information about our three year engagement with Pimlico please contact Rida Hamidou on 0207 565 5157 / RidaHamidou@royalcourttheatre.com

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The Royal Court Theatre is the writers’ theatre. It is a leading force in world theatre, finding writers and producing new plays that are original and contemporary. The Royal Court strives to be at the centre of civic, political, domestic and international life, giving writers a home to tackle big ideas and world events and tell great stories.

The Royal Court commissions and develops an extraordinary quantity of new work reading over 3000 scripts a year and annually producing around 14 world or UK premieres in its two auditoria at Sloane Square in London. Over 200,000 people visit the Royal Court each year and many thousands more see our work elsewhere through transfers to the West End and New York, national and international tours, residencies across London and site-specific work, including recent projects in Peckham, Pimlico and Tottenham.

The Royal Court’s extensive development activity encompasses a diverse range of writers and artists and includes an ongoing programme of writers’ attachments, readings, workshops, and playwriting groups. Twenty years of pioneering work around the world means the Royal Court has relationships with writers on every continent.

The Royal Court opens its doors to radical thinking and provocative discussion, and to the unheard voices and free thinkers that, through their writing, change our way of seeing. www.royalcourttheatre.com

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Bloomberg Philanthropies supports Beyond the Court

As a cutting edge communications company, Bloomberg has long championed innovation and has established an international reputation for supporting organisations that push beyond conventional boundaries. Through its dynamic philanthropy programme, Bloomberg has supported a wide range of arts initiatives that burst beyond the four walls of theatres and galleries, taking the excitement of theatre and art further out into the community. From dance on the streets and theatre in squares, to pavilions in parks and installations on billboards, Bloomberg is committed to reaching new audiences and we are delighted that our collaboration with the Royal Court: Pimlico and Royal Court: Tottenham will inspire artists and audiences to engage in new ways and in new spaces. We are delighted to be part of such a unique and extraordinary project.
Through our philanthropy programme, we help charities and non-profit organisations around the world in education and literacy programs, health and medical research, social work, arts and culture, public parks and the environment. For further information please visit bloomberg.org

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Coutts is the Royal Court Theatre Innovation Partner

Coutts is the wealth division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. 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 Coutts managing the finances of many of today’s top writers, actors and musicians, but also through our arts sponsorship programme. We are delighted to support The Royal Court and it’s diverse range of ground-breaking performances. For further information please visit coutts.com