Royal Court Theatre Announces a Season of Firsts

• Dominic Cooke reunites with Bruce Norris (The Pain and The Itch) to direct his new play Clybourne Park
• Two Royal Court debuts by graduates of Royal Court Theatre’s Young Writers Programme
• Roger Michell returns to Royal Court after 15 years to direct Nina Raine’s Royal Court debut play Tribes
• First ever family Christmas show to be staged

The Royal Court Theatre announces its new season today (Wednesday), presenting six new plays by emerging and established playwrights, including five world premieres.

In the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Bruce Norris’ new play Clybourne Park opens the autumn season. Royal Court Artistic Director Dominic Cooke reunites with Norris to direct after a hugely successful collaboration in 2007 with the sell-out production The Pain and The Itch. Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the play explores the relationship between race and property. Nina Raine’s Tribes is a fascinating dissection of belonging, family and the limitations of communication and Anthony Neilson’s Get Santa! takes on the search for the perfect family in the Royal Court’s Christmas show.

In the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, two graduates of the Young Writers programme make their Royal Court debuts: Nick Payne’s Wanderlust investigates sex and intimacy – and whether the two have any relation to each other and E V Crowe’s Kin is an intricate and anarchic view of what really goes on when ten-year-olds are away from home. Chicago-based writer Brett Neveu will see his first major play staged in the UK with Red Bud, which looks at fading friendships and the creeping spread of middle age.

Coming up in April 2011, the Royal Court will present the world premiere of Wastwater, a new play by Simon Stephens, directed by Katie Mitchell. Performed in three parts, audiences will see all three in one night in differing orders.

The Royal Court’s commitment to accessible pricing continues this autumn with a new sponsorship of £10 Mondays. From August to December, this will be sponsored by French Wines.

Autumn programme 2010

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs

Clybourne Park
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Dominic Cooke
26 Aug – 2 Oct 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press Night, Thur 2 Sep 2010 7pm

Tribes
By Nine Raine
Directed by Roger Michell
14 Oct – 13 Nov 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press Night, Wed 20 Oct 2010 7pm

Get Santa!
Written and directed by Anthony Neilson, Music by Nick Powell
1 Dec – 15 Jan 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press Night, Tue 14 Dec 2010 7pm

Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

Wanderlust
By Nick Payne
Directed by Simon Godwin
9 Sep – 9 Oct 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press Night, Wed 15 Sep 2010 7pm

Red Bud
By Brett Neveu
Directed by Jo McInnes
21 Oct – 13 Nov 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press Night, Mon 25 Oct 2010 7pm

Kin
By E V Crowe
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
19 Nov – 23 Dec 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press Night, Wed 24 Nov 2010 7pm

Clybourne Park
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Dominic Cooke
26 Aug – 2 Oct 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press Night, Thur 2 Sep 2010 7pm

“But you can’t live in a principle, can you? Gotta live in a house.
And so do they.
Not in this house they don’t”

In 1959 Russ and Bev are selling their desirable two-bed at a knock-down price. This enables the first Black family to move into the neighbourhood, creating ripples of discontent amongst the cosy white urbanites of Clybourne Park. In 2009, the same property is being bought by Lindsey and Steve whose plans to raze the house and start again is met with a similar response. Are the issues festering beneath the floorboards actually the same fifty years on?

Bruce Norris’ satirical new play explores the fault line between race and property. Clybourne Park first opened at the Playwrights Horizons in New York in February 2010. His previous credits include The Pain and The Itch (Royal Court, 2007), The Infidel, Purple Heart and The Unmentionables.

Dominic Cooke will direct. Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre since January 2007, he also directed Norris’ The Pain and The Itch in 2007 – his first play in post as Artistic Director. Other credits at the Royal Court include Aunt Dan and Lemon, The Fever, Seven Jewish Children, Wig Out!, Now or Later, Rhinoceros and two plays in Mark Ravenhill’s epic play cycle Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat. His credits elsewhere include Arabian Nights and Noughts and Crosses, both for the RSC, as adapter and director.

Director: Dominic Cooke
Designer: Robert Innes Hopkins
Lighting: Paule Constable
Sound: David McSeveney

26 Aug – 2 Oct 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Mon-Sat 7.30pm
Thu mats 3.30pm (23 & 30 Sep) Sat mats 3.30pm (from 4 Sep)
Press night Thu 2 Sep 7pm
No performance Mon 30 Aug
Post-show discussion Tue 21 Sep
Captioned performance Tue 28 Sep, 7.30pm
Audio described performance Sat 18 Sep, 3.30pm
Age guidance 14+

Tickets £25, £18, £12
Mondays all seats £10
Concessions £5 off top two prices (avail. in advance for all perfs until 4 Sep incl. and all mats. For all other perfs, avail. on a standby basis on the day)
25s and under Limited free tickets available for 25s and under through the Arts Council national scheme A Night Less Ordinary. £6 tickets also available.
School and HE Groups of 8+ 50% off top two prices (avail. Tue-Fri)
Groups of 6+ £5 off top price (avail. Tue-Fri)
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)

Tribes
By Nine Raine
Directed by Roger Michell
14 Oct – 13 Nov 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press Night, Wed 20 Oct 2010 7pm

“I just thought that everyone’s parents spoke like that. Then I realised.
Just like I thought everyone’s parents walked around in the nude shouting at each other.
They do”

Billy’s fiercely intelligent and proudly unconventional family are their own tiny empire, with their own private language, jokes and rules. You can be as rude as you like, as possessive as you like, as critical as you like. Arguments are an expression of love. After all, you’d do anything for each other – wouldn’t you? But Billy, who is deaf, is one of the few who actually listens. Meeting Sylvia makes him finally want to be heard; can he get a word in edgeways?

Nina Raine returns to the Royal Court after starting her career here as a trainee director. Her debut play Rabbit premiered at the Old Red Lion Theatre in 2006 and after a sell-out run transferred to the Trafalgar Studios in the West End before being produced as part of the Brits off-Broadway festival in New York. The play earned her the Charles Wintour Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright as well as the Critics Circle Award for most Promising Playwright. As a director, Nina also directed Alia Bano’s Shades at the Royal Court in 2009.

Roger Michell will direct. Roger returns to the Royal Court after starting his career here in 1978 as Assistant Director to John Osborne and Samuel Beckett. He last directed My Night With Reg at the Royal Court in 1995. His recent credits include Rope at the Almeida, Female of the Species in the West End, Betrayal and Old Times at the Donmar Warehouse, Landscape with Weapons, Honour, Blue/Orange, The Homecoming, Under Milk Wood and The Coup at the National Theatre. His television credits include The Mother, Titanic Town, Omnibus, Persuasion, The Buddha of Suburbia, Downtown Lagos and his films include Morning Glory, Venus, Enduring Love, Changing Lanes and Notting Hill.

Captioned and British Sign Language interpreted performances to be announced.

Director: Roger Michell
Designer: Mark Thompson
Lighting: Rick Fisher
Sound: John Leonard

14 Oct – 13 Nov 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Mon-Sat 7.30pm
Thu mats 3.30pm (4 & 11 Nov) Sat mats 3.30pm (from 23 Oct)
Press night Wed 20 Oct, 7pm
Post-show discussion Wed 3 Nov
Captioned & BSL interpreted performances tbc
Audio described performance Sat 6 Nov, 3.30pm
Age guidance 14+

Tickets £25, £18, £12
Mondays all seats £10
Concessions £5 off top two prices (avail. in advance for all perfs until 23 Oct incl. and all mats. For all other perfs, avail. on a standby basis on the day)
25s and under Limited free tickets available for 25s and under through the Arts Council national scheme A Night Less Ordinary. £6 tickets also available.
School and HE Groups of 8+ 50% off top two prices (avail. Tue-Fri)
Groups of 6+ £5 off top price (avail. Tue-Fri)
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)

Get Santa!
Written and directed by Anthony Neilson, Music by Nick Powell
Story by Anthony Neilson & Nick Powell
1 Dec – 15 Jan 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press Night, Tues 14 Dec 2010 7pm

Anthony Neilson writes and directs the Royal Court’s first ever family Christmas show, Get Santa! The play, for 7-year-olds and up, follows a ten-year-old girl, Holly, in her quest to find the perfect family, meeting a host of weird and wonderful characters along the way.

It’s Christmas Eve but Holly isn’t happy. All she’s ever wanted from Santa is to meet her real Dad for the first time. And every time, Santa’s failed to deliver, bringing lots of useless presents instead.

Well, Holly’s had enough. This year she has a plan. She’s going to wait up and trap Santa when he arrives and get from him the only present she’s ever wanted. But that’s only the beginning of the adventure: add in a very dim Elf called Bumblehole, a machine that changes Families and a Teddy Bear with an evil masterplan and you have the ingredients for a magical, musical and downright mischievous Christmas show with a fresh moral.

Renowned for his ground-breaking and imaginative new work, Anthony Neilson’s most recent work at the Royal Court includes Relocated and The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Winner Best Production in both the TMA and Scottish Theatre Awards). His other work at the Royal Court includes Heredity, The Lying Kind and The Censor, which won the Writers Guild and Time Out Award. His work elsewhere includes Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness (Headlong Theatre), Stitching (The Traverse, The Bush – Time Out Off West End Award) and Normal (Edinburgh Festival). His films include The Debt Collector and Deeper Still.

Nick Powell previously collaborated with Anthony Neilson on Relocated (Royal Court) and The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Winner Best Production in both the TMA and Scottish Theatre Awards). His credits include composing and designing sound for Dunsinane (RSC), The Priory (Royal Court), The Drunks (RSC), Tito Andronico (Madrid), Panic (Improbable), The Family Reunion (Donmar Warehouse), Relocated (Royal Court), The Vertical Hour by David Hare (Royal Court) and co-created and composed the musical The Wolves In The Walls for the National Theatre of Scotland and Improbable.

Director: Anthony Neilson
Designer: Miriam Buether
Lighting: Chahine Yavroyan
Sound: Nick Powell

1 Dec – 15 Jan 2010
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press night Tue 14 Dec, 7pm
Captioned performance Tue 4 Jan, 3pm (schools perf) & Fri 14 Jan, 7.30pm.
Audio described performance Sat 8 Jan, 3pm
Age guidance 7+

School Performances
All tickets £8
10.45am: 1,2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 16 Dec 2010 and 5, 10, 11 Jan 2011 1.30pm: 6,13,15 Dec 2010 and 6, 13 Jan 2011 3pm: 16 Dec 2010 and 4 Jan 2011
Public Performances
Prices Adults £12, £18, £25. Children (under 16) £8, £10, £12.50. School groups of 8+ £8.
Concessions £5 off top two prices (avail. in advance for Sat 4 & Sat 11 Dec. For all other perfs, avail. on a standby basis on the day)
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)
10.45am: 24, 29, 31 Dec 2010, 1.30pm: 20, 21, 22, 30 Dec 2010 3pm: 4, 11, 18, 23, 29, 31 Dec 2010 and 8, 15 Jan 2011 5pm 21, 22 Dec 2010 and 6, 13 Jan 2011 7pm 14, 17, 18, 23 Dec 2010 and 4, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15 Jan 2011

Get Santa! is sponsored by Coutts and Co.

Wanderlust
By Nick Payne
Directed by Simon Godwin
9 Sep – 9 Oct 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press Night, Wed 15 Sep 2010 7pm

“Sex isn’t just about how big and how long.
Isn’t it?
No.
What is it about then?
All sorts of things.”

Joy is a married woman, a GP, and struggling to remain interested in sex.
Her husband Alan, however, thinks of little else.
And their teenage son Tim is ready to burst.

Nick Payne’s frank, compassionate and open play about sex and intimacy – and whether the two have any relation to each other – marks his Royal Court debut. A graduate of the Young Writers Programme, his credits include If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet at the Bush Theatre. He was the winner of the George Devine Award in 2009.

Simon Godwin will direct. His recent credits include Far Away at Bristol Old Vic, The Winter’s Tale for Headlong and the Nuffield Theatre Southampton, Mister Heracles at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. As Associate Director of the Royal and Derngate Theatres in Northampton under Artistic Director Rupert Goold, Simon directed seven main stage shows. He also directed work as part of the Royal Court 2008 International Residency.

Director: Simon Godwin
Designer: Robert Innes Hopkins
Lighting: James Farncombe
Contains nudity and scenes of a sexual nature

9 Sep – 9 Oct 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Mon-Sat 7.45pm
Sat mats 4pm (from 18 Sep)
Thu mat 7 Oct 4pm
Press night Wed 15 Sep
Post-show discussion Tue 28 Sep
Audio described performance Sat 9 Oct, 4pm
Age guidance 16+

Tickets £15
Mondays all seats £10
Concessions £10 (avail. in advance until 18 Sep incl. and all mats. For all other perfs, avail. on a standby basis on the day)
School and HE Groups of 8+ £7.50 (avail. Tue-Fri and mats)
Access £10 (plus a companion at the same rate)

Red Bud
By Brett Neveu
Directed by Jo McInnes
21 Oc – 13 Nov 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press Night, Mon 25 Oct 2010 7pm

‘Me, Greg and Shane and Jason have been comin’ to this race since high school, no tents or anything back then. We’d just sleep in our clothes on blankets on the ground. Look up at the stars. Get high. Get drunk. Get wild.’

‘Red Buuuud!’ rings out across the camp as five friends gather in ritual homage at the annual Motorcross championship. Greg used to ride with speed and style, but this year he brings his pregnant wife instead of his bike. Times have changed. As they relive past glories, the haze of beer and smoke can’t disguise their fading friendship.

A new American drama about the creeping spread of middle age.

Chicago-based writer Brett Neveu’s credits in the UK include Eric LaRue at the RSC as part of their New Work Festival in 2005. His recent productions include Old Glory at the Writers’ Theatre, Chicago, American Dead at Rouge Machine, LA, and Gas for Less with The Goodman Theatre, Chicago.

Director Jo McInnes has worked extensively in theatre, television and film as an actor. Her directorial credits include The Verdict in 2007 on BBC1 and the world premiere of Marine Parade, a new play by Simon Stephens, combining live music with theatre at the Brighton Festival last month.

Director: Jo McInnes
Designer: Tom Hadley
Lighting: Jon Clark
Sound: Fergus O’Hare

21 Oct – 13 Nov 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Mon-Sat 7.45pm
Sat mats 4pm (from 30 Oct)
Wed mat 10 Nov 4pm
Press night Mon 25 Oct 7pm
Post-show discussion Wed 3 Nov
Captioned performance Tue 9 Nov, 7.45pm
Age guidance 14+

Tickets £15
Mondays all seats £10
Concessions £10 (avail. in advance until 30 Oct incl. and all mats. For all other perfs, avail. on a standby basis on the day)
School and HE Groups of 8+ £7.50 (avail. Tue-Fri and mats)
Access £10 (plus a companion at the same rate)

Kin
By E V Crowe
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
19 Nov – 23 Dec 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press Night, Wed 24 Nov 2010 7pm

“Everybody expects the report to say they are a delight. They are very bright. They are pure as light. But they are small dogs Headmistress. I must report what I see. They are small dogs in packs or pairs, doing what small dogs do.”

A girls’ boarding school in the 1990s is no Malory Towers. Whilst Mimi learns her lines for John Proctor in the Christmas play, Janey desperately clings on to her best friend status.

E V Crowe’s Royal Court debut play is an intricate and anarchic view of what really goes on when ten year olds are away from home. A recent graduate of the Young Writers Programme, this is her Royal Court debut. She is currently working with choreographer Siobhan Davies and is under commission by Clean Break for two plays.

Jeremy Herrin is Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Court, where he has directed the world premieres of Michael Wynne’s The Priory, Polly Stenham’s plays Tusk Tusk and That Face, as well as the UK premiere of David Hare’s The Vertical Hour. He was formerly an Associate Director at Live Theatre Newcastle, where he specialised in directing new writing. His other credits include Marble (Abbey, Dublin), The Family Play (Donmar), Statement of Regret (NT), and the South African premiere of David Harrower’s Blackbird.

Director: Jeremy Herrin
Designer: Bunny Christie
Lighting: Malcolm Rippeth
Sound: Christopher Shutt

19 Nov – 23 Dec 2010
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Sat mats 4pm (from 27 Nov) Thu mat 16 & 23 Dec 4pm
Press night Wed 24 Nov 7pm
Post-show discussion Wed 1 Dec
Captioned performance Sat 18 Dec, 4pm
Age guidance 14+

Tickets £15 Mondays all seats £10
Concessions £10 (avail. in advance until 27 Nov incl. and all mats. For all other perfs, avail. on a standby basis on the day)
School and HE Groups of 8+ £7.50 (avail. Tue-Fri and mats)
Access £10 (plus a companion at the same rate)

Tickets for the new season are on sale on from today (Wednesday 9 June) to Friends and Supporters and on general sale from Monday 14 June. Tickets available online or from the Box Office on 020 7565 5000.

Notes to Editors:

For further information please contact Anna Evans in the Royal Court Press Office on
020 7565 5063 or e-mail annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com.

£10 Mondays
This autumn, the Royal Court will be working in partnership with French Wines, through sponsorship of the successful and long-standing programme of great value, accessible tickets for Monday performances. The £10 Mondays scheme has introduced generations of new theatre audiences to ground-breaking new plays for many years and this new partnership will keep this tradition alive. The Royal Court has an international reputation for innovation, excellence and diversity, all qualities that French wines are also renowned for. During the autumn season, the Royal Court Café Bar will offer an extensive wine list made up exclusively of French wines.

Royal Court Café Bar
Open weekdays 11am-late and from noon on Saturdays
Offering the best of British home-cooking, the Royal Court Café Bar is open for lunch, tea and supper. Sample menus are available online.
Reservations 020 7565 5058 / foodanddrink@royalcourttheatre.com.

Royal Court Bookshop
Open Monday to Friday 3-10pm, Saturday 2.30-10pm
The Royal Court bookshop offers a diverse selection of contemporary plays and publications on the theory and practice of drama. Current and recent playtexts are only £3 and staff specialise in recommending contemporary monologues suitable for auditions. The Bookshop runs a playtext subscription service and also stocks Inside Out – a comprehensive history of the Royal Court. Student and Equity discounts available.

Booking Information
Tickets for the new season go on sale on Wed 9 June to Friends and Supporters and Mon 14 June to the general public.

Box office 020 7565 5000 or online

Royal Court Theatre
Sloane Square
London
SW1W 8AS

Nearest tube Sloane Square, Nearest rail Victoria