Theatre Local Project Returns to New Location in Peckham

ROYAL COURT’S ‘THEATRE LOCAL’ RETURNS THIS AUTUMN TO PECKHAM

After its successful sold-out launch in 2010 at an empty shopping unit in Elephant and Castle, the Royal Court Theatre will continue its Theatre Local project, taking plays to alternative spaces, at The Bussey Building in Peckham from 29 Sep – 19 Nov 2011.

A former cricket bat factory, The Bussey Building is at the centre of a growing cultural hub in Rye Lane, Peckham, which was saved from demolition by community group Peckham Vision. In its second year of the project, Theatre Local will now include longer runs of two new plays truth and reconciliation by debbie tucker green, and The Westbridge by Rachel De-Lahay, which will have its world premiere in Peckham.

Tickets will continue this year to be sold on a ‘Pay-what- you- like’ basis when purchased at the venue or £10 in advance. With an emphasis on community engagement the Royal Court will also offer a series of workshops, alongside a programme of accessible events.

Theatre Local will open with debbie tucker green’s new play, truth and reconciliation. Set in five different countries it explores the very personal, human stories at the heart of conflicts in South Africa, Rwanda, Bosnia, Zimbabwe and Northern Ireland. Transferring from the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs the 22 cast members will move to Peckham from 29 Sep – 15 Oct.

Young Writer’s Programme graduate Rachel De-lahay’s new play, The Westbridge, will follow from 3 – 19 Nov. Set in South London it explores the complexities of life, relationships and friendships across a minefield of racial and cultural differences. It will then move to the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from 25 Nov – 23 Dec.

Sponsored by Bloomberg, Theatre Local was launched in 2010 at Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, after a successful pilot run of Oxford Street by Levi David Addai in June 2008. The 2010 programme included plays from the Royal Court’s sold out Jerwood Theatre Upstairs Season, The Empire by DC Moore, Disconnect by Anupama Chandrasekhar, and Spur of the Moment by Anya Reiss and opened with debbie tucker green’s play random (which she recently adapted and directed for Channel 4)

Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director at the Royal Court Theatre said:
“The first stage of the Theatre Local project at Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre last year was an exciting experience for us. Our aim was to take Royal Court plays to the heart of a community attracting audiences who may not have otherwise visited our Sloane Square home. We loved being part of the everyday life of the centre, our actors relished performing there and from the fantastic feedback we received from theatregoers, our audiences felt the same.

“We had always hoped to grow and develop the Theatre Local project and the Bussey Building in Peckham feels likes the perfect base from which to continue the venture – a former cricket bat factory with a history of its own and a burgeoning arts and culture scene in another thriving, energetic and diverse part of London.

“We learnt a lot at Elephant and Castle, and it seemed a natural progression this year to open a new play at Theatre Local. We’re delighted that the world premiere of Rachel De-Lahay’s The Westbridge will be in Peckham. We discovered there was a demand for more education work and open access workshops for the local community. In order to keep the space alive and vibrant we will run more of these alongside extra events in the Bussey Building.

“I have long been fascinated by the unique and unpredictable connection that happens every night on stage between the performers and the audience and so we constantly strive to keep this feeling alive by developing relationships with new theatregoers – I’m very much looking forward to continuing this and getting to know our new Peckham neighbours.”

Lex Fenwick from Bloomberg said:
“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 continued collaboration with the Royal Court Theatre on Theatre Local will inspire artists and audiences to engage in new ways and in new spaces. This represents an exciting new dimension to Bloomberg’s ongoing commitment to provide opportunities to those who might not otherwise have access to the arts. We are delighted to be part of such a unique and extraordinary project.”

Theatre Local opens on 29 September 2011 with truth and reconciliation at the Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4ST. Tickets will be pay-what-you-like on the door or £10 in advance from the Royal Court Theatre Box Office on 020 7565 5000 or online at www.royalcourttheatre.com

– ends –
(02/9/2011)

For further information, images or interviews, please contact Anna Evans on 020 7565 5063 annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com or Ruth Hawkins 020 7565 5013 ruthhawkins@royalcourttheatre.com

Notes to Editors:
Theatre Local is supported by Bloomberg

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

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.

truth and reconciliation
written and directed by debbie tucker green

“I will not stay standing
to have you accuse me.
And I will not sit there
and be accused.”

Rwanda to Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe to Bosnia answers are demanded, reconciliation hard to hear and the truth reluctant to be told.

debbie tucker green’s previous credits include random at the Royal Court, Theatre Local and tour and stoning mary. Her other plays include generations at the Young Vic, trade for the RSC and dirty butterfly at Soho. She won the 2004 Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer for born bad at Hampstead Theatre. On film, she wrote and directed the short film, heat and she has written and directed a film of random for Channel 4.

The Westbridge
By Rachel De-lahay
Directed by Clint Dyer
Designed by Ultz

” – Do you think you’re going to get married in a church or a temple?”
” – I think you should get married on an elephant and wear a sari thing like that pussycat doll. Fit!”

The accusation of a Black teenager sparks disturbance on the South London streets. While tensions rise, a couple from very different backgrounds navigate the minefield between them and their families.

The Westbridge explores the intricacies of living side by side, and looks at racial and cultural distinctions with humour and bite.

Rachel De-lahay came to the Royal Court through the Unheard Voices Writers Programme, which aims to support and develop writers whose voices are under-represented on British stages. The Westbridge is her first play, which, while still unproduced, was jointly awarded the Alfred Fagon Award last year.

The Westbridge is part of the Royal Court’s Jerwood New Playwrights programme, supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation. It was developed with the support of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation as part of Unheard Voices: A Paul Hamlyn Foundation Project.

The Bussey Building
In the 1870s, Geo.G.Bussey & Co, a well-known small arms manufacturer, moved to Peckham. They built a factory, and a firing range, alongside the newly built railway line opposite Peckham Rye Station. They branched out and became well known for sports goods, so successfully that around twenty years later the factory was replaced with an imposing large brick-clad, reinforced concrete industrial structure. The factory made cricket bats from its own willow farm in Suffolk. The side facing the railway tracks has its decorative features, and was used for advertising. The Geo.G.Bussey name, on the side, can still be seen from the trains to Nunhead.

Peckham Vision
Peckham Vision was born in 2006 in a campaign to save the seven acre site in the middle of Peckham from demolition and closure to town centre use. This saved the historic Bussey building, one of the last large Victorian / Edwardian industrial buildings in Peckham. Since then Peckham Vision has shown how that central part of Rye Lane, around Peckham Rye station, can flower as a home for the burgeoning cultural and artistic enterprises in Peckham. Peckham Vision looks forward to working with the Royal Court in Peckham.

For further information: Eileen Conn info@peckhamvision.org http://www.peckhamvision.org

Listings information
truth and reconciliation written and directed by debbie tucker green
Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4ST

29 Sep – 15 Oct
Mondays – Saturdays 7.30pm
Matinees Thu 6, 13, & Sat 15 Oct at 3.30pm
Age 14+

truth and reconciliation will run at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs 1 – 24 September

The Westbridge by Rachel De-lahay, directed by Clint Dyer
Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4ST
Written by Rachel De-lahay
3 – 19 Nov
Mondays – Saturdays 7.30pm
Press Night Tue 8 Nov 7pm
Matinees Thu 10, 17 & Sat 12, 19 Nov at 3.30pm
Age 14+

The Westbridge will run at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs 25 Nov – 23 Dec.

Theatre Local Tickets
£10 in advance (£8 concs)* or pay-what-you-like on the door
Box Office 020 7565 5000 or www.royalcourttheatre.com or in person at The Bussey Building, Peckham * ID required. All discounts are subject to availability