Pity

by Rory Mullarkey

Pity Top / Details / Extras / The Company

Thu 12 Jul - Sat 11 Aug 2018

“Two bombs in one day is a foul coincidence”
“Don’t forget the lightning strike”

A normal day.

A person stands in the market square watching the world go by.

What happens next verges on the ridiculous.

There’s ice cream. Sunshine. Shops. Some dogs. A wedding. Bombs. Candles. Blood. Lightning. Sandwiches. Snipers. Looting. Gunshots. Babies. Actors. Azaleas. Famine. Fountains. Statues. Atrocities.

And tanks. (Probably).

Rory Mullarkey’s new play asks whether things really are getting worse. And if we care.

“[Someone screaming]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH”

Rory returns to the Royal Court following his debut here with The Wolf from the Door in 2014. In the same year, he was awarded the George Devine Award, the Pinter Commission, and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama. Sam Pritchard’s previous work for the Royal Court includes Grimly Handsome and B.

Pity Party | Friday 10 Aug | Free (post-show)
Join us in the bar after Friday night’s performance of Pity for some live music from Gwen and the Good Thing. Free to attend whether you’ve seen Pity or not.

Playing original, raw, atmospheric alt-pop, Gwen and the Good Thing mixes soul-stirring vocal harmonies with euphoric brass. Expect anthemic choruses, infectious rhythms and uplifting guitars. Picked to play the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival, the Platform Stage at Sundown Festival, and the Bandstand Stage at Alex James & Jamie Oliver’s Big Feastival, the 6-piece Milton Keynes-based band specialises in dynamic and unique songs – Gwen’s soaring vocals interlocking with a fresh musical palette of trombone, clarinet, trumpet, sax and synth.

★ ★ ★ ★

"If you think the first few minutes of Rory Mullarkey’s Pity are weird, then strap in because you ain’t seen nothing yet."

"A surreal, outrageous and chilling response to our times... Fit for the summer silly season and yet one that resonates in a more lasting, chilling way with the madnesses of our age."

The Telegraph | Dominic Cavendish Read full review

★ ★ ★ ★

"It’s ridiculous, insane, entirely unreal. It’s also a profoundly accurate account of the world we live in today."

Financial Times | Ian Shuttleworth Read full review

"An absurd, amoral morality-play-cartoon-newsfeed mashup."

Exeunt | Hannah Greenstreet Read full review

Show more reviews

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs

Mon – Sat: 7.30pm (except 18 Jul 7pm)
Thu & Sat mats: 2.30pm (from 21 Jul)

Captioned: Tue 31 Jul 7.30pm
Audio Described: Sat 4 Aug 2.30pm (Touch tour 1pm)

Running time: approx. 1hr 40mins, with no interval

Arrive early for a drink in our outdoor pop-up bar, and get yourself an ice cream in the town’s market square. #PityPreshow