Arcola Theatre, led by Artistic Director Mehmet Ergen, and Executive Producer, Leyla Nazli, today announces the reopening of Studio 2 for the first time since the pandemic, and the initial programming for that space which includes three transfers from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The Mistake, Afghanistan Is Not Funny and VERMIN.
Studio 2 will reopen with The Mistake, an urgent new play by Michael Mears exploring the events surrounding the catastrophic ‘mistake’ that launched our nuclear age. The production opens on 31 January, with previews from 30 January, and runs until 4 February. Rosamunde Hutt directs Emiko Ishii as atomic-bomb survivor Nomura Shigeko, and Mears, as nuclear physicist Leo Szilard and General Tibbets, pilot of the B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay – reprising their roles.
This is followed by comedian Henry Naylor’s award-winning show, Afghanistan Is Not Funny, directed by Darren Lee Cole and Martha Lott. Performed by Naylor himself in front of Sam Maynard’s photography, this docu-drama tells the true story of their trip to war-torn Afghanistan in 2002, and winning multiple awards including Best International Act, Hollywood Fringe 2022 and Adelaide Critics Circle Weekly Award, Adelaide Fringe 2022. This sell-out sensation opens on 23 February, with previews from 21 February, and runs until 11 March.
Recreate Agency and Triptych Theatre then present the critically acclaimed dark comedy VERMIN, written by Benny Ainsworth and directed by Michael Parker. An unsettling, unrelenting and heart-breaking dark comedy starring Ainsworth and Sally Parfett, VERMIN opens on 16 March, with previews from 14 March, running until 1 April.
Further programming to be announced for Studio 1 in the Spring.
Mehmet Ergen, Artistic Director of Arcola Theatre, says today, “We are thrilled to be reopening Studio 2, our new writing powerhouse, after a closure of 2 years. Studio 2 has always been a platform for young companies, emerging directors and artists, new stories and pushing the boundaries of theatre with premières of works like Barney Norris’ Visitors, Spun by Rabiah Hussain and but i cd only whisper by Kristiana Colón, directed by Nadia Latif. As we reopen, we continue that journey by showcasing three of the most exciting shows to emerge from this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Each work is a powerful, unique and compelling piece of storytelling and we hope you will be as excited and inspired by these stories as we are.”
