It has been announced that Sean Delaney (Kenny in Killing Eve, BBC; Life After Life, BBC; The Ferryman, Gielgud Theatre), Evening Standard Award-nominated Shubham Saraf (The Father and The Assassin, National Theatre; Shantaram, Apple TV+; Bodyguard, BBC/Netflix) and Kiran Sonia Sawar (The Nevers, HBO; Black Mirror, Netflix; The Capture, BBC) have joined the cast of Brilliant Jerks at Southwark Playhouse.
The show is from innovative, award-winning writer Joseph Charlton (Industry, HBO/BBC; ANNA X, Harold Pinter Theatre). Brilliant Jerks is a fast, touching and scandal-driven show based on the creation of a multi-billion-dollar car-hailing app.
This follows a sell-out run at VAULT Festival in 2018, returning as a full-length production. Focusing on how these great tech empires are seemingly shaped by a relatively small number of entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, it is a timely and fascinating production.
Directed by Katie-Ann McDonough (Charlie Russell Aims to Please, Mischief; Donal the Numb & Blackout, The Vaults) and produced by Rebecca Gwyther for RJG Productions (Amélie the Musical, Criterion Theatre; A Hundred Words for Snow, Trafalgar Studios) this mesmerising play follows the chain reaction of change, during a decade of fast-growing and unregulated technology, which has so profoundly affected our everyday lives.
Writer Joseph Charlton comments, I’m astonished and colossally excited by the three actors we’ve assembled for Brilliant Jerks. I’ve followed Kiran, Sean, and Shubham for a few years and all three are incredible actors. The play is a mixture of direct address and vigorous multi-rolling throughout; and calls for a trio of supple, intelligent, and commanding actors. All three are special talents and I can’t wait to see them bring the play to life.
In 2008, an entrepreneur leaves a tech conference in Paris. As he stands on the street, unable to hail a cab, an idea lands with the falling snow: tap a button, get a ride. Ten years later, Mia drives nights in Manchester, Sean is recruited as the brightest new programmer and Tyler moves onto yet another new future.
This is the story of one brilliant idea, and the impact on the lives of many. With casting direction from Becky Paris (Head of Casting at Shakespeare’s Globe as well as freelance), Brilliant Jerks is inspired by the creation of infamous ride-hailing apps, audiences are taken behind the scenes of the big ideas that shape our modern-day society, from those at the top right down to those on the front lines day-to-day. The intertwining narratives highlight how tech giants inadvertently not only alter our patterns of behaviour, but also shine a light on the dangers of ignoring the responsibility which comes with power.
Brilliant Jerks is at Southwark Playhouse Monday 1st – Saturday 25th March 2023
