The Donmar Warehouse announces that Artistic Director Michael Longhurst will direct a special online production of Midnight Your Time by writer Adam Brace. Starring acclaimed stage and screen actor Diana Quick, Midnight Your Time will premiere on the Donmar Warehouse’s YouTube Channel at 7.30pm 13 May 2020. The production will then be available to watch for 7 days.
Originally commissioned by HighTide Theatre and staged by Michael Longhurst in 2011, this new production has been conceived for online broadcast whilst the Donmar Warehouse is closed during the coronavirus shutdown. Diana Quick will revive the role she originated and has recorded her performance via webcam at her home directed remotely by Michael Longhurst.
“I’m sure you’ll joke this is not the first one way conversation we’ve ever had”.
Every Thursday, Judy tries to talk to her daughter online. Judy calls from Islington; her daughter is in Palestine.
It’s 2010 and retired lawyer Judy is stuck at home, casting around for ways to occupy herself: with a women’s peace league; with local politics; with her daughter’s life.
Midnight Your Time is a wryly comic and ultimately heartbreaking exploration of what it really means to communicate remotely.
Speaking about the Donmar’s first online premiere, Artistic Director Michael Longhurst said: I am thrilled to be able to share this remotely rehearsed and filmed version of Adam’s exquisitely crafted portrait of a distanced mother-daughter relationship. I had the great joy of directing Diana Quick a decade ago in this role, written especially for her, and wanted to revive this play as soon as Lockdown began. Adam’s prescient presentation of a then-burgeoning method of digital communication is so entirely a part of our lives under lockdown; and its commentary on ageing and isolation resonate even more profoundly at this time. It has been a privilege to revisit the role of Judy with Diana – a formidable and funny retired European lawyer, struggling to understand why her refrain of ‘drop us a line and stay safe’ is falling on deaf ears – and a delight to capture her performance in this new medium and in the intimacy of her own home.
I am determined that the Donmar continue to tell important stories that offer us connection in this moment when we cannot gather together in our theatre.
Following the Prime Minister’s statement advising the UK public to avoid unnecessary social contact, including in theatres, the Donmar Warehouse made the necessary decision to cancel the remaining performances of its acclaimed revival of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away and postpone its upcoming productions of Donmar Lates (25 – 28 March), In the Blood (17 April – 6 June) and The Contingency Plan (10 June – 1 August).
The Donmar Warehouse is a charity, and public funding makes up only 7% of its income. The generous support to-date from ticket-buyers, members, trusts, foundations and corporate partners has enabled it not only to deliver much loved productions but also to work with thousands of young people and communities each year, to develop industry leading artists and to nurture the next generation of theatre audiences. For the Donmar, audience support is more crucial than ever as they look ahead to how they can sustain the organisation over the coming months without any ticket income.
To support the Donmar Warehouse and donate during this difficult time, more information can be found at https://www.donmarwarehouse.com/support/
