Marylebone Theatre has announced an exciting Spring 2024 season of drama and dance. The season includes a contemporary adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Laurence Boswell; famed poet Sir Ben Okri presents Revolution Earth; the moving The Most Precious of Goods is translated and directed by Nicholas Kent; and Marylebone Theatre presents its first dance pieces.
Adapted and directed by multiple Olivier Award-winning director and writer Laurence Boswell, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (21st March – 20th April) is based on the short story by Dostoyevsky. This Russian Christmas Carol tells the story of a depressed man who dreams of an alternative earth, where people live in harmony with nature and each other. Exploring hot-button topics including climate change and the environment, nationalist politicians and the impact of humans on the world around us, it promises to be a thought-provoking yet hilarious evening at the theatre.
The renowned Nicolas Kent (Olivier Award-winning Kat and the Kings) directs a tender fairytale about humanity under duress. Set against the backdrop of the Holocaust, The Most Precious of Goods (22nd January – 3rd February) is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s best-selling novella. The Most Precious of Goods stars Allan Corduner (The Motive and The Cue, National Theatre; Tár, Focus Features) and cellist Gemma Rosefield. Writer and performer Mark Farrelly brings his moving story of ground-breaking artist Derek Jarman, Jarman, to Marylebone Theatre for one night only on 19th February, featuring a Q&A session with renowned gay rights activist Peter Tatchell.
Marylebone Theatre is establishing a reputation for spoken word events and has previously hosted Sir Ben Okri and Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. This winter, Sir Ben will return, this time with his wife and choreographer Charlotte Jarvis, with their intimate and political multidisciplinary work Revolution Earth, a response in movement to the ecological catastrophe currently facing humanity.
Another husband-and-wife poetry team, Alice and Peter Oswald, present Poetry as Speech on 11th February. Peter Oswald, former Playwright in Residence at Shakespeare’s Globe and current Associate Playwright at Marylebone Theatre, collaborates with his wife and Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, Alice. The duo have been inspired to take poetry off the page and rediscover the great oral tradition of verse. Oswald’s recent work includes performing epic poem Egil at Marylebone Theatre, inspired by the Icelandic sagas.
Much-loved singers Liza Pulman and Joe Stilgoe will host a previously announced special fundraiser, A Couple of Swells, for the theatre on Friday 19th January, with an exciting evening of guests including Alistair McGowan.
The theatre announces that Patsy Rodenburg OBE, the world’s leading voice coach, is making Marylebone her new UK base. Throughout 2024, Rodenburg will deliver courses and conferences on the voice and women in leadership. Rodenburg is a renowned authority on Shakespeare, and has over 40 years’ experience coaching individuals and groups to find their natural voice.
Marylebone Theatre presents its first dance offerings since opening in September 2022 as London’s newest cross-cultural venue. Kevan Allen’s KVN Dance Company brings their magical contemporary reimagining of the beloved classic Coppelia from 24th – 27th April. Featuring classic ballet fused with contemporary dance and hip-hop, Coppelia follows the residents of a village as eccentric toy maker Dr Coppelius creates a life-size clockwork doll. Bringing this sensational Spring 2024 season to a close is new work by Marika Brussel and Aaron Thao, Weft and Warp: an Evening of Contemporary Ballet (22nd – 23rd June). By a Thread reimagines The Odyssey, casting Penelope as a military wife who takes the reins to become a leader. Iago v. Othello examines Shakespeare’s classic drama through the lens of money, prestige and power, a tale of seduction, revenge and the survival of the fittest.
Artistic Director of Marylebone Theatre Alexander Gifford comments, It is just over a year since we opened the Marylebone Theatre. I am pleased that, in that time, we have attracted tens of thousands of people to the building, garnered awards and five-star reviews, and recently had the quality of our work compared by The Guardian to the National Theatre. The centrepiece of our new season is a stunning adaptation of a Russian short story, which cuts to the heart of humanity’s current political, ecological and spiritual struggles with both poignancy and humour. Alongside it, we will welcome an array of high-calibre artists in the genres of music, dance and poetry, including three brilliant male-female duos: Alice and Peter Oswald, Ben Okri and Charlotte Jarvis, and Joe Stilgoe and Liza Pulman. Joe and Liza are kindly presenting a celebrity fundraiser, which will kick off 2024 in fine style!
Full season listings and ticket information can be found here
