Park Theatre today announced their new July – December 2019 season. Featuring four World Premiere productions, two UK and London Premieres and a range of revivals from Broadway and the West End, the theatre also introduces a revised young person’s membership scheme called Park Up.
Artistic Director Jez Bond says: “We’re presenting a wealth of new writing talent this season, including the extraordinary work of Eugene O’Hare – whose two plays are both funny, dark and surprising – and balancing this with some well-known revivals, including the award winning Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis and a rare production of Lesley Storm’s playBlack Chiffon, written and first presented way ahead of its time in 1949. In another new initiative, planned annually, we’ll be bringing a few choice selections from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival down to north London for a week of performances in September. We are excited to be offering a new, free membership for young people called Park Up which allows members to access a great range of benefits including; free professional development workshops, £10 tickets during the first week of performances, £5 rush tickets on selected shows, cafe bar discounts, cheap room hire and more. I look forward to continuing to welcome audiences through our doors over the coming year as we strive to present the best possible work on our stages, with accessible and affordable experiences for all.”
The World Premiere of Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] opens the new Park200 season, as a host of guest actors including Gillian Anderson, John Bishop, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Ronan Keating,
Damian Lewis, Joanna Lumley, Catherine Tate and Tim Vine take turns joining the ensemble cast of this murder mystery, with no rehearsals, script or direction: just a hidden earpiece for guidance.
The life story of acclaimed historian Howard Zinn follows in Bianca Bagatourian’s The Time Of Our Lies, sharing stories from his role as a bomber in WWII through to his post-war activism.
Park Theatre’s in-house produced The Weatherman, written by Eugene O’Hare, is a powerful black comedy-drama centered on two broke flatmates who become complicit in their landlord’s dark business scheme. Based on a true story, Tracy-Ann Oberman stars as a single Jewish mother dealing with the repercussions of her criminal son in Evan Placey’s Mother Of Him.
Miriam Margolyes returns to Park Theatre in the World Premiere black comedy of Eugene O’Hare’s Sydney & The Old Girl, following the mutually assured destruction of a mother and son after sharing the same shabby house for fifty years.
From the team behind last year’s Christmas hit Peter Pan, a new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen closes the Park200 season, as Gerda embarks on an epic journey through the seasons to save her best friend.
The UK Premiere of The Actor’s Nightmare by Tony Award-winning playwright Christopher Durang and starring Meaghan Martin commences the new Park90 season, in a surreal distortion of classic plays that celebrate and satirise the theatre industry. Based on a true story, Taz Skylar’s Warheads asks what happens to youth when it’s sent to war, as it follows the lives of young British soldiers returning home from the front line.
Psychological thriller Black Chiffon by Lesley Storm follows the familial fallout when a wealthy, 20th century woman shoplifted in a moment of madness. Based on a 19th century true story from America, Kate Barton’s thriller Fast explores the horrific consequences of ‘Dr’ Linda Hazzard, who advocated a fasting-based miracle cure that captivated and then devastated a nation.
Olivia Olsen’s Stray Dogs is based on the true life events of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, who was approached in 1940 to work for the Stalinist regime that had purged her husband and imprisoned her son.
Concluding the Park90 season in December, Charlotte Jones’ quirky and kinky comedy Martha, Josie And The Chinese Elvis offers an alternative ‘adults only’ Christmas treat about a dominatrix whose favourite client decides to throw her a birthday party.
