The Royal Court Theatre - Upcoming events

Death Tax

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:42 +0100

18 June - 22 June 2013

£20, £12

Playwright: by Lucas Hnath

Lead Quote: Weekly Rep: Six brand new plays. One play a week. Four Directors. One Ensemble. One week’s rehearsal ,

Sponsors: a:2:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"76";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}i:1;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

As long as you can keep paying, there’s really no need to die.

80 year old Maxine is convinced her daughter is paying Nurse Tina to bump her off before an impending tax deadline.

A darkly comic play about death and taxes, and how we must live with both.

Lucas Hnath is a playwright based in New York City. His previous credits include Death Tax (Humana Festival/Steinberg Award Isaac’s Eye (EST) and the short play, NightNight (Humana Festival). Upcoming: A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney (SoHo Rep) and Red Speedo (Studio Theatre, DC).

Age Guidance 14+
Running Time 1 hour 30 mins (no interval)

SPECIAL OFFER: Buy three or more plays from the Weekly Rep and save 20% (Top Price Full Price seats only)

Uncommon Nonsense

Thu, 30 May 2013 11:56:52 +0100

Every Thursday 20 June - 18 July 2013

FREE

Lead Quote: Weekly Open Mic night of comedy, music and spoken word - and a few Found Plays.

Sponsors: a:1:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

Weekly Open Mic night of comedy, music and spoken word – and a few Found Plays.

Every Thursday 20 June – 18 July

Balcony Bar 9:30-11pm

Weekly Open Mic night of comedy, music and spoken word. Plus a few Found Plays.

If you are interested in any aspect of the night or know of anyone who might like to take part, drop us a line to uncommonnonsense@royalcourttheatre.com

Surprise Theatre

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:20:03 +0100

10 June - 16 July 2013

£10

Lead Quote: In today’s information loaded world is it still possible to be truly surprised by anything?

Sponsors: a:1:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

Ticket Information: Tickets £10

Exactly what it says on the tin: a different surprise performance each night, from writers and theatre-makers with thrillingly distinctive voices. That’s all we’re saying.

Every Monday and Tuesday nights during Open Court, there will be a different surprise performance from a diverse and wide-ranging field of writers and theatre-makers; each creating a unique one-off performance, which will remain a mystery to its audience right up until the lights go down.

Each surprise will be performed twice-nightly and the performance will be live-streamed and available to view for the duration of the festival on the Royal Court website.

Age Guidance 14+

“Most of the time we go to the theatre having read a review or two, or seen the theatre’s flyer, or heard about the play from a friend. It can feel as if we are just sitting through the experience we more or less knew we were going to have – very different from that magic feeling, as children perhaps, of waiting for a curtain to go up and not knowing what was going to happen. I’ve often thought how I’d like a theatre where there was something different every night and you never knew what to expect. A theatre of the unknown, a surprise theatre.” Caryl Churchill, Playwright

Surprise Menu, Court Canteen
Start your Surprise evening at our communal canteen table with an exclusive menu revealed only when dinner is served.
For the adventurous foodie.
Monday & Tuesdays. Sittings at 6pm & 7.45pm.
£15 per head. Includes main, dessert & beer/wine/soft drink.

Pigeons

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:45 +0100

25 June - 29 June 2013

£20, £12

Playwright: by Suhayla El-Bushra

Lead Quote: Weekly Rep: Six brand new plays. One play a week. Four Directors. One Ensemble. One week’s rehearsal ,

Sponsors: a:2:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}i:1;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"65";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

Amir and Ashley are best mates. Ashley spends as much time as possible at Amir’s house losing at chess to Amir’s dad, flirting with his sister and eating his mum’s food.

As the pressure and prejudices of the outside world start to invade into their lives, the cracks begin to show.

A searing insight into the reality of growing up in an apparently multicultural society.

Suhayla El-Bushra is a playwright based in Hove. On television, she is currently writing for Hollyoaks and other credits include a feature screenplay for Jeva Films (supported by the Film Council), an interactive teen drama and several scripts for Doctors. Her theatre credits include contributing to the Bush Theatre’s 66 Books and her play, Cuckoo, will be produced at the Unicorn next year.

Age Guidance 14+

SPECIAL OFFER: Buy three or more plays from the Weekly Rep and save 20% (Top Price Full Price seats only)

Weekly Rep writers Suhayla El-Bushra, Clare Lizzimore, and Alistair McDowall are part of the Royal Court’s Jerwood New Playwrights programme, funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, which aims to discover and support the next generation of world class UK playwrights. Responding to the format of the Open Court season, the Programme takes a unique approach in supporting three short runs of these writers’ plays instead of one full length production run.

Mint

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:45 +0100

2 - 6 July 2013

£20, £12

Playwright: by Clare Lizzimore

Lead Quote: Weekly Rep: Six brand new plays. One play a week. Four Directors. One Ensemble. One week’s rehearsal

Sponsors: a:2:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}i:1;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"65";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

Over 10 years of imprisonment Alan’s life has been measured out in weekly visits from his family; slices of the normal life he’s left behind. Everything will be so much better once he’s finally out and back home for good. Won’t it?

A sharp and detailed portrayal of a man struggling to keep his head above water.

Clare Lizzimore is a playwright and director based in London. Mint is her first play. As a director, her credits include Bull by Mike Bartlett at Sheffield Crucible, One Day When We Were Young by Nick Payne as part of the Paines Plough Roundabout Season, Lay Down Your Cross by Nick Payne at Hampstead Theatre. At the Royal Court, she directed Faces in the Crowd by Leo Butler in 2008 and has worked extensively with the International department.

Age Guidance 14+

SPECIAL OFFER: Buy three or more plays from the Weekly Rep and save 20% (Top Price Full Price seats only)

Weekly Rep writers Clare Lizzimore, Suhayla El-Bushra and Alistair McDowall are part of the Royal Court’s Jerwood New Playwrights programme, funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, which aims to discover and support the next generation of world class UK playwrights. Responding to the format of the Open Court season, the Programme takes a unique approach in supporting three short runs of these writers’ plays instead of one full length production run.

Circle Mirror Transformation (Haggerston)

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:45 +0100

5 July - 3 August 2013

£20

Playwright: by Annie Baker

Lead Quote: “Thanks, you guys. I think this was a really, really great start.”

Sponsors: a:1:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

Marketable Venue Title: Rose Lipman Building, Haggerston

Five lost people come together at a community centre class to try and find some meaning in their lives. Counting to ten can be harder than you think.

Over six tangled weeks their lives become knotted together in this tender and funny play.

Cast: Toby Jones, Imelda Staunton, Shannon Tarbet, Danny Webb, Fenella Woolgar

‘Absorbing, unblinking and sharply funny.’ New York Times

Circle Mirror Transformation won the 2010 Obie Award for Best New Play and was voted one of the top ten plays of 2009 by the New York Times, Time Out and the New Yorker.

Performances take place at the Rose Lipman building

Annie Baker’s credits include The Aliens (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Bush, Obie Award for Best New American Play), The Flick (Playwrights Horizons, Susan Smith Blackburn Award, Obie Award for Playwriting), Body Awareness (Atlantic Theater Company), and an adaptation of Uncle Vanya (Soho Rep), for which she also designed the costumes.

James Macdonald directs. His previous credits at the Royal Court include Love and Information, Cock, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, Dying City, Fewer Emergencies, Lucky Dog, Blood, Blasted, 4.48 Psychosis (including European/US tours). He last directed Imelda Staunton in A Delicate Balance at the Almeida. His production of Love and Information will be produced by the New York Theater Workshop in 2014.

Age guidance 14+

Circle Mirror Transformation is part of Theatre Local, and will take place at the Rose Lipman Building, 43 De Beauvoir Rd, N1 5SQ. The closest station is Haggerston.

Box Office will open at 7pm on site.

Untitled Matriarch Play (or Seven Sisters)

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:46 +0100

9 July - 13 July 2013

£20, £12

Playwright: by Nikole Beckwith

Lead Quote: Weekly Rep: Six brand new plays. One play a week. Four Directors. One Ensemble. One week’s rehearsal ,

Sponsors: a:1:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

On the eve of her 55th birthday Lorraine gathers her four daughters around her and announces a new sibling is on the way. Utterly sick of her daughters she is determined to have a son…by surrogate.

A biting and witty family comedy in broody and bumpy times.

Nikole Beckwith is a playwright and screenwriter based in New York City. Nikole’s play Everything is Ours was produced by the Chautauqua Theater Company. Her screenplay adaptation of her play Stockholm, Pennsylvania garnered her a 2012 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and was included in the 2012 Black List of best, unproduced screenplays.

Age Guidance 14+

SPECIAL OFFER: Buy three or more plays from the Weekly Rep and save 20% (Top Price Full Price seats only)

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Kings Cross)

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:46 +0100

12 July - 3 August 2013

£20

Production Company: National Theatre of Scotland

Playwright: created by David Greig and Wils Wilson

Lead Quote: Pull up a chair and whet your whistle for an evening of anarchic theatre, live music and strange goings-on…

Sponsors: a:1:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

Marketable Venue Title: The Welsh Centre, Kings Cross

One wintry morning Prudencia Hart, an uptight academic, sets off to attend a conference in Kelso in the Scottish Borders. As the snow begins to fall, little does she know who or what awaits her. Inspired by the Border Ballads – and delivered in a riotous romp of rhyming couplets, devilish encounters and wild karaoke – Prudencia’s dream-like journey of self-discovery unfolds among and around the audience.

With a rollicking text by David Greig, barnstorming live music; and a ‘terrific, inventive sense of fun…’ (The Scotsman), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart is the lock-in to end all lock-ins. Directed by Wils Wilson.

National Theatre of Scotland cannot be held responsible in the event of any member of the audience losing their head, their heart or their very self during the course of the performance.

Performances take place at the London Welsh Centre , Kings Cross 5 stars The Times 5 stars “You shouldn’t miss this show for the world…rambunctiously life-affirming and touchingly beautiful” The Herald 4 stars “More vibrantly alive than any piece of theatre I’ve seen in Scotland for years” The Scotsman 4 stars The Guardian

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart won a Herald Angel award at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2010-2011 Award for Best Music and Sound

Age guidance 14+

Please note: There will be no £10 Monday tickets available on Monday 15 June.

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart is part of Theatre Local and will be taking place from 12 Jul – 3 Aug at the London Welsh Centre, 157-163 Grays Inn Rd, WC1X 8UE. The Closest station is King’s Cross & St Pancras

Talk Show

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:47 +0100

16 July - 20 July 2013

£20, £12

Playwright: by Alistair McDowall

Lead Quote: Weekly Rep: Six brand new plays. One play a week. Four Directors. One Ensemble. One week’s rehearsal ,

Sponsors: a:2:{i:0;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"11";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}i:1;a:3:{s:2:"id";s:2:"65";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:5:"order";s:0:"";}}

Sam runs a daily talk show from his basement bedroom.

Upstairs his Dad and Grandad barely speak, but keep in touch through a baby monitor. With the return of Sam’s wayward uncle can this peculiar form of domestic harmony stay uninterrupted?

A black comedy about talking and transmission.

Alistair McDowall grew up in the North East of England. He was a member of the Young Writers Programme and his play Brilliant Adventures was performed as a reading as part of the Young Writers festival in 2012, and was produced at Manchester Royal Exchange. His other credits include Captain Amazing (Live Theatre Newcastle).

Age Guidance 14+

SPECIAL OFFER: Buy three or more plays from the Weekly Rep and save 20% (Top Price Full Price seats only)

Weekly Rep writers Alistair McDowall, Suhayla El-Bushra and Clare Lizzimore and are part of the Royal Court’s Jerwood New Playwrights programme, funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, which aims to discover and support the next generation of world class UK playwrights. Responding to the format of the Open Court season, the Programme takes a unique approach in supporting three short runs of these writers’ plays instead of one full length production run.

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Peckham)

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:39:47 +0100

5 - 9 August 2013

£20, £10 Mondays, Pay What You Like

Production Company: National Theatre of Scotland

Playwright: created by David Greig and Wils Wilson

Lead Quote: Pull up a chair and whet your whistle for an evening of anarchic theatre, live music and strange goings-on…

Marketable Venue Title: CLF Theatre, Bussey Building, Peckham

National Theatre of Scotland cannot be held responsible in the event of any member of the audience losing their head, their heart or their very self during the course of the performance. 5 stars The Times 5 stars “You shouldn’t miss this show for the world…rambunctiously life-affirming and touchingly beautiful” The Herald 4 stars “More vibrantly alive than any piece of theatre I’ve seen in Scotland for years” The Scotsman 4 stars The Guardian

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart won a Herald Angel award at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2010-2011 Award for Best Music and Sound

Age guidance 14+

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart is part of Theatre Local and will be taking place from 5 – 9 Aug at the CLF Café, The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, London, SE15 4ST. The closest station is Peckham Rye.

Building and Backstage Tours

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:23:34 +0100

Behind the scenes building tours

£7

Lead Quote: "It seems disloyal to say that the Royal Court is my favourite theatre building in London, but I'm unrepentant." - Richard Eyre

Ticket Information: Tickets £7, £5 concessions, or free on Open House Weekends.

Marketable Venue Title: The Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square

The tour takes you behind the scenes of the Royal Court, into the offices and sites where the scripts are read, rehearsals take place and the productions are brought to life.

You’ll hear the history of the building, explaining the redesign of 2000, as well as the history of the company and our on-going work with new writers.

Tickets £7, £5 concessions, or free on Open House Weekends.

Read more about the history of the Royal Court building and its renovation.