Richard Bean and Simon Stephens will debut new work at the Royal Court theatre this spring, with Stephens joining forces with acclaimed director Katie Mitchell for the first time.
The playwrights, who both worked extensively at the Sloane Square venue at the beginning of their careers, premiere The Heretic (Bean) and Wastwater (Stephens) in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. In the venue’s smaller space, the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, the Royal Court’s International Department will present a season of UK debuts and world premieres, including Columbian writer Pedro Miguel Rozo’s Our Private Life and Remembrance Day by Latvian playwright Aleksey Scherbak.
The Heretic opens on 10 February, after previews from 4 February, and runs until 19 March. Directed by Jeremy Herrin, Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Court (That Face, The Priory and The Vertical Hour), Bean’s play follows the playwright’s recent successes The Big Fellah at the Lyric Hammersmith and the controversial England People Very Nice at the National Theatre.
This time Bean turns his comedic eye on the science of climate change. The study of climate sciences is the cool degree at the university where Dr Diane Cassell is a lead academic in Earth Sciences. At odds with the orthodoxy over man-made climate change, the lecturer finds herself increasingly vilified and is forced to ask if the issue is political as well as personal. Could the belief in anthropogenic global warming be the most attractive religion of the 21st century?
Stephens’s Wastwater, which plays from 31 March (press night 5 April) until 7 May, tackles the relationships of three different couples and how they make choices that will define the rest of their lives. Set on the edges of Heathrow Airport, Harry is on the point of leaving England and Frida knows she may never see him again. Lisa and Mark are on the cusp of a sexual betrayal that takes them into a place darker than they ever thought possible, while Sian has a terrifying deal for Jonathan and she won’t take no for an answer.
Stephens’s last play at the Royal Court was the 2006 production Motortown. Elsewhere the playwright has been critically acclaimed for his work including Punk Rock, Pornography and On The Shore Of The Wide World.
Wastwater is directed by Mitchell, the Laurence Olivier Award winning director known for pushing the boundaries of theatre and her use of use multi-media on stage. Her directing credits include The City at the Royal Court, After Dido for the Young Vic theatre and the English National Opera, and extensive work at the National Theatre where she is an Associate Director, including Pains Of Youth, …Some Trace Of Her and Waves.
Our Private Life, staged in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, was developed by playwright Rozo during his 2009 Royal Court International Residency. The play, which is directed by Royal Court regular Lyndsey Turner (Posh, Contractions and A Miracle), is billed as a black comedy with twisted morality set in modern Columbia. When a rumour spreads like wildfire through a Columbian village, a respectable family starts to wither in the heat. As long-buried secrets begin to surface, their efforts to discern truth from slander become fused with a desire for justice. Our Private Life opens on 18 February, after previews from 11 February, and runs until 12 March.
Developed as part of the Royal Court’s Moscow workshops, Remembrance Day is Scherbak’s 12th play and his UK debut. Taking an unflinching look at the fight for the political soul of Latvia, the play centres on the annual parade through the streets of Riga by Latvians who fought for the Third Reich. As a growing number of young Russians campaign to halt the ‘fascist’ march, their Latvian counterparts join the veterans in commemoration.
Remembrance Day is directed by Michael Longhurst who enjoyed success last year with HighTide’s critically acclaimed Stovepipe, as well as working on productions including The Contingency Plan at the Bush theatre and Dirty Butterfly at the Young Vic. The hard-hitting drama runs from 18 March (press night 23 March) until 16 April.
The Jerwood Theatre Upstairs will also announce a programme of talks, readings and events to feature as part of the International Department’s season.
CM