Jez Butterworth’s latest play Parlour Song receives its European premiere courtesy of director Ian Rickson at the Almeida theatre.

Parlour Song centres on an ordinary married couple, Ned and Joy. He is a demolition expert and she is a housewife. They live in a house that adjoins neighbour Dale and 78 other houses exactly like theirs. Occasionally they enjoy a game of Scrabble. But Ned has a recurring dream and a recurring problem: things keep disappearing. Parlour Song is a comedy that explores what happens when two ordinary people discover they hate who they have become, in a world where all is not what it seems.

Playwright Butterworth’s previous plays include Mojo, The Night Heron and The Winterling, all of which were directed by Rickson at the Royal Court. Mojo was made into a film starring Harold Pinter.

In addition to directing Butterworth’s plays, Parlour Song director Rickson has a wealth of directorial credits to his name, particularly at the Royal Court, where he was Artistic Director from 1998 to 2007, including his acclaimed production of The Seagull which transfered to Broadway. Recently he directed Pinter’s The Hothouse at the National Theatre.

For more about Parlour Song at the Almeida theatre, read the First Night Feature.