GOOD MORNING, ALAMO! Opens At Tabard Theatre, Jan 16

A government stands in crisis. Immigrants flood in droves across the border. More and more of them want to take over and force the country to accept their way of thinking. The only way to stop them may be to deploy the army...

Is this land modern Britain? Europe? America?

No. Mexico, 1835; where two English expats find themselves on opposite sides of a revolution.

Genteel English painter Charlotte Vernon, mistress of an officer in the Mexican army, determines to prove her worth by chronicling the campaign to suppress Texan rebels. Shoemaker Harry Birchfield joins the rebellion in a bid to get rich. Their ambitions collide as the rebels make a suicide stand at the Alamo.

But when it comes to immigrants and martyrdom, things don't always go according to plan, and the winner doesn't always settle history.

Good Morning, Alamo! is a new satirical drama which looks at some of today's issues about immigration and cultural conflict through the mirror of an iconic historical event. The event is the Texas Revolution of 1835-36, in which a belligerent population of American and European immigrants, most of them illegal, fought to turn the Mexican state of Texas into an independent country. From the American/Texan point of view, this revolution was and is a fight for freedom second only to the American Revolution. From the Mexican point of view, it was and is a fight to steal sovereign territory.

In this world premiere by veteran New York and London playwright/director Mark R. Giesser, drama and satire join forces to explore what John Wayne and Disney didn't tell us about America's Dunkirk.

A six strong cast (three principles, three ensemble) perform in this darkly humorous piece which, in holding a mirror to the past, explores the echoes of history and makes present our fears about modern immigration and the dissolution of culture as military disaster is made myth:

STEPHEN CAVANAGH: (plays Andreas Gerber) recently shot the feature film Krish And Lee and is reunited with Mark R. Giesser, having played Shepherd Henderson in his production of Bell, Book and Candle.

Steven ClarkE: (plays Harry Birchfield) recently played Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby at The King's Head and Anton Chekhov in Song of the Seagull at The Menier Chocolate Factory.

RICHARD EMERSON: (plays George Kimball, et al) joins the cast of Good Morning, Alamo! directly from appearing in Trevor Nunn's West End revival of A Chorus of Disapproval, at The Harold Pinter Theatre, with Rob Brydon.

RIONA O CONNOR: (plays Bridget Ross et al) played Bernie McGloughlin in the workshop of the stage musical adaptation of The Commitments and has just appeared in Matthew Strachan's 25 Year Songbook at The St James Theatre.

JAMES PALMER: (plays Francisco Castaneda et al) is well known to television audiences for playing Lee Hope in two series of the acclaimed BBC drama River City and has just appeared in the premiere of A Piece of Cake at The Mill At Sonning.

Listing

Good Morning, Alamo!
Wed 16 Jan - Sat 9 Feb 2013
Tue - Sat 7:30pm
Tickets £14/£12

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