Lyric Hammersmith Presents THE CHAIR PLAYS Triple Bill, Now thru May 26

To mark the 50th anniversary of the staging of his first play, world-renowned playwright Edward Bond joins Lyric Hammersmith Artistic Director Sean Holmes to present The Chair Plays from April 19 to May 23. This is the first time this trilogy, drawn from his work of the last decade, has been produced in the UK.

Edward Bond is one of the most influential theatrical voices of the last century. In recent years, he has worked mostly outside of the UK. For the Théâtre National in France, he wrote a cycle of plays calls The Paris Pentad; whilst writing nine plays on the same themes for Birmingham-based Big Brum TiE Company. These plays, from which the first two of The Chair Plays are drawn are widely performed abroad. The third play in the trilogy, Chair, written originally for broadcast as a radio play on BBC Radio 4 in 2000, here receives its UK stage premiere.

Holmes will direct one play, Have I None, with Bond directing The Under Room and Chair. The recent Lyric Hammersmith revival of Bond’s seminal work Saved was the first time the playwright had allowed the work to be staged in London since the Royal Court’s 1984 production.

The cast for the trilogy includes Tanya Moodie (Sherlock, BBC; A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky, Lyric), Nicholas Gleaves (Public Enemies, BBC; Scott & Bailey, ITV), AiDan Kelly (Blasted, Lyric; Macbeth, RSC), Naomi Frederick (As You Like It, Shakespeare’s Globe; Brief Encounter, Kneehigh/West End/tour), Timothy O’Hara (The Pope’s Wedding, Cock Tavern), Felix Scott (Missing, BBC; The Maddening Rain, Old Red Lion/New York) and Sandra Voe (Three Sisters, Lyric/Filter; Lars Von Trier’s Breaking the Waves).

Have I None / The Under Room
Dates Thursday 19 April – Saturday 26 May 2012
Times Evenings 7:45pm (19 April – 05 May) / Matinees 3pm (28 April & 05 May)
Tickets £15 (Thursday 19 April - £12.50)

Chair
Dates Friday 11 – Saturday 26 May 2012
Times Evenings 8pm (not 19, 26 May) / Matinees 3pm (16 & 23 May)
Tickets £15 (Friday 11 May - £12.50)

The Chair Plays triple bill
Dates Saturday 19 May & Saturday 26 May 2012
Times 6pm
Tickets £25

Bookings: 0871 22 117 22 / www.lyric.co.uk