Royal Court New Season Announced

[MamasDoin'Fine]

New plays by Caryl Churchill and Jerusalem writer Jez Butterworth will form part of the Royal Court’s autumn season.

Churchill’s new play is entitled 'Love And Information' and will be directed by James Macdonald in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.
Her association with the Royal Court dates back to 1972, and her play 'Owners'.
'Love And Information' will run from Sept 6th thru Oct 13th.

Butterworth’s new play, 'The River', is set in a remote cabin and is being staged by the same creative team as 'Jerusalem'.
Ian Rickson, who directed 'Jerusalem' is a former Royal Court artistic director, will direct the production.
'The River' runs from Oct 18th to Nov 17th in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.

Martin Crimp returns to the Royal Court with his new work In the 'Republic Of Happiness' which Dominic Cooke with direct in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.
Described as a “violent satire”, the production will run from Dec 6th.

Lucy Kirkwood, who is the writer in residence at Clean Break Theatre Company, will make her Royal Court debut with 'NSFW'.
The title means Not Safe For Work, and describes online material which people might not want to be seen viewing in a public setting such as the workplace.
Simon Godwin will direct the production, which will run from Oct 25th in the main house.

The season is completed by 'Choir Boy' by Tarell Alvin McCraney, which is set in an all-boys, all-black American prep school and runs from Sept 4th, together with EV Crowe’s 'Hero', which is about a gay primary school teacher and runs from Nov 23rd.

[Phantom of London]

I purposely haven't read what is going to be on, for the new season, but I would be shocked if there was a musical in the mix? I hope there wouldn't be anything remortely musical there, as plays are there forte and they do it very well.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

'The Rocky Horror Show', one of Britain's greatest and most successful musicals, began life at the Royal Court Theatre.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

The award-winning playwright Jez Butterworth is to return to London's Royal Court Theatre for the first time since the sell-out success of his work, 'Jerusalem'.
Given the transatlantic triumphs of his last offering, there will be plenty of people keen to see his newest show. Yet the venue has made the surprise decision not to sell tickets in advance, and to use a theatre which seats fewer than 100 people for each performance.

Butterworth's latest work, 'The River', reunites the same creative team that made 'Jerusalem'.
The Royal Court's outgoing artistic director, Dominic Cooke, announced the playwright's return while unveiling a new season which will include plays by Caryl Churchill and Martin Crimp. He said the new works were "a rare and thrilling prospect". "These are writers who have reshaped the theatrical landscape and challenged us to imagine ourselves in new ways," he said.

'The River' – billed as a "bewitching" tale involving a remote cabin on the cliffs, a man and a woman, and a moonless night – will be performed in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, which seats only 85 or 86 people.

The decision will disappoint many theatre-goers but a spokesman defended staging the play upstairs, rather than in the 400-seater main theatre, saying it was "intimate" and better suited to the smaller space. "We are a writer's theatre," she said. "It could have gone in downstairs and more people could have seen it and it could have been more commercial, but it was what was in the play's best interests."

There will be no advance tickets for the month-long run from 18 October.
Instead, they be will be sold the day of performance, including online bookings at 9am and in person at the box office from 10am.
The theatre has confirmed there will be at least 30 tickets for sale online and at least 30 in person each day to give as many people as possible the chance to see the work.

'Jerusalem', starring Mark Rylance as Johnny "Rooster" Byron and Mackenzie Crook, debuted in the Royal Court in 2009 and received rave reviews. It moved to the West End before transferring to Broadway.
Rylance was named best actor at the Olivier and Tony Awards. Butterworth wrote his first play, 'I Believe In Love', in 1992. Three years later 'Mojo' premiered at the Royal Court, winning awards including the Olivier for best new comedy.
'Jerusalem' was his fourth play at the theatre. He has also written several films.

[Phantom of London]

I saw Jerusalem last year on its return to the West End and this sets the bar very high for anything else, without a doubt this is one of the finest shows you could see on a stage, with one of the best performances on a stage (Mark Rylance) but you don't know that until the last minute