Jonathan O’Boyle’s acclaimed production of Neil LaBute’s 1999 trilogy Bash Latterday Plays will transfer into the West End next month following its success at the Old Red Lion Theatre earlier this year.
Comprising three short one-act plays, the controversial and dark trilogy that famously led to the playwright receiving religious discipline – or “disfellowshipment” – and eventually leaving the Mormon Church will play at the Trafalgar Studio 2 from 13 May (press night 14 May) to 7 June.
Each of the three plays explores the evils found in everyday life. In Iphigenia In Orem, a businessman from Utah divulges a chilling crime to a stranger in a Las Vegas hotel room, while A Gaggle Of Saints sees a young Mormon couple describe their version of events of a night in New York. The trilogy concludes with Medea Redux, in which a woman recounts her intimate relationship with her junior high-school teacher.
Talking about why he was attracted to the plays, which made their UK premiere at the same venue back in 2007, director O’Boyle said: “I’ve been a fan of Neil LaBute for many years and this trilogy of one-act plays has always excited me. The characters in the three stories are at major turning points in their lives which we can all relate to… These plays are rooted in the art of storytelling, which as a director, is what I am most attracted to and I think the West End thrives off of good storytelling.”
O’Boyle’s production received an outpour of critical acclaim when it first played at the Old Red Lion Theatre in March. Its West End transfer success follows last week’s announcement that another play that originated in the Old Red Lion’s intimate surroundings, The Play That Goes Wrong, will play at the Duchess Theatre later this year following its own transfer to the Trafalgar Studio 2.
The show’s original cast members Philip Scott-Wallace, Dani Harrison, Tom Vallen and Rebecca Hickey will reprise their roles at the show’s new West End home.