Following the success of 2011’s revival of Edward Bond’s Saved at the Lyric Hammersmith, the playwright will return to the venue in 2012 with a trilogy of short plays.
Mogadishu, another hit at the West London venue, also returns as part of a spring line-up that includes a collaboration between Spymonkey and Kneehigh Artistic Director Emma Rice, Oedipussy, and the previously announced productions of Lovesong, Filter’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Three Kingdoms, which plays as part of the London-wide World Stages London festival.
Bond’s The Chair Plays is a trio of pieces – Have I None, The Under Room and Chair – which are all set in a dystopian England of 2077 where compassion, identity and social liberties have come under scrutiny. Bond will also be on directing duties for The Under Room and the UK stage premiere of Chair, which was originally created as a radio play, while Lyric Hammersmith Artistic Director Sean Holmes will direct Have I None.
The Chair Plays runs in the Lyric’s studio theatre from 19 April to 26 May, dovetailing with Oedipussy, which plays the main house from 10 to 21 April. The production, which is written by regular Kneehigh collaborator Carl Grose, takes the famous Greek tragedy and adds a touch of Spymonkey’s own comic surrealism into the mix.
Mogadishu, which earned playwright Vivienne Franzmann an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination in the Most Promising Playwright category along with the Bruntwood and George Devine playwriting awards, tells the tale of what happens when a teacher is accused of racially abusing a pupil. The short season at the Lyric Hammersmith (27 to 31 March) features original cast member Hammed Animashaun, currently appearing in the theatre’s panto Aladdin, and West End regular Jackie Clune.
In addition to the main season, the Lyric Hammersmith has also announced a plethora of children’s productions including versions of The Pied Piper, Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks.
MA