Comedian Russell Kane is to create a summer fete-themed show for the Bush theatre. The Great British Country Fete will play at the West London venue following new plays by Elaine Murphy and Anthony Weigh.
The Great British Country Fete, which plays from 28 July to 14 August (press night 2 August) is billed as an irreverent musical comedy and an homage to a British institution, the country fete. Skittles, jam-makers, bunting and dog poo are all promised in Kane’s concoction of stories and song, which features music by Michael Bruce.
Stand-up comedian Kane has recently toured Fakespeare: The Tragickal Saveings Of King Nigel, a bawdy romp set in modern-day Essex where everyone speaks in Shakespearean verse. Bruce is composer in residence at the Bush theatre and had his work showcased in a one-night concert in the West End last year.
The Great British Country Fete is directed by Anthea Williams, who previously directed the Bush theatre hits 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover and suddenlossofdignity.com
Before that, young Irish writer Murphy’s debut play Little Gem opens at the Bush theatre on 16 April (press night 19 April) and plays to 22 May.
Little Gem, which has already won several awards on its way to the Bush, explores the lives of three generations of Dublin women through love, joy, death and disappointment as they discover that the only people worth trusting are each other.
Weigh, whose first full-length play 2,000 Feet Away premiered at the Bush theatre in 2008 with Joseph Fiennes in the cast, returns to the new writing venue with Like A Fishbone, which plays from 7 June to 10 July (press night 14 June).
Bush Artistic Director Josie Rourke directs this drama about a small community planning a memorial to the victims of an unspeakable crime. On the evening of the presentation of the memorial to the public, a blind woman comes out of the rain and into the architect’s studio. She is the mother of one of the victims and she demands to be heard.
Currently playing at the Bush theatre is Eigengrau, which ends its run on 10 April.
CB