Playwrights Simon Stephens, David Eldridge and Robert Holman will collaborate on a new piece entitled A Thousand Stars Explode In The Sky, to premiere at West London’s Lyric Hammersmith on 12 May (previews from 7 May), directed by Sean Holmes.
The new play, described as an epic about hope, love, fear and the end of the universe, extends the Lyric Hammersmith’s spring season, following already announced productions of Three Sisters and Ghost Stories.
Stephens is an Artistic Associate of the West London venue and last year premiered his play Punk Rock there. Eldridge’s plays include Festen, Market Boy and Under The Blue Sky, all of which have been seen in London in recent years, while Holman is the author of numerous plays, many of which have been produced by the Royal Court and Bush theatres.
Also joining the spring line up on the main stage is a new play by brothers John and Martin Marquez, The Dark Side Of Buffoon, which plays from 7 to 17 April (press night 9 April), and Spymonkey’s new version of classic tale Moby Dick, running from 20 April to 1 May (press night 23 April).
Open Air Artistic Director Timothy Sheader directs The Dark Side Of Buffoon, a dark and quirky new play which brings to life the eccentric characters of a 19th century Italian circus troop.
Spymonkey’s fantastical retelling of Moby Dick sees four whalers trapped in the belly of a literary monster, pondering the irony of their fate as they recount their own unique version of Herman Melville’s story.
The spring season concludes with the return of theatre company Improbable (The Hanging Man, The Wolves In The Walls) with Keith Johnstone’s Lifegame, which runs from 6 to 17 July. Incorporating storytelling, visual theatre, live music and object animation, Lifegame dramatises the life story of a special guest who is interviewed on stage every evening.
CB