The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced details of the three productions
which it will premiere at the Hampstead Theatre from 16th April to 18th
June: Little Eagles by Rona Munro, directed by Roxana Silbert;
Silence by David Farr and Filter, directed by David Farr, and
American Trade by Tarell Alvin McCraney, directed by Jamie Lloyd.
Little Eagles
16 April – 7 May 2011
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first
orbit around the earth, Little Eagles is the story behind the
battle for military supremacy and the competitive fury of the Cold
War. Written from a wholly new angle, the play reveals how Sergei
Korolyov, chief designer and unsung hero of the Soviet space programme,
struggled to meet the military demands of his ruthless political masters,
Khrushchev and Brezhnev, whilst devoting as much time as possible
to the space programme, showing how he was forced to risk the lives
of his pilots, his beloved ‘little eagles’, including Gagarin,
the first cosmonaut, whose achievement amazed and delighted the world.
The cast includes Charles Aitkin, Joseph Arkley, Brian Doherty, Darrell
D’Silva, Noma Dumezweni, Dyfan Dwyfor, Phillip Edgerley, Greg
Hicks, James Howard, Ansu Kabia, Debbie Korley, John Mackay, Sandy
Neilson, Peter Peverley, Oliver Ryan, Hannah Young and Samantha Young.
Silence
12 – 28 May 2011
A devised production created by Filter and David Farr.
Left alone in an unfamiliar land, Kate struggles to silence the noises
in her head and begins to question her own sanity. In London Michael
listens carefully to a conversation recorded twenty years ago. Can
he hear a third silent person on the tape?
The cast includes Christine Entwisle, Mariah Gale, Paul Hamilton,
Richard Katz, Jonjo O’Neill, Patrick Romer and Katy Stephens.
American Trade
2-18 June 2011
Writer Tarell Alvin McCraney is the RSC’s Playwright in Residence.
When things get a little too hot for him in New York, good-looking,
charismatic hustler Pharus escapes the clutches of rap star Jules
and moves to London, where he sets up an escort business under the
guise of a model agency. A funny, uncompromising and outspoken play
about survival, which challenges assumptions about racial and sexual
identity. It is also a celebration of 21st century London in all its
extravagant, confusing and dynamic diversity.
The cast includes Adam Burton, David Carr, Geoffrey Freshwater, Gruffudd
Glyn, Kathryn Hunter, Tunji Kasim, Debbie Korley, Dharmesh Patel,
David Rubin, Sophie Russell, Simone Saunders, Peter Shorey, Clarence
Smith, James Traherne, James Tucker, Larrington Walker, Kirsty Woodward,
Hannah Young and Samantha Young.
The casts of the three plays are made up of members of the current
RSC Ensemble who are currently performing in the season of Shakespeare
plays at The Roundhouse.
RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd said, "When Ed Hall invited
us to return to Hampstead it was perfect timing for us. These three
plays are the fruit of long and sustained relationships with Rona, Tarell
and Filter and will be the final project for the RSC Ensemble. Two and
a half years of playing together in Stratford and London, in Shakespeare
and in contemporary Russian work, has prepared the Ensemble perfectly
for this season."
