Wilton’s Music Hall in East London – the oldest surviving
music hall in the world - will be the venue for the Royal Shakespeare
Company’s two new plays, The Cordelia Dream and The Tragedy
of Thomas Hobbes.
The plays will have consecutive runs of approximately four weeks.
The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes
By Adriano Shaplin
A new MIT/RSC Commission
Directed by Elizabeth Freestone
From 18th November (previews from 12th) to 6th December
This world premiere of award-winning playwright Adriano Shaplin's
new history play is set in London 1658. The Civil War is over, the
King has been executed, Oliver Cromwell has closed the theatres and
the talk in the coffee houses is of revolution. Meanwhile England’s
most famous philosopher is poised to do battle with a faction of young
scientists. The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes brings vividly to
life a period of history when science was the new theatre and philosophy
became a new faith. It is a provocative and experimental journey back
to a time of dead dogs, new gods and apparent miracles.
The play is cast from the ensemble of actors performing The Taming
of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice and includes Stephen
Boxer as Thomas Hobbes, Amanda Hadingue as Robert Boyle and Jack Laskey
as Robert Hooke. The cast also includes Arsher Ali (Charles II), William
Beck (Broghill), Keir Charles (John Wilkins), John Paul Connolly (Willis),
Simon Darwen (Wallis), Adrian De Costa (Christopher Cox), Leonard
Fenton (Waldorf), James Garnon (Black), Will Sharpe (Isaac Newton),
Peter Shorey (Oliver Cromwell), Larrington Walker (Statler) and Angus
Wright (Rotten).
The production is designed by Soutra Gilmour with lighting by Johanna
Town, music/sound by Adrienne Quartly and movement by Anna Morrissey
Adriano Shaplin is the RSC/CAPITAL International Playwright in Residence.
The Cordelia Dream
By Marina Carr
A new RSC Commission
Directed by Selina Cartmell
16th December 2008 (previews from 11th) to 10th January 2009
Award-winning Irish playwright Marina Carr returns to London with
a ferocious two-hander.
A musician and his rival, a younger woman, are having a long-awaited
conversation. As they spit their mutual malice with precision, they
question the hatred that has fuelled their desire to outdo each other
in pursuit of art. With echoes of King Lear, the play promises
to unpick the belief that a muse must be made of love.
The cast is Michelle Gomez and David Hargreaves.
The production is designed by Giles Cadle with lighting by Matthew
Richardson, music by Conor Linehan, movement by Anna Morrissey and
sound by Fergus O’Hare.
The RSC season at Wilton’s Music Hall runs alongside the RSC Winter
season at the Novello Theatre, with productions of Hamlet,
A Midsummer Night’s
Dream and The Taming
of the Shrew from 3rd December, 2008, to 7th March, 2009
