Mark Gatiss joins playwright April de Angelis to talk historical comedy at the RSC
11 July 2007
Actor and writer, Mark Gatiss - well known as a member of the sketch comedy team, The League of Gentlemen - will join playwright, April de Angelis at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre on Saturday 21 July for 'Historical Comedy', a discussion exploring the role of history and humour in their work.
Mark and April will be in conversation examining the importance of historical sources in their writing, what history brings to comedy, why certain periods are chosen for parody, and at what point historical acts become ripe for comedy.
As an actor Mark Gatiss’ TV appearances include Nighty Night, Funland, Fear of Fanny (as Johnnie Craddock, the husband of TV chef, Fanny Craddock), Little Britain (which he has also script-edited) and Dr Who (two episodes of which he wrote). His novels include The Vesuvius Club and The Devil in Amber, as well as numerous Dr Who stories.
April de Angelis will be familiar to RSC audiences through her play, A Warwickshire Testimony, which premiered at The Other Place in 1999. Her other plays include Catch, Wild East, Havana (Royal Court), and Playhouse Creatures and A Laughing Matter, both of which are set in the world of 17th and 18th Century theatre. April has also written for Glyndebourne and the English National Opera, and most recently wrote The Silent Twins libretto set to music by Errollyn Wallen for the Almeida Theatre.
Devised by the RSC’s Literary Department, 'Historical Comedy' comes ahead of the world premiere stage adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Penelopiad. Taking Homer’s Odysseus as its source material, Atwood rewrites the story from the perspective of Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, to create a compelling new work for a contemporary audience.
Tickets cost £7.50, and can be booked via the RSC Ticket Hotline on 0844 800 1110 or www.rsc.org.uk
Further information
‘Historical Comedy’
Saturday 21 July, 11am-noon
Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
£7.50
Ticket Hotline: 0844 800 1110 or www.rsc.org.uk
For more information and images, please contact:
Dean Asker
RSC Press Office
01789 412660
dean.asker@rsc.org.uk
